♪ host: it is the washington journal, the last day in may. the bidet where we will have a

bill passed on the debt ceiling debate. speaker mccarthy believes he has enough votes to move a bill ahead. in the first hour, in the debt ceiling deal, would you tell the member of congress to accept or reject it? your is how you can let us know. democrats (202) 748-8000, republicans (202) 748-8001, and independents (202) 748-8002. if you want to text us your thoughts you can text us at (202) 748-8003. you can post on our facebook page at facebook.com/c-span wj. or our other social medias. here is a highlight from yesterday.

this bill would rais a -- the debt ceiling for two years. it would put a cap onpeing andxpand work requirements for certain adults receiving food stamps. and then there would be clawing back of covid-19 fund, it would restart the student loan repayment program, and speed up permitting processes for energy projects. that is the bill. it was passed in the house rules committee last night area and this morning some of those that face the bill vote later on today. they made these three weights of major concern. concern number one is kevin mccarthy does not seem to have enough votes on hand. that will make passing the bill difficult. and it may need democratic

support to do it. number two republican leadership needs to maximize the pole today. they need a minimum of 112 republicans to vote for the package. the majority of the gop majority, some of the leaders there want the vote to be closer to 140-150 out of 222. and point number three if he fails to get the majority, conservatives signal they may loop against them. those are things that play out possibly today with the debt ceiling vote later today. we will vote to proceed on the actual bill and then the debate and vote later this evening. stay close to c-span for that activity today. when it comes to the deal, what we you tell your member of

congress? would you tell them to at septa the package or to -- rejected. -- to accept the package or reject it? democrats (202) 748-8000, republicans (202) 748-8001, and independents (202) 748-8002. speaker mccarthy spoke yesterday on his frustration with the bills. >> i am not sure what in the bill people are concerned about. it is the largest savings of $2.1 trillion that we have ever had. it is the first time in history where we are pulling money back from the hard-working taxpayers that are going to china3 . they have work requirements for welfare should someone continue to be able to sit on the couch with no children not find a job?

we will change environmental review for 40 years so we can build america faster. or the ability to even have congress work again to do the job appropriation bills. the consequences for that. to be able to take a trump executive order, paygo, and put it into effect with this president to stop spending the trillions of dollars. people are against saving all that money and faye are in work and welfare reform. i cannot do anything about that -- are in work and welfare reform. i cannot do anything about that. host: the vote will happen around 6:00 this evening. keep an eye on c-span or our c-span now have so we can keep you up-to-date. would you tell your member of congress to accept or reject

this bill? yesterday the package was found that it will reduce one point $5 trillion over a decade with capping discretionary spending for two years. and a change for work requirement in food stamp disability, and veterans would increase federal spending on the ground by $2 billion. if you're interested in reading that go to cbo.gov to find what they estimate the responsibility of this act will do. let's hear from edward in virginia. in the kratz would you tell your member to its up the deal. good. you are first up. caller: with the deal, will they give more money on the food stamps program, i want them to its up to at septa it. yes. host: why?

caller: so they can get bills paid and stuff like that. and they will not be late. host: ok that is edward. let's hear from -- in california from our independent line. caller: hello, thank you for having me. at the moment, the defense spending remains flat for the next year. i do not support this bill to be cut through the international affairs budget especially since the budget is less than 1% of the entire u.s. budget. i want more to be done on both sides of the aisle to prevent these cuts. and have the u.s. focus more on many of the crisis having -- happening all over the world. host: that is of you are in california. he some of you responded on social media.

and from facebook this morning, one says, he would reject it because there's not enough spending cut. that is followed by cheryl saying at septa the deal. -- saying except the deal. -- accept the deal. and another says reject it because speaker mccarthy has failed to follow through on his promises to the american people. and on our facebook page, another says present a budget over the next fiscal year, it should do his job and create one. authorities represented by republicans, those are comments there when it comes to the facebook page. you can add yours to the mix when you tell the member of congress to at septa or -- accept or reject the deal. this is the republican line. hello. caller: hello, yes, i want to

understand why there is so much stuff in the bill. why could a bill be submitted of law? if you submit it of law it would be accepted. can someone please explain to someone why you cannot submit a bill by -- putting all the stuff in there makes it worse. host: all the stuff as you described it was a series of compromises between the white house and republicans. on that they want to see capture before the debt ceiling raise. caller: still, by itself all the stuff in there making it worse. stop putting stuff on there. submit it alone and leave it alone. y'all are making it worse by putting more stuff in there and not making it right. caller: when you say it is making it worse, -- how? caller: the debt be old -- debt bill should've been submitted by

itself. no other stuff or decisions. just submit the bill by itself. all the stuff in there making it worse. host: are you telling your member of congress to at septa it or reject it? -- accept it or reject it? caller: except at, but stop putting all the extra stuff in there. host: going to the democrat line in virginia. caller: i don't understand why people cannot see when republicans are lying to everybody. i saw someone talk about student loans and all about, they should not get stuff for free and under trump, we have been a team of house republicans and congress they raised the debt $8 trillion. no one said anything.

and now, i understand there will still be $1 trillion in this over a period of time. so the rich do not have to pay their taxes. they go after the poor, it makes them do work requirements for some people where they cannot they are sick and have cancer or whatever. they go after the poor, but where is this stuff for the rich that are not paying anything? big corporations are not paying -- zero in taxes. how is this fair and why can't the republicans that vote for these people, why can't they see it? host: direct that to your member of congress it sounds like you are saying what would you tell them when it comes to the deal to accept it or reject it? caller: we have to accept it now

because of the time may. -- time, we have run out of time. it will affect the world. but people lie to you and you believe it. host: let's hear from robert, south carolina, republican. the idea if you would tell your member of congress to accept the bill or reject it. go ahead. caller: my member is the fourth congressional district and he announced that he is voting now. i do support him and that -- in that. and i think they said renegotiate the deal, but add the chief justice to the

negotiations because he is a branch of government and leader. host: let's stick to congress why would you want to see the bill renegotiated? caller: because i think this is a bad deal. it's really bad. host: why do you think that? caller: because it doesn't have border security and it. host:okay, that is robert in south carolina. they say first pass the debt limit deal and then find a way to end of drama. the most fortunate aspect of the agreement is to change the food stamps assistance in the cash welfare program where virtually

every study shows work requirement for the benefit did -- do not affect employment. mr. biden rejected the work requirements for those on medicaid, but he agreed to changes all the other programs. they also make this case the editors of the new york times say the republican demand was to cut $80 million in the -- reduce tax cheating according to the congressional budget office. it would bring in new tax revenue and reduce the deficit. they say they would not reduce the deficit other than through spending. the money may be moved to the general fund to the impact of the new spending cap. you may find more from the editor of the new york times online. would you accept the debt ceiling deal or reject it? let's hear from our democrat line. caller: hello, thank you.

what i tell my representative under my doctors appointment today. i would tell them to break up the military industrial base. it is getting too stupid and too expensive. they build tanks with jet engines in them and rockets -- that is stupid. host: for the deal itself what would you tell your member for the deal that stands itself? caller: elevate the debt limit with those provisions. as far as electing -- collecting money for people who cheat on their taxes, pass legislation that h and r block do it, any of those companies that are regulated, believe me, if they make a mistake they have to pay the bill. that will solve all their problems.

host: alicia is next in oregon, independent line. caller: thank you for having me. i would like to say first of all that -- let's give the government deals of how much we the people, the disabled due to the government side of what they think is justice. so many on covid-19 have tied at savings; women, men, and elderly. what about the freezers full of dead bodies? are we going to run up and electric bill can we just put the trailer and put them in the ground. host: let's stick to the debt ceiling bill. as far as the debt ceiling where are you on this? caller: [indiscernible] but i'm trying to say. you better hear me out. how about all the money that the government is getting from marijuana, magic mushrooms, or any other drug that they put in

their pocket? we continue to help other foreign countries and then we cannot help our own country out. with the own money they get from marijuana, magic mushrooms, all the money they get for the people dying on covid-19, no longer have to pay health. billions and billions of people that are put in black bags in a freezer truck. host: ok you made that point. one report was directors shalonda brown one of the key negotiators when it came to the bill produced. that will be voted on later today. here is what she had to say about the process and the end result. >> you talk about how this is a compromise and what you lost on. >> look, when the american people win and we avoid default, retirement accounts are not in flux and the global economy is not crashing, i will call that a win every day.

individual people have issues or different parts of the bill. you heard your colleagues bring up concerns that members have. i have to look at what was our ultimate goal? we are a divided government. this is what happens in divided government. they get to have an opinion and we do. all things equal, i think this compromise agreement is reasonable for both sides. that is what we thought, protect the american people from the worst possible outcome, first ever default, allow republicans to have some carving -- curbing of spending. flatline for nondiscretionary and move on for an appropriations process that works. i think that is a good middle ground. host: more of that available at our website at c-span.org. the washington post profile with

shalonda young and what she brought to the table when it came to been negotiations between she and the other members of the team of republicans. she said for many repents -- participants she has become indispensable. she is known and trusted by both parties. current and former colleagues say that she has been involved in budget fights for more than a decade starting with her tenure in the house appropriations committee's working behind the scenes with details on developing strong relationship for democrats and republicans. would you tell your member to add sapped -- accept the debt ceiling deal or reject it? you can call the phone lines democrats (202) 748-8000, republicans (202) 748-8001, independents (202) 748-8002, text us at (202) 748-8003.

this is mike in south carolina. caller: good the answer to the question is good for me. i would never for -- support somebody who does not fight those student loans of all a goal. -- the volatile -- student loan mess. that was audrey from south carolina democrat line you are next. caller: i would encourage my congressperson to it set -- two accept it. but with this social security benefits, -- host: i will have to look at that go ahead with your vault. caller: -- with your thought. caller: the only reason why i did not supported is because of

the fat that we need to pay our bills. host: are you happy with the end result that democrats brought forward and president biden brought forward? caller: yeah only because we need to pay our bills. other than that, yes, i accept it. we need to accept it because we need to pay our bills. host: the wall street journal adds this to the mix when they look at the element of the bill, particularly the work requirement saying that supplemental nutritional assistance program host a limit on able body independents -- and less they work or train 20 hours a week, the covid emergency spending, the program exploded in the past few years. 4 million americans on food stamps. but there are many without children or students at home.

they would raise the work h2 54 -- the work age 254. americans -- age to 54. some of the foodstamp provisions expire in 2030. darrell and work to go to independent next. caller: good morning. i would like to put my two cents in on, as you know, most people are living paycheck-to-paycheck. we cannot afford to default because were going to go into a downward spiral very fast. i realize as a lot of people are skimming money off of the top in congress and i just say

definitely pass a bill because i live paycheck-to-paycheck. if i don't have any money coming in i lose everything. everybody better think about that. my spending is definitely -- my opinion is definitely yes. host: ok darrell in missouri. of if it passes the bill this is what the senate leadership is planning for shouldn't happen. they say the senate could be in for a long weekend on measurements on the debt limit bill area and it would bring them to the edge of a june 5 fall line or past it. the leaders of the parties are debating on how to avoid the outcome. this is largely on unanimous consent. they can slow down the legislative process for days. the earliest fit they can pass this without a time agreement is

the middle of next week. there is something in the vast majority of senators, this is something the vast majority of senators even many of those who would oppose the fiscal responsibility want to prevent for several senators who demand amendment. that in senator rand all. he says he may see the and abbott all -- he wants a vote on in acting spending cut even if he knows it fails. punch bowl news as that and what to expect on the house and the senate side as well when it comes to the boat on the debt ceiling. amy in georgia, democrat line. caller: how are y'all doing. georgia. the republicans -- i just heard about them trying to do something with our social security. over $10 billion they want to

cut on us when we are the poor people. they ain't saying nothing about helping -- take it from the billionaires and millionaires and it is ridiculous how -- they need to reject this bill. biden needs to wake up because we put him in office and we thought, yeah, he helped everybody, but now they were -- let republicans come back and take everything from us. that is all have our -- all i get is social security. barely $1000 a month to pay my bills and i am by myself and i am a blind guy. so, no, they, the republicans they are nothing but just some liars talking about when they just work for american p will. they are trying to help us and they cannot help as they are all

about their own self. host: illinois republican line next. caller: yes, i am looking at the bill and saying that i think the bill is acceptable. i heard somebody call in earlier about the tuition thing for colleges, the problem with the colleges is they became cities. we don't need cities, we need colleges. the vision one should have sports, division two and three do not need to have sports at the big aptitude they show right now. that is causing a lot of added expense to the kids going to college. we need to concentrate on what is important for kids in college, their education, to get out in the workforce . host: aside from the college

aspect what about the bill do you find at sub double? caller: i'm a big -- acceptable? caller: i am a big believer in the private sector. that means to be in effect. as far as big corporations and the amount of money they are paid in taxes, you need to look at how to reform that. host: ok mark in washington dc. independent line. caller: good morning. i would tell my representative, i am from d.c. so i do not have a lot of representation, but i would tell my representative and be simple why is because the government has contractor services. some of the contractors services would be stop if the bill was not passed. for instance, services for veterans. i think shalonda young has done an excellent job and i think

some of the guest that you had on recently have discussed creating a new type of schedule of really good fire people like shalonda young. i think that is outrageous and dangerous. for those of us who work in the executive office across multiple administrations, we know that is dangerous. i would tell my representative to accept. i think this administration is doing a great job with radical forces in the republican party. thank you. host: one of the voices that spoke out against this inroad republican -- in the republican party was scott perry on capitol hill yesterday. he voiced opposition of what they saw in the bill that will be voted on later today. here is a portion of that from yesterday. >> i am here to let you and the american people know that speaker mccarthy had a mandate from the american people

negotiated with the powerful negotiation position of a unified republican party. not only in the house, but the house and the senate, to hold the line for the bill that we passed. this deal that we heard about totally fails to deliver on all of it. if you want to get into the details let's start with the irs. 87,000 new irs agent, all the billions of dollars, $1.4 billion cut leaving the balance, the balance used by the irs, immediately starting at this moment continuing at this moment and continuing on through the duration of this presidency. $4 trillion at least. an unlimited debt ceiling increase. unlimited debt ceiling and obama weighing it with the incoming resident whether it is joe biden or a republican having to deal with it in a lame-duck session.

absolutely and completely unacceptable. trillions and trillions of dollars in debt for trump. and pence. every single thing. take the student debt loan forgiveness, biden forgives, you pay. none of that changes. take the assault on american energy with the so-called inflation reduction act, all of those subsidies killing american energy. they continue unbridled. the permitting reform all it does is speak to increase and a new deal faster on the american people. faster. now, at least $4 trillion in debt were not from the strongest position a republican had passed generally, currently in our elective lifetime, and generally probably since the time we have aided attention to all it takes. the speaker his self have said

the greatest threat on america is our debt and now is the time to act. we had to be time to act. this deal fails and it fails completely. that is why these members will be opposed to the deal. we will do everything in our power to stop it. host: something to watch for out for as the vote takes place later today. how many republicans within the house will vote for and again it . another thing that came out of the press conference is reported by the hill this morning saying representative dan bishop in north carolina tuesday became the first republican to support kevin mccarthy over the debt ceiling deal struggle with president biden with the criticism of the agreement ramping up. they vented their frustration with the agreement and our spare colleagues to vote against it. and he signified he would

support a motion with mccarthy over the bill. he says i've got -- i believe it has got to be gone -- done. but -- trigger a vote that would remove mccarthy as a speaker and pull him outside of conjunction with others. that is one of the storylines coming out yesterday that will play out today as we had to the vote later tonight at 8:30. stay close to c-span as you watch for that. you can also watch c-span.org. we have democrat line from california. hello. caller: good morning. i have a couple of questions, in regards to foreign affairs, there was a lot of money, trillions of money, and our countries have borrowed or at least this country, has been helping them. and as the united states congress -- and others have

countries pay them back for helping their countries. in regards to the money in trillions of dollars that are on the south side of the border, cartels are trying to find a way to get that money. there's a lot of money down south america, central america, mexico that is stashed and should be brought back to the united states. if they made some, of -- some kind of force to bring that money back to the united states because it is being used there and it is not any good when it is american dollars. host: as far as the deal on the table, when you tell your member of congress to accept or reject

it? caller: i would say they need to accept but they need to bump up the dollar more to help our government for the middle class people or to pay rent or food. we have to bump up that as taxpayers. definitely go after the foreign countries that we have helped for many years and make sure that we get something in return. we need to get some of their food products as well. host: ok. let's hear from alan in new york. democrat. caller: good morning a few points. the main one first is that the real debt limit should be not something that would ever give the 14th amendment rule against american -- questioning the validity of our debt to creditors but it should be a limit of the generation to

oppose their obligations on later generations. jefferson wrote a letter to madison on the very topic that should be the first line of any civics course in america reminding people that our founders were concerned about the ability of one generation to burden the next. it is the writing on this topic that will give you the attention they deserve we would never have to do it in the first place because we would not have to allow large tax cuts for the wealthy where we already owe a great deal on behalf of the government. the real form of debt limit we need is to force wealth to be cut back by the very rich which was received unjustly during times of debt and tax cuts. that is the debt limit we need to clawback excess wealth. and clawback undo, false

prophets on the bernie made off scandal. that was not really money for investors. host: that is alan. this is from axios saying that house leaders are confident that the chamber members will approve the debt ceiling deal and move toward avoiding a summer default . but they say the numbers are not all the same. the number of votes from each party good signal who made the best deal. they have more gop votes then the democrat and it would allow mccarthy to show strength in the face of criticism. again, he hopes to get 150 of true 22 members to vote on this. -- 222 members to vote on this. and the member of the negotiating team for speaker mccarthy he says the cleanest way for me to show this is a good bill for republicans. but decameron -- democrats could

bolster the notion that president biden outfox c.o.p. negotiators. it can be an embarrassment that jeopardizes the whole on the speaker's gavel. those are things to consider as you discuss what you would tell your member when it comes to the debt ceiling bill to be voted on today. if you would accept it or reject it. you can call these lines democrats (202) 748-8000, republicans (202) 748-8001, independents (202) 748-8002. john republican line. caller: everybody thinks that everybody is on welfare, that straightens it out right now, every black person on welfare and there are several white people on welfare. there's only about 14 scent of

blacks. there's a -- 14% of blacks. and then there is other people. that is where your money is going. i'm just upset with every time you use the word welfare, and another thing -- host: let's stick to the topic on hand. what would you tell your member? caller: first of all i agree with the bill but there should never be a debt limit process this way anyway. there's no way we should go to a bill that we have already -- why should we, with a deal that we pay will -- pay bills that we already accumulated. many people say they handle their bills day -- but they make $50 billion a year. but you don't have a bill of $50 trillion on each bill. we have reserves, and people

crying about the country going broke, we have the money. this is a country that spends money any they get ready. host: so you are saying that a deal like this should not have come forth in the first place? caller: right, it should have never been a deal in the first place. it should be a clean at limit. host: let's go to pin -- pennsylvania. mary, hello. caller: hello. whether it is obama, or others whoever is running the show, there never going to be happy. they think we are overspending on welfare and the thing is, i would not agree with this deal. there's too much weird stuff in here they are cutting covid and -- she is all about the constitution but wants to have a foreign band on her deal i don't

think they should do this until they have a clean limit. i don't they understand that. host: do you think president biden was right in his part of the negotiations of the final bill? caller: i do i think he was good to negotiate but you should not negotiate with fascist in the first lace. he is doing the best bet he can given the circumstances he's got area i just don't get should be the way that it is. host: the house democratic leader giving his thoughts yesterday of what he expects to see leading later -- later on. he talked about his congress getting behind the bill. here is hakeem jeffries from yesterday. >> president biden has provided a resolution that protects incredibly important democratic interest. the revolution breached by

president biden protects those securities, medicare, medicaid, veterans, clean energy tax credit, american people from the type of draconian cuts that were included in the extreme mag republicana default on american act. it protects vulnerable communities like the homeless and the individuals who are aging out of care. thankfully to the president's leadership, there is confidence that we will avoid the catastrophic default. >> this congressional all caucus -- what is your message for concerns about the deal? >> my message is exactly what i just communicated. people will continue to have a conversation throughout the day. later busy and tomorrow -- later this evening and tomorrow in

terms of caucus. and the republicans have negotiated this resolution -- initially, we heard 95% of house republican congress support the agreement, that does not appear to be the case. but we also are committed to making sure that the house republican who keep their probably -- promised to reduce 150 boats period, -- votes, period, full stop. host: democrats (202) 748-8000, republicans (202) 748-8001, independents (202) 748-8002 .would you tell your member of congress to accept or reject it? some of you texting us. this is jim in illinois saying i think it is a compromise deal

and should have give and take on both sides. this is how democracy works. terry and virginias says the members cannot afford to go anywhere, get a job. and the brassica, i see the climate is at default and the nutrition program needs to change. that is some of you texting us. that is at -- if you want to do so you can text us at (202) 748-8003. we go to washington dc independent line. caller: thank you. nobody is trying to cause a pandemic or to save the country, it is just two political parties trying to satisfy their [indiscernible] i think if democrats were in the same position, they have several

republicans -- visits what they want to do. the gamble of the campaign. saying this is what we did for you with the -- my opinion is mind partition, not passed legislation would be aware out of the door so that another session of congress would come in and find of money to process the own legislation. i think they will pass a lot of bills without the money to support them. if we did that in the presidential year imagine what would happen. host: ok that is in washington dc.

a statement from the house committee on agriculture this is a republican saying any movement to move people from welfare is a step in the right direction whether it is disgracing -- raising the age of work requirement, or others. republicans thought it was inseparable progress. this is from buddy carter saying the fiscal responsibility act is an step toward restoring sanity in washington. the first and -- debt limit increase that reduces the debt. carlos saying that the fiscal responsibility act is a major victory for america. it reduces wasteful spending and raises the debt ceiling to avoid a default. speaker mccarthy said -- they deliver results effectively. and saying the responsible debt limit agreement, -- the negotiations with president biden trying to do everything he

could to put new tax and the legislation, but i've blocked him every time. all of them involved in the vote later on at 8:30 when we expected. find out more and stay close to c-span two get more information. monitor and follow-up along on c-span or our appc sand -- c-span now. or our website c-span.org. caller: i think they need to go on and pass it. especially for the older people. people that are old, they are cutting them off. they cannot get no job. i'm 79 years old. what kind of job can i get at 79? i think they should go on and pass it. and when butch was in office, they borrowed money from social

security did they ever pay it back? they need to pay that money back if they have not. they do not ever talk about that. host: that is charlie in north carolina, representative lois frankel on her twitter says the bipartisan budget agreement prevents a default on the debt while protecting critical services for our children, family, veterans, seniors, and the most vulnerable. people are putting politics and on her twitter feed she said i resent the brink of default. the $31 trillion in debt they decided that $6 million is necessary from needy families. this is an act of cruelty. another says there's $31 trillion in national fat -- debt

-- and continue to supports president biden's deal. you can add your mix with what you would tell a legislator to accept or reject the deal. let's hear from wanita in south carolina independent. caller: thank you for taking my call. i think the deal should be passed to avoid physical disaster, really, we do not want to risk the fiscal disaster that would occur if the bill is not passed. i have a suggestion, if congress is so determined to influence the idea of saving everywhere, why don't they all take a 5% pay cut? that would impress the american public to see that they are serious about cutting back and

our expenditures. i wonder and i would like to ask a favor, i wonder if c-span could run a list of perks that the congress are getting with taxpayers expense. we may be able to eliminate more unnecessary expenditure there as well. host: we have done those segments in the past. if you're interested in finding more you can go to our website and type congressional parks -- perks or something like that and it will give you information that we have done on that past. nancy saying the washington is broken. playing the d.c. game is not worth selling out our kids and grandkids. another saying i am voting no.

this is not good for any american. it only helps out special interest and joe manchin's project. and mary miller says no on increasing the debt on children and grandchildren. it is not contained the cuts and policy changes we need to stop joe biden on the americans. that is the perspective of some of. republicans vote later today. the leader, republican line, this is will. caller: i say they should not sign it, but they will. this is all a dog and pony show. i want people to understand that when george bush left the office our debt was $6 trillion. we are over $30 trillion in 20 years. the reason why things are more expensive is because they print

money, endlessly, is there less people that need food stamps? no, there is more. apparently all the money they have spent from the history of the country we need more money for food stamps. it is shocking to me with people of how little chris -- ludacris they are with finding a deal but i do not blame them. they are looking for education and they do not teach people. host: with the vote itself what would you tell your legislator? caller: i would tell them they should all by the tremendous amount of spending cut but they should have a budget, not a continuing resolution every year, a budget. the government itself is run illegally as far as i'm concerned because they are supposed to pass a budget every year. they do not do that anymore, it is been 10 years since they passed a real budget. every bed at -- everybody in the

country operates in a way they used to not. in the into, they will sign the bill. and social security is going up, -- during covid. the reality is that the money has been looted out from underneath you. host: that was in ohio. you brought up about the tweet with joe manchin. this is the story on the hill explaining that. the inclusion of a gas pipeline champion with senator manchin caused -- democrats getting in the pipeline. it is a huge victory. they have been pushing for congressional approval with the deal that they made for democratic leaders. it supports the pride and controversial -- with environmental groups saying it will log more years of fossil fuel dependency for the country.

and they said singling out the mountain valley pipeline approval is an a grade just act. that was peter with the virginia policy -- made a statement saying extending the roles for the pipeline then is polluting the community waters, the president and congress will protect the procedural fairness. there is more at the hill if you want to read it. sylvia new jersey democrat. caller: they should approve it. people with doors -- food stamps i know a person a couple doors down she is getting $1200 a month for kids under 13 -- 13 years old. there is no way she is using that. if she is able to work, she should work and pay that.

it is unfair, the only reason they should pass it is to not disrupt the country but the republicans are doing this out of meanness. host: george is in ohio, on the independent line. hello. caller: thank you for c-span and all you do. they should reject it. it is ironic, i am a senior citizen, in my six these. when i was in my 20's, we never heard anything about it debt ceiling. that shows you the decline of the nation. but we have so much debt -- there is no way it's going to be paid back. do people realize what $32 trillion in debt is? we are on our decline. our infrastructure is a mess, food prices, gas rises, it is skyrocketing. we built our home in the late 70's with over a session. i've never seen anything like this. host: with the deal itself why

would you want it to be rejected? caller: do we need more debt? we have the social security trust borrowing, payback -- pay that back. don't cut me off. you cut people off all the time. host: you made your point so we are going to move on. stella republican. caller: i think they should pass it both. both sides fighting like this is ridiculous. i'm on a fixed income, it is ridiculous, just pass it. host: as far as passing it, is it only to keep the country from default or are there other things like social security? caller: they are doing all this fighting, what else is going on? they are always distracted.

with social security, wake up, you get what you qualify for. we never get a million dollars and it's not going to go up if you do not have it in your group or whatever they call it. i don't know how they decide how much you get and how long you will get it, but everybody but is on it is lucky to have it. thank you. host: that is stella in oregon. and democrats announced yesterday they will miss the boat on the debt ceiling. that was negotiated by republicans and president biden. nancy craig requires surgery after tripping at her home doing yard work and a night. she was diagnosed with a fracture and dislocated ankle. she will undergo surgery to repair that thursday. and democrat from north carolina tuesday morning tested positive for covid-19 and will miss the

vote scheduled for wednesday e. she says i am disappointed to miss a consequential week in d.c.. she hopes that they will vote yes to prevent a catastrophic default. democrat line. washington, d.c.. caller: yes, i am a veteran. i was wondering with the debt ceiling, do they still get their paycheck? host: ok. is that it? caller: that is it. host: chad is next independent line. caller: my question would be this to everybody in congress, why not in debate cap on social security taxes and put the money on the table? it would balance the budget and force a 15% minimum tax to continue3 . they always say they have raised the rate. and it does not account for

paying the debt, it only account to getting it down to zero. so 15% -- tax paid and in social security cap. that would fix everything. host: this is jodey on twitter this morning responding to this question saying the new deal will cover two years although republicans will drag this out before an election to make biden look weak. if the debt gets rejected by either the progressive left or right freedom caucus, they will evoke the 14th amendment to keep the country from defaulting. then a viewer says it is not a perfect deal, but there need be more amendment attached. and what that could mean on the senate side bet depends on if he gets passed in the house later on. today at 8:30 is when the vote will take lace.

and you can watch for it on c-span. follow along at c-span now, or our website. we continue with discussions about the debt ceiling deal and what members of congress have to do with leading up to the vote later today. michael from the hill will give us a viewer's guide on how they vote on the debt limit deal. she will join us next. and the enterprise institute we will speak with philip walsh and discuss his book "why congress." those conversations are coming up. ♪ >> in partnership with the cable industry c-span has provided complete coverage of the house

of senate from party briefings to committee meetings, c-span gives you a front row seat on how issues are debated and decided with no commentary, no interruptions and completely unfiltered. c-span, your unfiltered view of government. ♪ >> watch a video on demand anytime online at c-span.org and try our points of interest feature, a timeline tool that quickly guides you to interesting highlights of our coverage. use ones of interest anytime online at c-span.org. ♪ >> book tv features authors discusngheir books.

author korman will be our guest. his latest book is "breathless." at 10:00 p.m. eastern, keith ellison offers h thoughts on how to stop the cycle of police violence with his book "break the wheel." find a full schedule on our program guide her look online -- guide or look online at c-span.org. >> if you are enjoying book tv, then sign up for our newsletter using the qr code on the screen to receive updates about book festivals and more. book tv, every sunday on c-span 2. television for serious readers.

>> washington journal continues. host: this is mychael schnell of the hill. thanks for giving us time. we started yesterday with roles. what did we -- with rules. what did we learn from the back and forth in the rules committee. guest: it was the first hurdle for the agreement. there is a lot of partisan bickering over this bill. many are frustrated that this does not go far enough in term of cuts. some liberals on the other hand are frustrated about a number of provisions in this well. there are a number of lawmakers ok with the deal struck between

biden and mccarthy. this agreement is not what democrats or republicans had wished for, but there is a contingent of lawmakers ok with the agreement, and agonizing that this is that her than the possibility of facing default by next week's deadline. it ultimately passed out of the committee. it past -- passed 7-6. that conservative backlash did not block it. we will see a full vote in the house today. host: thomas massie was the one to watch yesterday. where did he come from and what is his perspective going forward? guest: before this meeting, there were a lot of questions. will massey oppose the role? -- oppose the rule?

if the 13 on the panel decided not to -- if they were joined by massey and revolting against the party, that would block the rule. massey actually said he would vote for the rule. he said there is a provision in the air he had championed that allows congress to pass 12 appropriation bills as part of the appropriations process. if all 12 bills are not passed by january 1, then annual spending will be cut by 1%. he stunned reporters and lawmakers, telling reporters that he is actually going to vote for the bill today when it comes to the floor. he told my colleague that this is the first piece of

legislation he will vote on that will cut spending at the end of the day. host: tell us what to expect today, especially for the debate over the rules, and the vote itself. what do we expect to hear from the republican faction? guest: we will see a debate on the rule. we will then see a vote on the rule, and then some debate on the legislation. it is likely we will be seeing a lot of grumbling from conservatives who do not think that the spending cuts were aggressive enough. w wille be hearing from a lot of liberals who think there is too much in this legislation. i also think we will hear from a lot of more moderate members who are recognizing this bill may not be everything we wanted. no site is coming out totally thrilled, but this is a compromise struck between the 2

sides of -- between the 2 parties and it is better than a default. the bill is supposed to arrive in the house tonight. once the bill text is posted, lawmakers need 72 hours to review it. the bill text is released sunday at 7:30 p.m., meaning the vote cannot happen until 7:30 tonight. host: the numbers mccarthy needs to see to win, whether they come from republicans or democrats talk about that. guest: there is the threshold of

actually passing the bill, which is a majority in the house. this was a bill that was negotiated by biden. mccarthy will have to rally enough support within both parties to see this legislation across the finish line. during that drawnout speakers race, conservatives may have forced mccarthy into reducing the threshold to remove the chair. that has loomed over his speakership. he has to appease conservatives. some conservatives are warning that if mccarthy does not get a majority of republicans on board with this legislation, he could face a motion to vacate.

matt gaetz said this openly yesterday. matt gaetz is one of the conservatives who said that if mccarthy does not get a majority of the majority it will trickle her a -- will trigger a motion to vacate. if you would like to ask our guest questions, (202) 748-8000 for democrats. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. s independent -- independents, (202) 748-8002. you can always text us at (202) 748-8003. guest: a massive operation is happening behind the scenes on both sides of the aisle. this is a deal negotiated by mccarthy and biden. it has the blessing of both parties.

they will deliver at least 150 votes from the republican conference. this is something jeffries has relayed to reporters so it is likely mccarthy will try to hit that 150 vote threshold. jeffries on the other hand has said that democrats will not let the, country default meaning they will deliver as many votes as needed, but this will be on mccarthy to see how many votes he can get and if he can protect that majority of the majority. house republicans were at the capital until 10:00 p.m. in a closed door conference meeting. this meeting last 2.5 hours. leadership was selling the bill to rank-and-file members but other rank-and-file members were airing concerns with the bill. you see that operation happening

in the capital last night. it will continue throughout today until we had that vote tonight. host: as far, as messaging is concerned how are both sides approaching it in the house? guest: they are approaching it realizing it is not everything they wanted. it is a watered-down version of the next the conference passed last month but it will avoid default. there are work requirements there are some spending caps, it rescinds some of the money from the inflation reduction act passed last summer. president biden cut the best deal he could given the hardline negotiating tactics by mccarthy and republicans. the debt limit will be increased for two years. the next time we have to have this battle, it will be after

the 2024 presidential election. there was also allowances for some federal aid programs. both sides are recognizing it is not everything they wanted. at the end of the day it is better than defaulting. host: there was also some talk about what he does not include. guest: this bill says 60 days after this bill is passed, pauses on student loan repayments would and. this was a high priority of republicans. this also takes away from some proponents of pausing the student loan payments that they do not have the opportunity to have another moratorium. president biden said he would either end the pause on student loan repayments 60 days after

june 30 or after the supreme court decides on the top button issue. that is something some actistss are not happy about. host: there were some provisions for clean energy but senator joe manchin's name gets mentioned in the final package. guest: some provisions of the inflation reduction act will be prevailed. this compromise bill, they are not there but joe manchin's name did pop up in this conversation. it will quicken the process for a pipeline project he had championed. there has been some grumbling. in the senate there is may an amendment from senator tim kaine to take that provision out of the bill.

it was one of the surprises on sunday. mychael schnell is walking us through what to expect. our first call for you comes from harold in washington dc. caller: good morning. greetings to you and. your guest i really -- to you and your guest. i really enjoy listening to your show. mccarthy and biden met several weeks ago and there was general agreement. i think the leverage is at a peak now because the bill is not agreeable to, both parties but at the same token, it will make sure this whole country does not go under. my question is in reference to your guest. when is it going to take off?

this government that we have needs to focus on the talks pairs -- on the taxpayers. isn't that true? guest: it is an interesting point, in terms of when he talks about the taxpayers and helping americans. that is something democrats have touted. i spoke to representative phil henan omar yesterday. some -- representative ilhan omar yesterday. there is a carveout for individuals, veterans, people coming out of foster care. this is being touted by democrats. there are frustrations about the student loan pause, but there

are some sweeteners in the deal for democrats. one of the things they are pointing to is the carveout on work requirements. the argument could be made it is helping a number of taxpayers. host: in michigan, this is on our independent line. ron, hello. caller: i negotiated for the michigan education association for 8 years, and the thing that gets me is you have biden who historically has a huge background in politics and then you have mccarthy. they come up with an agreement. the politics involved in this between the democrats and they republicans, should be shoved in after this is approved. anything else that needs to be argued should be argued for the next one year or two years. to sit here and hold the people

of the united states hostage and destroy our reputation is unconscionable. it is something the republicans and democrats have to realize, that if you will play the political game you will end up hanging yourself that both ends of the scale. that is all i have to say. host: thank you. guest: in terms of that, that is an argument that was made from democrats, saying the economy was being held hostages, but from the republican perspective, we always knew this debt limit was going to be the next high-stakes battle on capitol hill. it is one of the only places where republicans. -- where republicans have leverage. the debt limit has to be raised, or else the u.s. will default. republicans saw this as a must

pass piece of legislation that they could use to their advantage. at the end of the day they did see some victories there. the debt limit will be raised for 2 years. the idea that the economy was being held hostage, that is something you heard from democrats dagan, day out -- democrats day in, day out. host: how are republicans viewing this legislation? guest: some republicans in the senate are threatening to hold up the legislative process. we saw mike lee saying if he was not happy with this legislation, he would use every procedural tool at his disposal to slow down the of this bill in the -- the consideration of this

bill in the senate. we will see if michael lee goes through with this threat. if it would bring us -- if that were to happen, that would bring us right up to that june 5 deadline. we would fall into the country's first-ever default. if the legislation passes the house today, it will go to the senate tomorrow. i cannot yet provide a timeline, because we do not know how conservatives will react to this. host: how is senator schumer and mitch mcconnell viewing this? guest: schumer has shown support behind the bill. this was negotiated by biden and blessed by the white house. schumer is throwing his support under. makoto is is will this mcconnell

is as well -- macconnell is as well. macconnell is an interesting figure. from the start he has said that the country will not default on its loans. some had wondered if mcconnell would jump in the negotiations. mcconnell on a number of occasions said that this is a deal that has to be struck between the senate and the white house. . host: here is kathy in texas, democrats' line. caller: i am on social security and retirement. we are supposed to get paid on friday. the people who receive medicaid

get paid on the first. those who get paid on social security, will they get their money and time or are -- on time or are they not going to send any money? i need to know because i have bills to pay. i have bills coming out of my checking account. if i get overdrawn and everything -- i just need to know. are the people who are supposed to be getting paid on the first and the third going to get paid? guest: that has been -- host: that has been a common question from many. guest: payments will continue as scheduled. both negotiating ends agreed early on that entitlement programs would not be touched in this process. remember during the state of the

union, there was an unusual back between president biden and republicans where they had this in real time negotiation and the republicans got -- and biting but the republicans to agree to take that off the table. host: except for the fact that if it passes the x date is there a prioritization process? i don't know if that has been guest: guest: i don't know if that had -- guest: i don't know if that has been spoken about yet. lawmakers have said that will not happen, and yellen has been upping the pressure on lawmakers. if we get past the x date that will become more of a priority. host: republican line, this is

mark from california. caller: hi sir and ma'am. i have two questions. is there anything in this bill that would lower gas prices? i i'm still not clear, is the debt going to go up temporarily, but then is it going to go down in a couple of years? can you provide some clarity? guest: this is a debt limit increase for 2 years. that means we would not have to worry about increasing the debt limit until january 1, 2025. that buys lawmakers more time. it pushes it after the 2024 presidential election. it is a suspension of the debt limit.

on january 1, 2025 the amount of debt that has been incurred since then will be calculated. host: larry is from west virginia, independent line. caller: the question i have, and i have been a democrat for over 50 years, but i switched to independent because of all the infighting, i believe somewhere along the line our social security has gotten into the wrong hands. it is not applied by the social security administration. it has basically been put into the national debt. of all the years that i have been paying in -- i worked over 50 years -- i don't understand how the government is doing

this. most of the infighting has driven me to be an independent now. i'm going to look for the best of the best, not the worst. thank you. host: thanks, caller. when we come to later today, are there procedural things that can be done even in the midst of the voteto either delay it or -- the vote to either delay it or stop it altogether. guest: yesterday the rules committee advanced the rule to the floor. they will see a debate on the role and vote on the role. the -- the rule and vote on the rule. some republicans right now are threatening to vote against the rule because they are very opposed to this bill. i spoke to bob good yesterday.

he said there is a possibility he will vote against the rule today. republicans only have a 4 seat majority, inning if they lose five members the rule would be blocked. it is considered the -- it is expected that democrats will then sweep into save the day. there is that january 5 default deadline looming. that is a possibility. host: from oklahoma, democrats'line -- democrats' line, cal is next. caller: i am calling into say a good word about tom cole, the chairman of the rules committee. i was in our own legislature for 30 years, so i know him well. i was impressed with his

patients and work yesterday. he cast of the deciding vote to send the proposal to the floor. the other thing i would like to say is, finally, adults were in the room on both sides, republicans and democrats, and have shown where they need to be on this very important issue. i pride of the congress. they did what needed to be done under very difficult circumstances. the president led, mccarthy was reasonable, and this ought to pass later tonight. the only worry i have now is that some extremist in the senate will attempt to hold things up for several days. the bottom line is it looks very good, and i wanted to say congratulations to my friend and congressman tom cole. thank you for taking michael. guest: tom cole, complicated

chairman of the jobs committee. a really powerful one because they set the parameters. it is often called the speakers committee, because the individuals are very close to the speaker. tom cole complicated job, and he delivered a rule yesterday when there could have been conservative backlash, which would have caused a lot of problems. speaker mccarthy has spoken very highly of the white house negotiator, shalonda young, larissa terrel in the office of legislative affairs. he has spoken very positively of them. this was something mccarthy wanted all along. he said he wanted to get into a room directly with biden and then appoint deputies to hash out negotiations.

even though these were high-stakes negotiations, we did see republicans speak highly of those white house negotiators. host: jeff in ohio, hi. caller: we spent over $2 trillion more the next couple -- the last couple of years because of covid. covid is gone. we know a lot of that covid money has been stolen. i don't understand why we cannot go back to the $4 trillion budget that we had before. guest: that was something republicans had been pushing for. they wanted to bring spending levels back to pre-pandemic levels. that was something democrats would not get on board with. and you talk about coban funding there was a covid prude -- covid

funding there was a covid provision in this bill. it claws back on spend covid money. democrats got on board with that and that pride in approximately $28 billion that were unspent. that w arovision that passed. host: clarify what will happen with the irs because of this bill. guest: there will be $1.2 billion immediately rescinded from the irs. that was the amount of money appropriated for this year during the inflation reduction act passed last year by democrats. there will also be a repurchasing of $20 billion within the federal government of

money that came from the irs. that is what democrats had passed last year during the inflation reduction act, beefing up irs enforcement. host: john in minnesota, independent line, hi. caller: the gentleman from ohio took my first point! this budget, nothing happens to the $2 trillion of extra spending. i am offended that both republicans got rolled. looking at what you guys were talking about with the irs agents, $1.2 billion is 2% of that. that is -- they got rolled. it is the politicians we have right now. guest: that is the sentiment

among some republican lawmakers. they have this robust piece of legislation last month, the limit, save, grow act that would have raised the debt limit, and implement $4.8 trillion in spending cuts. the office of -- the congressional budget office came out with their estimate yesterday saying this would cut $1.5 trillion over the next five years, so it is definitely a watered-down vision of the bill republicans passed last month. we are seeing criticisms from hard-line conservatives say and "when we passed that bill last month, that was the floor, that was the lowest we will go>" when you are doing a negotiation between two sides you will not get more than your opening bid,

so this is where we are seeing criticisms come in. host: what are you watching for today? for the people to watch? guest: i will be watching to see if the, bill passes and what the ratio is between republican support and democratic support. i am looking to see if mccarthy can lock down a majority of the majority. it will mean a lot for the future of his speakership, whether he can continue to wield the gavel. if he does not -- i will be looking at these conservative lawmakers, liberals, and progressives to see the number of lawmakers who will oppose their party and vote against this bill. a vote against the bill for a progressive would be voting against president biden. a vote against the bill for

conservatives would be a vote against mccarthy. any no vote would be voting against congressional party leadership. host: our guest's work can be found on the hill. thank you for your time in explaining this for us today. coming up we will hear about divided congresses and the, effects that can be seen especially during this time. that conversation -- we will talk to philip wallach about that in his book "why congres."" the conversation is coming up next. ♪ >> fridays at 8:00 p.m. eastern, c-span brings you afterwards

from c-span tv. others are interviewed by specialistss legislators, and others. this week the author of "break the wheel" is interviewed by laura coates. >> live sunday on in-depth, father in journalist david quamman will be our guest to take questions about the origin of deadlviruses. mr. quamman has written many books, including "the reluctant mr. darwin," and "spillover." his latest book is called "b

reathless" about the covid-19 pandemic. ♪ >> c-spanshop.org it is c-span's online store. browse through our latest collection of apparel, books, home decor and accessories. shop right now or anytime at c-span shop.org. >> a healthy democracy does not just look like this. it looks like this, where americans can see democracy at work, where citizens are truly informed and the public thrives. get informed, straight from the source on c-span, unbiased, word

for word from the nation's capital to wherever you are. this is what democracy looks like. c-span, powered by cable. >> washington journal continues. host: this is philip wallach of the civil enterprise institute. he is the author of the book "why congress." welcome to the program. the title is posed not like a question but more as a statement. guest: it is an apology for congress. congress is at the center of our constitutional system, and this book is a brief for why we need to evaluate as such, why it is the only place we can bring together the diverse elements from across american society, mix them up and get them to accommodate each other. if we try and run everything

through the executive branch, that is too much weight on one person's shoulders. we and up with simmering anger, and we need to rely more on congress to deal with our nations biggest problems. that said, i know there is a lot as skepticism about congress as an institution these days. that book tries to address that head-on. i have the current problems in congress grown up the way they have? host: let's start there. as far as key problems that may be seen as far as how congress works, what would those be? guest: the thing that pops to everyone's mind is the overwhelming earnest of the partisanship on capitol hill today -- bitterness of the partisanship on capitol hill today. i think that comes from some sources outside of the congress,

but it is part of the culture of the place itself. part of this book is a plea for legislators to direct their energies towards solving the problems that face the american people. closely along without problem is leadership dominance is one of the major themes of the book. right now we are in an era where the leaders in both chambers, the speaker of the house and the senate majority leader are incredibly powerful in determining what is on the agenda in each of their chambers. they have not always been such absolute gatekeepers. there has been more decentralized powerat times -- power at times in congress's past,. it is up to you to determine the structure congress. you can make things more

decentralized. host: you write in the book that the way theoness is currently structured tends to reduce theomplexity -- it opposes coalition building that wld force factions to see each other as allies. instead leaders marshall the interests of their 'team'." guest: we do not have to agree on everything to agree on something, but it seems like the message coming from the leaders on capitol hill is we agree on enough with our own team. we always have to stick together with our own team, and we always have to keep the other side away. there is active counsel from the leadership in both chambers, do not do bipartisan deals.

that complicates our message at the next election. we want to look at those swing districts and say how bad it is for the other party to control those districts. they are really prioritizing winning the next election over dealing with the country's problems now. they are sincere in believing that that really is the best course for the future of the country. there really is a lot of mutual suspicion between the two parties today and the sense that somehow everything hinges on the next election. we have to zoom out a little and relies it is not always the end of the world. we just need to sometimes be able to see the commonalities. host: is the debt ceiling debate an example of that? guest: it is a frustrating

thing. the debt ceiling forces a centralized negotiation between the president and the congress. i have always been a skeptic of the efficacy of the debt limit. at the end we have to raise it. we have to not default. that limits the leverage conservatives have as they try to rein in federal spending. i have never thought it was the best venue. the way it played out in 2023, other than the president saying he would not come to the table, which was confusing to me, once they did come to the table it was, fairly constructive. it is not nearly big enough to

deal with the magnitude of our fiscal bills, but it is something, and it issued any radical measures that should have scared off multiple members. we will see both sides of the middle against the extreme coalition pass this bill comfortably. host: you write about how congress works. tell us what you are seeing within the republican and democratic parties. within the republican conference there is a lot of disagreement with the speaker over this. as far as how congress works is that a good thing? guest: we do not need to expect every member of a party to think the same way as every other member of a party. if 100 members of the house have big problems with this bill and want to vote against it, it

leaves 345 others. especially on the right, there is a sense that some of these members will vote no on anything. any kind of deal you would have made with president biden, that is not going to get these members' support. that is standard operating procedure on the hill. their amount of leverage always seemed exaggerated to me. the same is true for some of the hard left progressives. any deal that kevin mccarthy is going to like, they are not going to like. you lose votes on both sides of the spectrum but you will have a whole lot of folks left in the middle. host: our guest is with us until 9:15, if you want to ask him questions about his book, (202) 748-8000 for democratss. (202) 748-8001 for republicans.

independents, (202) 748-8002. if you want to text s, you can do so -- text us, you can do so at (202) 748-8003. guest: if we think back to congress of a couple generations ago, one of the most famous figures is pam rayburn. he is remembered as a towering figure. his model of this beaker ship was different from speaker pelosi. he was the broker -- the speakership ship was different from speaker pelosi. it was a stranger coalition, more historically contingent in many ways, but his mastery of washington was managing to get all of those people to come to the table, directing traffic in that complicated coalition. he is never someone who said "it

will be my way or the highway." that is not how washington worked back then. who had a model where committee chairman were the most important party centers back then. there was a sacred sink to seniority principle, that meant they were going to keep their chairmanships no matter what, and they were not in any danger of being thrown out of their seats. the single party of the solid south. that was a different model that led to different dynamics, forced all of these different factions to work with each other, and republicans were sort of a permanent minority party within that regime, but figured out how to pick their spot and advance their causes within it. . some people think that as long as the parties are as closely matched as they have been, they

will continue to focus on butting heads with each other, but i think there is a lot of frustration on capitol hill from lawmakers who feel like their jobs have been reduced to pulling the lever the way their leaders tell them to. they do not feel like they have the chance to work constructively on legislation. host: is that reorganizing on the committee level, the rank-and-file level? guest: some of what the speakership fight was about in january, you felt the chip roy for action -- chip roy faction was asking for some power from the speaker's office. some of the things they were asking were just to give committee chairs a fair hand and not always have to dance to the speakers tune. i thought that was very constructive. i think it will be interesting today. we will see a rule from the rules committee passed with

bipartisan support instead of the conventional thing, one party always slams their rules through. we will probably not see that today. that creates the possibility of shifting bipartisan coalitions, which are what -- coalitions advancing legislation. host: philip wallach our guest fromhe american enterprise institute. his book "why congress." from york, maine, independent line, ed, good morning. caller: good morning and thank goodness for c-span. i just believe, we seem to be looking at this from the wrong perspective. if i am wrong in how i am looking at this, please let me know. if you are on a ship, and you are trying to get to a location, and windss thunderstorm are

blowing you -- and winds and storms are blowing you off track, you take the ship's wheel and you get back on track. the ship's wheel on the right-hand side is less government,'s the ship wheel -- government, the ship's wheel to the left-hand side is more government. my getting this wrong? guest: that is a great metaphor. i like that. the issue with the metaphor is that we do not agree on what the problems are. when it comes to this fiscal fight we are having right now, i think there are a lot of folks who are not sure whether our government is too big or too small. certainly most republicans are focused on too much

discretionary, nondefense discretionary spending, but that is a small part of the budget, about 1/6 of our federal spending is in that category. his defense spending too big or too small? we are mostly not touching that today. our entitlements, social security, medicare, medicaid, we are not touching those today for the most part. we have to decide on where we want to get to. that is not as easy as it sounds. if everyone agreed on what the size of the government looked like, it would be easy to steer our way there, but we don't agree. we have profound disagreements. t househe is controlled by republicans after the election of 2022 so we are steering to the right as a result. i think that is an acceptable

way for us to make sense of these issues, but it. is not easy host: a viewer on twitter asked about the mechanics of this thing. "u wouldi not be hard to implement a bipartisant system where the party's caucus decides what is voted on on the house floor." guest: that is not quite right. this beaker does not have a mechanism by which he can decide what wills come up -- what bills come up. what determines what bill comes up is the rules determined by the rules committee. people have come to think that it is all up to the speaker, but that is not right. the committee is stacked heavily in favor of the majority party. there are 9 members of the majority party and only 4 members of the minority party.

most of the time in recent years it is basically what the speaker wants has gone. we have members of the rules committee who are not as close to the speaker, republican members, that is what came out of the speakership fight in january. that is representative chip roy, and representative thomas massie. they are not considered close allies of the speaker. 2 of them voted against this debt limit rule. it passed with 7 republican votes and to six no votes. the rules committee going forward could be somewhat more unpredictable. anytime people want to make some bipartisan coalition, perhaps they can move legislation that the speaker would not have been so eager to see brought to the

floor. that is always a live possibility, just because it has not been utilized in recent years does not mean it is there. host: here is matthew from new york, democrats' line. caller: as a progressive, i am really dismayed with the democrats and joe biden for even taking up this ludicrous idea of having a debate over the debt ceiling limit. a majority of the people who are in congress now or in congress then when all of these issues were passed. now it has come the time to pay for them, and they want to change the rules. if, i would have -- if i had been joe biden, i would have gladly shown then the exit.

this is money that has been spent, correct? i think we can all agree on that. i don't know what kind of economic school a lot of republicans have gone to, but as far as i am concerned, if you are constantly reducing taxes, yet your spending does not go down, how do you manage anything when you are not bringing money in? i go to work all week, i get my paycheck, and i go out, my expenditures and whatnot. if i do not have any money coming in, how do i exist? explain to me how that works. host: thank you for the call. guest: these are good questions. could joe biden have just said "you go figure it out.

i am not going to give you anything." i don't think he could have! i think that would have been tantamount to him saying "i don't believe congress really gets a say in these issues. i so think it matters that republicans won control of the house in the 2022 midterm." he tried that for a while and i don't think people were too sympathetic to his position. the idea that it is unprecedented to organ over the debt ceiling is totally wrong. it has been a familiar feature of the debt limit to have intense, partisan negotiations for many decades. the better part of a century at this point. he had to come to the table. he do not have to give away the store when he did. it is a pretty modest deal i think. the other question matthew asked

was isn't this -- how is it that we even have to worry about this at all? the debt limit is a strange feature of u.s. fiscal policy. it is not like every other developed country does it this way. we could have a law that says the u.s. treasury can have as much debt as they need to to authorize legal obligations. congress would still be the one to authorize debt issuance, but they would leave it to the treasury and it would come down to the appropriations process. we never have done it that way before. it would be a change to do it that way going forward. only so much debt can be issued and the treasury has to respect that law on the books. if we were to come to the x state where the treasury ran out of cash, the executive branch would be put in a difficult

position, but the law would still say do not raise any more debt above this limit. host: joe is on our line for republicans. caller: i think the congressmen and senators themselves spend too much time raising money for their next reelection campaign. i have even heard some senators say they think it would be better if there was some sort of financial reform of campaigns for reelection and election so i was wondering how you would feel about a law that allows federal financing of elections for congressmen and senators? thanks. guest: i am in vehement agreement with you. but i have to say that when i think about it -- usually when people think about money in

politics, they think about corruption of one form or another, but i have to say when i think about it, so many senators' time goes to raising money. it takes attention away from their work, which involves intense relationship building with their colleagues. unconcerned that the fundraising race is dominating people's time on capitol hill, and i would like to see something done to stop that. public financing will not be so easy though. it is a lot of money. i'm not sure a lot of taxpayers would be so eager to see their dollars spent on campaign ads, some of which might the things they disagree with very strongly. not too optimistic about the prospects of solving the problem through public financing, but it

is worth thinking about how we can get this financing burden off some members' shoulders. host: our guest is philip wallach of the american enterprise institute. the book "why congress is what we are talking about>" you write " commonplace descriptions of our congress as dysfunctional are hyperbolic." explain what you mean by that. guest: sometimes in media reports you would get the sense that congress really does nothing in recent years that is very wrong. congress continues to do a lot. first of all it passes a lot of laws every year that do not rise to the level of the front page news but they are still important policies. there is a lot more bipartisan cooperation on things that will not be so polymerizing than you might realize.

there is a lot of important work going on on the hill. a lot of hard-working members are getting a lot of important things done on a low-profile basis. then there are high-profile things they're getting past every year. spending and the national defense authorization act are two big examples of that. those are things i get bipartisan enactment every year. it is not always pretty getting to that endpoint but they do get there. finally, there is this sort of crisis dynamic in our government when whenever there have been crises in recent years the leaders of the two parties get together in a hurry and they pass some ambitious legislation covid being the most recent example of that. all those covid spending bills passed with only a few dozen votes against them in the house.

congress can get together and get things done on a bipartisan basis but it doesn't tend to be able to do so for long-standing big problems. immigration is when i talk about in the book. it seems so obvious that we need to do something to reform our system. so many different aspects of it are broken, and it feels like there should be a big partisan coalition willing to do that work host: are there different ways how the house and the senate operate? guest: the senate by its nature has fewer number members is likely to be a more decentralized egalitarian place where the members feel they are important people. in recent years, the majority leader in the senate has become a very dominant figure in terms

of having control of the agenda. so much of the senate operates under unanimous consent agreement. it something went up talk about that often but the way the senate structures its business often relies on every single member agreeing to do it that way. even though you hear these cantankerous senators get up there and complain, they are giving their consent for the senate to operate. we've had senators, all 100 of them, willing to let the senate work in a centralized manner that is reminiscent of how the house is often operated. it's not a historical norm for the senate at all. if one member was determined, they could make things difficult. host: it takes one member to stop things altogether. guest: that's a bit of an overstatement but the rest of the mood have some way of moving things along but it wouldn't

always be so procedurally straightforward. host: from john in cleveland, ohio, independent line, good morning. caller: good morning, i'm 87 euros old and i've watched c-span since 1980. you can look back in these last two years, both parties are taking an oath of office, knots of the constitution but for leadership. the problem is money, too much money is there. oil and water don't mix. power and money goes. this is the worst thing that has ever happened. i am 87 years old and not in a nursing home, thank god. it's still the greatest country but we don't even -- we have a debt limit but no other country has that. we don't educate the children's.

they know more about sports. it's nothing more than a loophole. they don't want to raise the limit for the 1099 agents and they say we don't have the money for social security. even though your faces in the mirror, your brain is inside. god gave us common sense, let's use it. host: thank you, caller. guest: i am a fellow clevelander myself so good to have your call and i enjoyed your rent. i think the really is something to be said of your sense that people are sometimes taking their oath to their parties and not to the constitution. i think we really need our members to look beyond the next election and look young their short-term partisan interests

and think about the country's interests and what their obligation is to the u.s. constitution. to take that broader view of things, i think that is really necessary. the question of getting our fiscal house in order, some people look at washington and they can understand how it can be so hard. i think it really is hard. i have some sympathy for the politicians here because you say we should just raise the cap on social security tax wages. that's a big, regressive tax increase that people will get very angry about if in one it is put through. -- if and when it is put through. it's a bit tickly heavy lift. i have some sympathy for the politicians not rushing to do it especially they feel the other party is going to try to blame

them for it. they need to hold hands and jump together and our policies have not been conducive to that at all. i think we are in a bad equilibrium where the two parties are more interested in villain icing each other than figuring out ways they can work together and find their mutual interests. hard to say how we find her way out but we need to. host: does congress have a better track record of republicans and democrats working and building relationships with each other internally before they hash out particular bills? guest: i think the current era which is been going on in the 21st century has been an unusually toxic one. there was more of a sense of camaraderie and mutual respect on capitol hill in earlier generations. of course, i would be a responsible not to note that

that came with certain exclusionary norms. it baited difficult for lots of different kinds of americans to have a say at all so that was helpful but it's a place where the members had a sense they are to be respectful of each other and they ought to see tish take seriously these with the legitimate representatives of our different interests and find out ways they can make things work. and thank there are many members were very suspicious of their colleagues for. that makes it difficult to work with them. host: linda is in new jersey, democrats line, good morning. caller: good morning, it is very difficult to understand where the republicans are coming from but that it's also easy to understand that they are trying to destroy our government. they are just doing part 2, trump to part one and tried to take down our democratic parties, -- policies and they

are trying to destroy our economics. this gives it credibility -- this takes away credibility within the world in the country. the republicans need to be replaced and mccarthy has a future so he should stand on something. that's all i have to say. guest: i flat-out disagree with you. when you look at the republicans and how they depress this debt limit negotiation, i don't think they are trying to destroy our country's credibility. i think they seriously believe we have overspent in recent years and that's been one of the drivers of inflation that has been hitting americans in their pocketbooks. they want to figure it away to get that problem under control and that means tightening our belts on some things. they have their ideas of where makes more sense to tighten that

you probably don't agree with. if you read the news reports about how the negotiations between biden and his team and mccarthy and his team went, i found some of those pretty heartening. they didn't act like people on the others the table were terrible villains trying to tear the country down or destroy it. they said you have your values and we have ours and we will figure out a deal we can both live with. that is compromise and that's how legislation ought to work at some level. i think that's been up for the healthy process and i don't know why there is a sense that republicans are trying to tear down and destroy our country. host: republican line, virginia, this is randy. caller: good morning. guest: good morning. caller: two quick points --

for people who say the debt, this is money we have already spent. unless you have spending caps, we will have the same debate next year. we have to cut spending. is congressman murray from texas has noted that part of the deal for speaker mccarthy was that every republican on the rules committee had to support legislation to move it, that was part of the deal. i have not read that myself but mr. ralph norman of north carolina and chip roy both voted no on the rule. my point in support occur 30 that's my point. guest: thanks for those

questions. let me take the second one first. this question about the rules committee what representative chip roy has said. he thought the understanding was that republicans would have to stay unanimous to be able to push things through the rules committee. that was never actually reported as part of the deal. i think it would've been kind of strange in that case. when i give all nine seats on the rules committee to the freedom caucus types? they could literally have a veto over it. instead of these folks who were thought of as insurgents, not close to mccarthy. matthew voted for speaker to be house or -- house speaker through that process and voted with kevin mccarthy.

you would think having three seats on the committee is its own kind of power rather than imagining anyone of those members gets a veto. the other part of your question was aren't we going to keep going back to this every year if we don't have some kind of cap in place? the truth is, we will have to keep worrying about this fiscal problem all the time until we somehow get a grip on it. that doesn't seem too likely in the near term. we will worry about the stuff every year we do that in part through the appropriations process but the appropriations are only about one third of the federal budget and the rest is mandatory spending.the congressional budget process is supposed to be the tool where we take stock of everything and get a grip on our nation's finances as a whole.

the debt limit really is not an interval part of that. unfortunately, the budget processes fall apart. nobody takes presidential budgets all that seriously anymore and congress doesn't even bother to pass legislation which the time. that's a real problem. the congressional budget process sounds boring but it's really at the heart of whether we are able to get a hold of our nation's finances and make the hard decisions we need to make. we need to focus on getting that process working. the idea that the debt limit somehow is going to facilitate the negotiations is not well borne out by the spirit's best ticket. there is the idea of regular order. when do we walk away from that process? guest: it's a term that doesn't have a precise definition. the idea is that things should

happen in a schoolhouse rock kind of way where you have a committee which is the people who specialize in the policies. they work on it and they hold hearings and they work something up and debate legislation. they consider amendments and they report something and eventually that will get floor consideration on the floor, the folks who weren't on the committee will have a chance to debate it and vote for final passage. there is a lot of steps in that process and a lot of them have gotten skipped over the years. you don't actually have to work up a bill in committee. you can work it up in the speaker's office. the speaker would take input from the committee but maybe it's understood that the leadership office is doing the heavy lifting of deciding what will be in the fill.that . the question of floor debates. there have been very few likely for floor debates on the house

floor in recent years. the closed rules are the norm where a closed rule means we will not have a lot of debate and we will not consider amendments. part of what kevin mccarthy promised as a way -- on the way to becoming speaker was that we would return more to regular order. some of his predecessors of made similar promises in recent years and we have not really seen it come to fruition. house had an open rule at the end of january this year so that was the first in many years. they have mostly not opted for open rules. we want to see more debate on the floor. the floor will be a messy place we want to see committees have a sense the work they do is going to be considered on the floor instead of just disregarded. that would be an important part of regular order. host: what role does a moderate play in today's congress? guest: i am trained as a

political scientist in the way we are taught to think, is it should be the median voters who get to decide policies in any kind of dynamic system. after all, they're the ones right in the middle. their view should be pivotal. it does knows work out if they become organized and willing to get together and stand with the opposition of the fringes not bothering them so much, they have the power and i think there is an awful lot of americans look at our political system and say why are we getting pulled around by the extreme so much? aren't there enough of us in the middle? there are many reasons for that. the congressional primary process is one of the most important things. mary handed their focus is no longer on the median voter in

the district but on the median primary voter, primary electorates are often very small. they are the most committed partisan. i think that's part of what drags us away from it. part of it is just how we decide to organize the institutions. we can make them serve the immediate voter better if members are willing to make that happen. host: let's hear from cedric in louisiana, independent line, louisiana. caller: i was hoping that the dems would have also put on the issue in the deal that they would have included the tax cut. i think that would have saved americans a lot of money as far as the budget is concerned. the other comment i have is we talk about the v in voters but the biggest problem we had with people not being served is the

way we gerrymander the voters. gerrymandering does not meet the minimum criteria because it serves only a small amount of people who want to control that area as far as who who the voices will be. i will bless you come up with those. guest: i think that is a serious thing. for folks who consider themselves moderate and wished american politics were more designed for them, i would be

concerned about gerrymandering in many states. the senate is not gerrymandered in the senate has a lot of the same problems. it's not all coming from gerrymandering. you also asked about whether democrats could have supported a tax cut. people have to come to terms with the fact that our fiscal moment has really changed. in the 2010s, we got used to the fact that the government could pretty much borrow almost for free. we felt like inflation was just a thing of the distant past. we are not in that world anymore. we have had high inflation and we have a sense that we really need to reduce the deficit. that causes a test us to adapt to a different mindset. tax cuts is what republicans would like to see but not on the

agenda today because we got these trillion dollar plus deficits every year we have to find some way of cutting those down. i think we have turned a page from tax cuts for now. host: one more call from bill from ohio, democrat line. caller: hello, a lot of the problem we face now is based on a lack of understanding about what congress is supposed to be doing. at the campaign stage, we probably owe it to the people. the house of representatives has a constituency and they are supposed to do what they think their constituency wants them to do. sometimes, they don't really

think there is a penalty for not doing what citizens really want. they go up there and they do with the party leaders want or what the party wants. the senate has a different constituency. theirs is the states. if the citizens really understood the rule of not just the senate and the house but also the executive branch, we hold the president responsible for things he's got very little power to do. that gives separation of power. a better understanding of the roles would be helpful. and the willingness to communicate to do our duty as citizens and communicate to the representatives and the president and let them know where we stand and what the penalty is if we don't feel they

are doing their job. i didn't have a real ax to grind. host: thank you for the call. guest: you have an ancient dilemma when we think about representation. i appreciate the question. our members of congress, are they supposed to be delegates or taking their constituents ideas in bringing him to washington faithfully or are they trustees? are they someone who the constituency can put their trust in and send out to deal with things as they see fit using their judgment, not just communicating what their constituents had already decided? it sounded like you were favoring the delegate model. i personally favor the trustee model much more strongly. i think there is truth about that but what makes legislation

difficult is having to work with your colleagues. it's not showing up in voting exactly how your constituents would have wanted you to, it's actually getting to work in figuring out what kind of deal everyone can live with it that means meeting people where they are, that means meeting them on their ground, taking their concerns seriously. it's a very human enterprise i think it's hard for constituents to know exactly everything going on in washington. it's frustrating to be on the outside of the process especially if you don't feel a great degree of trust in your representative for various reasons. i think we need to empower our representatives to get things done, give them flexibility to make things happen i think we have a lot of good people working for some capitol hill. i don't think it's a people problem exactly. they need to find new ways of organizing themselves to make things happen rather than just falling back into their comfortable area.

host: the website for the american enterprise institute -- philip pollock is a senior fellow joining is to discuss what's going on in the capital and congress this week. thank you for your time. we will turn to our first queson and the remaining time we have left when it comes to your message to congress abouthis debt deal that wld be voted on later today, will you accept it or reject it? go ahead and start calling and we will take those calls in a moment. in washington yesterday, there was a white house press briefing. there is a question about present bidens a long-range missiles for ukraine were in play. and they talked about whether the administration supports drone attacks in russian

territory. [video clip] >> president biden was asked yesterday about long-range missiles for ukraine. he said it's still in play. what has changed? i would like to follow-up this question and clarify, you don't support ukraine attacks on russian territory at all or attacks with u.s. equipment? >> i have no changes to the policy to announce here. as it relates to the drone attacks we saw, we been clear

that we will gather information and see exactly what happens. i want to be clear about that. we do in a support eight tax -- attacks inside of russia. we've been very clear about that. that's been a general matter you have heard from us over and over again. i cannot be more clear as to that. what i can tell you is i don't have any changes to her policy to share with you at this time. >> "washington journal" continues. host: when it comes to the pending vote on the debt ceiling, would you tell your member of congress to accept the deal or reject it? (202) 748-8000 for democrats, (202) 748-8001 republicans, and (202) 748-8002 four

independents. you can expect a boat on the debt ceiling deal around 8:30 p.m. stay close to c-spa, c-span now and their website is c-span.org. as the events play out leading up to tonight's vote on the debt ceiling. one thing that happened yesterday is on the speakership of the house. one of those people questioning the future of the speakership was the north carolina republican dan bishop expressing concerns about removing speaker mccarthy for his role on the debt ceiling. here's a portion of that yesterday. >> you said today that up motion to oust mccarthy is on the table. if the debt ceiling deal goes to the table -- goes to the floor for about. will you make good on that threat? >> we will see. i always work with others. my view is it will have to be

done but the more important thing is the legislation before us. i am working intensively and you mentioned there are a number of others who were among the 20 in january contesting the speakers threats on till we had a brass tacks deal on which to go forward to produce great unity but other members of congress today who are coming out and saying the deal cannot be done. the republican conference needs to now salvage us from this era before. host: that hill published a piece this morning saying more than two dozen members of the gop majority says they will vote against the bill.

that's some of the things you will see play out during the course of the day. we've shown you the elements of the deal we want to ask you if you would tell your member of congress to accept it or reject it. from arkansas, democrats line, first up. caller: good morning. i am a democrat and when i go to the voters booth, i vote for who will do the best job. i don't care what they are. my problem is, these people are going there and representatives from the republican party are doing with the party wants. representatives from the democratic party are doing what the party wants. they are not doing what we want. they don't give a crap about us.

i've said here for the last month scared to death. i will not get my check this month. how my going to pay my bills? i've got to have my check. i worked three jobs building my social security. i am also a vietnam veteran. i also have a disability. i have to cash my checks to pay my bills every month. when they go up there, they work for us, not their party. host: you are saying accept the deal? >> i'm saying accept the deal. i agree these people need to be put on jobs and i see too many people sitting on the street with signs saying i need help and give me a dollar. everywhere i drive, i see help-wanted signs. fast food, convenience, it doesn't matter. host: let's hear from ray in florida, republican line. on the stimulus money that went

out in 2020 for the people who were deceased, has that money been recovered? host: i don't know. what do you think about the deal being voted on today? caller: i see too many different aspects of it. i don't really know who to believe. host: ok, skip in washington, independent line. caller: hello, i think it's a fair deal that should be accepted because the look turned to is area economy being in in a disaster. that would be the alternative if you vote against it. i think you have to vote for it. republicans of talk about biden being borderline senile and lacking mental capacity but kevin mccarthy, speaker of the house, staunch republican just

said in negotiating with joe biden, he was smart and tough. that does not sound like the narrative they've been trying to save a joe biden. joe biden x he did a great job in this negotiation. host: as far as what he conceded to? is that a concern or are you ok with that? caller: i'm an independent and i think it was a fair deal because he didn't give up the things he accomplished in the past couple of years. he conceded to where the democrats wanted to spend without losing priorities. that is the sign of a smart negotiator, someone with experience who knows how to do it that's totally counter to the narrative the republicans get have come up with. as an independent, i think it was a good compromise. host: joey is next,

pennsylvania, democrats line. caller: it's a very simple situation in a very simple solution3 . when we were born as citizens, in the house, americans first. we are not democrat or republican. we should act that way. host: ok. donald and wisconsin, republican line. caller: yes, thank you for taking my call. i'm going to make a quick reference to your previous guest.

from the american enterprise institute. my comment is that i find it very interesting that someone involved with the american age abides institute now seems to support public financing of political campaigns which has been anathema to corporate america and the republican right and rights in american general. as we know, money begets power and power enables money. this has been a problem for decades and decades. one failed attempt was mccain/feingold which failed. i find it very interesting that someone from the american enterprise institute now sees the way. host: what would you tell your

legislator about today's debt ceiling deal? caller: i would tell them to go for the compromise. we cannot default. that makes our sick current situation worse. host: jean is next from pennsylvania, independent line. caller: good morning and god bless you. i say absolutely not. there is a time for everything and the time is to stop the clock. we have excessive money coming in our treasury. we do not have to default. i think we have until september. host: the june 5 deadline has been given as far as the date expressed by the treasury department that this has to be done by. caller: we have money. i say no, was a good bill and it

was voted on and it should have gone in the senate and lsi forget my freckle rock, those are the people who should have been negotiating and bringing it back. the clock has to stop. this is minutia. host: that's jean in pennsylvania on her independent line. would you tell your legislator to accept or reject the debt ceiling deal which will be voted on later. democrats, republicans, independence. if that happens later on in the house it will then go to the senate and this was chuck schumer yesterday and getting thoughts on the compromise bill and what action it will take when it reaches the senate area [video clip] >> i support the bipartisan agreement that president biden has produced with speaker mccarthy. avoiding default is an absolute imperative. the damage that default would inflict on our country, our

economy, our families would be enormous and take years from which to recover. of course, nobody is getting everything they want. there is given both sides but this agreement is the responsible, prudent and necessary way forward. today, the house of representatives is beginning the process of moving that legislation from the chamber. when this bill arrives in the senate, it is my plan to bring it to the floor as quickly as possible for consideration. senators must be prepared to act with urgency to send a final product to the president's desk before the june five deadline. host: at the politico website, the reporter who covers the con ami has a piece taking a look at what happens even if the legislation does pass in both chambers.

politico is where you can find that piece this morning. let's go to richard in missouri, democrats line. caller: yeah, i think they

better pass this thing and get it down there quick. there is enough democrats to help pass this thing through and the republicans -- if the republicans don't want to do it, too bad. we will vote them out. host: why do you think it should be past? caller: let's keep the economy going. we've got other problems besides sitting around worrying about him is dead we got. we have a lot of debt so let's get on with it and get the country going like biden wants to. everyone wants to have a better life. they say things are bad but everybody's doing whatever they want. gas goes up a little bit, oh boy, the world is going to come down. the world goes on regardless. let's get on with the country's business and start taking care of social security.

that's the main artery in finance right now. if you want to hurt them ,the hell with it. host: silver spring, maryland is next. caller: we keep on doing this and it wretches up the discontent that we saw display january 6. if congress cannot get it together, it's going to cause this collateral damage of people who will get angry and find ways to express that anger. we have so many people dependent on their benefits, especially the veterans. they are playing the people's livelihoods. this will continue to foam and discontent. we had to be different than we need to have further discussions like january 6.

thank you for the opportunity. host: georgia, republican line, you're up next. caller: hello? host: harold in georgia? caller: yes, good morning. we've got a three ring circus. it is controlled by the big-money. we don't control the congress, the senate or the white house anymore. it's just big-money tell them what to do and we are the suckers who have to pay for it. we pay for it with our credit card. there shouldn't be any debt ceiling because we should balance the budget. what happened to balancing the budget? if they balance the budget, then we wouldn't have to pay all that money in taxes. cannot live your life borrowing money every year.

we will go bankrupt and the communists will take over. host: let's hear from representative elise stefanik yesterday -- she talked about the aspect of it where it fills the deficit reduction. [video clip] >> thank you for your patience and being here tonight. house republicans just concluded a very productive and respectful conference meeting. members from across the conference shared their support for this important bill and they shared their support for speaker mccarthy's strong and effective leadership. this is a win for the american people and future generations. last november, the american people sent a message strongly that they did not support the failed policies and reckless spending of single party democratic rule. country entrusted house republicans with our vision of a commitment to america to deliver results and rein in out-of-control spending, causing

crippling inflation. the fiscal responsibility act is a historic step to restoring fiscal sanity and holding washington accountable. this will be the largest deficit reduction in history. for the first time in a decade, spending year-over-year will be cut while still providing critical funding for veterans and national defense. this deal clawed back tens of billions of in unspent covid funds, the largest in congress. this deal would let millions of americans out of poverty by strengthening work requirements.+since earning the majority, house republicans have been underestimated by the media every day. we've been underestimated by the media this week but we will be tireless in keeping our promises and delivering results for the american people. host: look for the vote around 8:30 p.m. and watch for it on c-span, c-span now and you can always watch on our website at c-span.org.

carol is calling us from west virginia camaro line for independents on the idea of accepting or rejecting the debt ceiling deal, good morning. caller: good morning. i have called my senators and my representatives and told them to vote no. i find it hard to believe that we cannot find one dollar and this whole budget that we can cut we could cut military spending. we could cut foreign aid. i'm not saying cut it completely but we good cut way back for right now are the ngos getting paid to take care of that cafeteria? cut that funding. there are plenty of ways to cut.

on my budget, i say i cannot afford this so i have to cut either my spending work cut out that altogether until i can afford. it's a big no. it doesn't do anything . it's a different version of kicking the can down the road. host: from texas, republican line, this is hattie. caller: i vote no too because i think the government spends money ridiculously and if they would look at everybody else and how they run it, maybe they need to take a cue from how other people do their money. this spending on ridiculous bills that we don't need and giving themselves pay raises and everything. they make plenty of money already. what about the poor people in the united states? they need to stop spending our money. host: that was from texas.

you can choose whether you want to accept the debt deal or not. you can also text us. politico picks up the story, looking at what might happen in the senate.

more there to watch out for on the senate side should pass the house first after tonight. robert in missouri, independent line, good morning. robert in missouri, hello. are you there? robert in missouri, go ahead. caller: hi. host: you are on, go ahead. caller: i just wanted to say that there are 69 million people in the united states on social security who are helpless and cannot survive without it. i think if they don't pass this bill, i'm talking too much?

host: keep going. caller: i think if they don't pass this bill, the people and social security will remember that in november. i know i will. i cannot remember anything else but i will remember that. how they vote today decides how i vote in november. the pensions committee will hold a hearing on access to childcare at 10:00 this morning. from wayne in missouri, democrats line. caller: i was wondering, with

all the farm grandson energy grants come all this funding, why did they have to go for social security if they default on the bills? host: jm colorado, republican line. caller: yeah, i think what they need to do is look back at how the previous house chair/ speaker torp error country with this excess money and banking it along with half of the far right which i am irritated with. they want to talk all of this but they don't want to give anything toward people or the military or the seniors. they need to start looking at where their paychecks are coming from. we are paying them at if they

want to play games, then they need to give it their money, not ours. host: you heard from the majority leader of the summit -- of the senate on what will happen with the bill once a gets there. here is mitch mcconnell, the senate minority leader. >> the american people elected a divided government. after two years of total democratic control, two years of radical spending and runaway inflation, they decided to send a republican majority to the people's house. they decided to require the president biden and washington democrats start working with republicans on the biggest issues facing our country. now, divided government means negotiate your deals. means newly give.

in this case, it means the american people got a whole lot more progress toward fiscal saturday in washington to speaker mccarthy and house republicans deserve our thanks. the only viable legislation that preserved our nations full faith and credit and made real progress toward getting federal spending control. house republicans unity force president biden to do his job. congress will no vote on legislation that is important. republicans have a two minutes opportunity to take on an existing chill challenge facing our economy and future generations. we have a chance to start

bringing just terrain and reckless spending and to heal. soon, it will be the senate's turn to put this historic agreement on the president's desk. let's not pass up our shot. host: some of you on facebook -- you can add your thoughts to the mix. this is pat in connecticut, independent line, good morning. caller: good, i have a question about the voting process itself. either amendments or passages, they announce it will be a time to vote and you look at the

total of democrats and all that. and they vote electronically now. the signers of the babel is still being care process. i don't understand if the certain time vote in white continues to keep going. i wonder if there is still voting - evoting? is everyone in person or can they represent other members of their voting block? i will take your answer off the air. host: tell us where you are as far as the debt ceiling bill and would you want to see it pastor not pass? caller: you've got to think of this country as a big bird. there is a right wing and a left-wing and if you cannot get together, the birds not lie. i think the democrats, excuse me, will win the game i not playing, thank you. caller: janie in maine is next,

line for democrats. hello. host: i absolutely agree they did guest: guest: the right thing. caller: it is a compromise i just heard mcconnell say that the democrats but they forget that 7.8 billion those trump. they are forgetting all the times the democrats, clinton, the budget, the actual budget. it seems a they don't let it anything anymore. we had all is a like covid -- and they forget the wars. i think it's fairy dust. they want all of these benefits but they don't seem to want to pay and they keep planing the same people. it's a silly game they are playing with each other's heads. they are not realistic, they are not accountable. late like the budget the button

put up with you groceries it was a framework. host: we have a final deal that will be voted on today. caller: i think it's a good deal, it's a compromise and they should accept it. it works for both teams. host: caesar, republican line in alabama. caller: yes, thank you for having me. if each of them from the congress and the president and the vice president want to cut their salary, we would save trillions and trillions of dollars. they need to work that in into the compromise because social security, everybody pays into it and has been and that should be

our money. this dish they should not even touch so sick security. some people only get a few dollars. congress and the president and vice president are paid hundreds of thousands of dollars. if they want to cut that in half, not to mention past presidents getting paid, they need the free health insurance. they need to include that definitely. host: ok, james is next in north carolina, democrats line. caller: they took time. a soon as they get the transaction, mccarthy is happy about it.

why they are still mad about the situation is because he didn't get social security. they are still furious and guess what? republicans will pull it out we know we cannot default and our debt ceiling. i don't understand why the magda republicans are so furious when they sent their delegate to represent them and they are still mad. you cannot satisfy them, thank you, c-span. host: travis and south carol -- in south dakota, you're next. caller: good morning. i see lines of people from south dakota, that's ridiculous. it makes my heart ache. i see that we are going to get error v.a. checks. -- our v.a. checks.

my son is on social security and he is a veteran and his is posted. i guess everything will be ok. they had a lot of people squirming out here worrying about their bills and everything. that's a shame. i thought we fought for that. i am an old vietnam vet may purple heart severe -- and 100% a supporter. god bless you all. host: that's travis in south dakota. let's hear from james in portland, oregon, independent line. caller: hi, the recession historically occurred with republicans at the helm. now they are at it again. to them, extortion works.

i'm amazed the captains of industry are not bringing pressure to bear. host: james in oregon. one story to watch it for today is speaker mccarthy himself, his speakership have those within the house freedom caucus are viewing today's debt ceiling deal. the eventual vote for tonight and one speaking out yesterday was a member of the rules committee the congressman from texas chip roy on the deal and the mutual feeling of the freedom caucus. >> it's time for things to change in washington. we've been saying that for a long time and finally january, we did something about it and we force a change and the american people responded. for five months, that change was being seen because we were a unified republican party, standing up for the things we run on, actually trying to

change this place, to secure the border, actually saying if you're going to raise the debt ceiling, maybe you should actually cut spending. we did that. we work in good faith. everybody was working around the table to accomplish the objectives the american people were sent here to do. unfortunately last week, there was a breach. there is a breach in the structure that we agreed to put in place to make sure we were representing the american people through this hereto for united republican conference. the republican conference right now has been torn asunder. we are working hard trying to put it back together again this weekend by making sure that this bill gets stopped. i want to be very clear -- not one republican should vote for this deal, not one. you are out there watching

at the end of the day, the only person is joe biden on unless republicans default on the american people by voting on his bed bill.we will continue to fight it today, tomorrow and no matter what happens, there will be a reckoning about what just occurred unless we stop this bill by tomorrow. host: that's chip roy from yesterday, republican from texas. let's take one more call, democrats line from oklahoma, go ahead. caller: can you hear me? i am looking at it like a simple person. remember the movie " it's a wonderful life"