as possible by the end of the week. you ca also follow congress on free c-span video app or online at c-span.org. >> american history tv, saturdays on c-span two, exploring the people and events that till the american story. at 3 p.m. eastern, calvin coolidge's centennial. on the presidency, discussion remembering first ladies pat nixon and betty ford, who served back to back in the white house from 1969 to 1977. watch american history tv saturdays on c-span2 or online antime at c-span.org/history.

>> coming up on washinon journal this morning, your calls and comments. then maryld mocratic congressman john sare talks about democratic voting rights proposals. a tennessee republican congressman on yesterday's house oversight hearing on unidentifi aerial phenomena or uaps. and walltrt journal chief economics correspondent nk joins us to discuss the fed decision to raise interest rat again and the state of the economy. washington journal starts now. caller: good morning -- host: good morning. we will begin with a discussion on immigration and border policy.

are they working? we want to know from you after testimony yesterday. lawmakers peppered him with questions about the latest numbers of border crossings and immigration policies like asylum. so are the administration's efforts working? if you are a democrat, dial in at (202) 748-8000, republicans (202) 748-8001, and independents (202) 748-8002. you can also text. include your first name, city and state to (202) 748-8003. that same number is for border residents this morning. you can go to facebook.com/c-span or send a tweet to the handle at c-span wj. take a look at a recent poll by

pew research asking this question about government efforts to control the border. americans remain critical of the job they are doing purely -- they are doing. nearly half of americans rate illegal immigration as a very big problem and 23% say the government is doing a good job with the large number of people seeking asylum at the border while more than three times 73% say it's doing a bad job. the public's views of possible actions to deal with the situation have not changed much. about half, 52%, say it's important to require people seeking asylum in the u.s. to apply before they travel to the border and 49% say it's important to increase staffing and resources for patrolling and policing the border. how does this breakdown by party? p research did that as well. americans have expressed negative views of the

government's handling of the border situation for the past years. only 29% give the government a positive rating in april of 2021, during joe biden's first year in office, and in 2019, just one third said the government was doing a good job at the border. both surveys asked about the increased number of people seeking asylum. the question in the latest survey asks about the number of asylum-seekers. 30 5% of democrats and democratic leaning independents and 11% of republicans and republican leaners currently rate the government's performance positively. your turn to weigh in on this topic. how is the biden administration doing on the u.s. southern border? mike in chesapeake, virginia, democratic caller. let's hear from you. what do you think? good morning. caller: good morning. i watched some of that hearing. i was watching it this morning.

it broke my heart to see the republicans bashing the poor guy. he is trying to do what he can. i am half japanese so my mom was an immigrant. she came here, she struggled, and it just hurt me to see these people treat that man so badly. he is to do what he can. host: what about the policy? you say he's trying to do what he can. what do you think about the job that he has? caller: i think he has a tough job and he's questioned at every angle. the republicans are trying to make this something to damage people, you know? put yourself in place of an immigrant. how would you feel if you could not even get in this country?

it just -- there's no reason to badger that guy like that. there's no reason at all for the republicans to badger that man. host: that is reflected in the headlines here is fox news. republicans fume at mayorkas over border policy. this from the washington examiner. andy biggs slams mayorkas for lack of answers in heated hearing. take a look at this moment before the congressman, andy biggs, republican of arizona, and the secretary. [video clip] >> in the last four days, 5300 people have been encountered in one area. that is not made up. that is from the sector chief.

who must bear responsibility for that, you or president biden? >> congressman, our approach -- >> is a you or president biden? did biden tell you to open the border or did you? >> it is not open. >> so why there's 5300 and the last four days that illegally tried to enter the country. you are saying it is somebody else's fault it is not open. let's talk about this then. a recently retired cbp chief testified under oath the u.s. does not have operational control of the border as required. is it your responsibility or the president's to make sure theirs operational control? >> congressman -- >> these are not hard questions. whose responsibility is it? >> the men and women of the department of homeland security work tirelessly -- >> i will tell you. i get down to the border, i love

the cbt agents. they just tell you we went to enforce the law. who is preventing them from enforcing the law, you or the president? it is that simple because your policies are allowing millions of people to get through across the border. since january 20, 2021, millions of illegal aliens have crossed the southern border and have been released into the interior of the u.s. did you implement this catch and release program or was it president biden? >> individuals who pose a public safety -- >> you and i have had this song and dance before. you never want to answer the question. there's a whole side that want to feed you pabulum. but i want to know is president biden giving the directions on the implementationary policies or are you?

host: congressman andy biggs questioning the homeland security secretary yesterday before the house judiciary committee, heated exchanges between republicans and the secretary for hours of testimony. if you missed any of it, you can find it on c-span.org. you can hit the video player on our website. gold stars will appear at the bottom to know where there were moments of interest. you can quickly go through the hearing to get an idea of what questions were asked by both sides of the aisle, republicans and democrats. now it is your turn in this first hour to tell us what you think of the white house's border and immigration policies. scott on facebook weighing in, saying not at all. the state in mexico policy was the best policy, referring to the trump administration. no one should be here if they are only waiting to have a hearing.

the biden administration policy is only hurting everyone, including immigrants. michael, republican in new york. what do you say, michael? caller: good morning. he could not even answer a yes or no question, mayorkas. could not even do that because he's afraid he will get fired. we are at war at the border. it's like a war of any kind. why we are a great country is because we win wars. what biden is doing is horrible. he's letting everybody in, not vetting anybody. 7 million? is that the right number? since he's took over. and he says the border is not open. i don't know what he's smoking but i hope he does not last long. thank you. host: darrell, pasadena, california, independent. good morning to you in pasadena. what do you say on the border and immigration policy?

caller: mayorkas and biden are doing the most horrible job i have ever seen in my 70 some years of life. i have army veterans and military veterans sleeping on the street. we are paying ngo's to bring illegal aliens to come to the united states and we cannot even take care of our own people. i think this is horrific and mayorkas needs to be fired and put in jail as far as i'm concerned because he's contributing to sex trafficking, child trafficking. people need to see the movie cry for freedom -- or sound of freedom. he is smoke and it's irritating to see his smug face there -- he is smug and it's irritating to see his smug face there and not

answer questions. host: you are an independent. do agree with republicans efforts, some republicans, who want to impeach him? caller: yes. of course. what has he done? between him and biden, this is almost as bad as afghanistan. all these people are at our border. host: let me ask you this. let me show you some headlines. from fox news, house homeland security committee, not the judiciary committee, had a report accusing mayorkas of intentional dereliction of duty over the border crisis. this report is supposed to be the foundation for a possible impeachment by republicans. democrats have put out their own report from the hill. democrats border report seeks to undercut argument for mayorkas impeachment. you can read both of those online. you also have the hill newspaper, judiciary

republicans, those that heard from the secretary yesterday, torn on mayorkas impeachment.. the republican party is also talking about impeaching merrick garland and you have heard house speaker kevin mccarthy talked about trying to impeach president biden if the evidence is there. where do you think they should focus their efforts? caller: we are talking about the border. as far as mayorkas goes, they can impeach him. host: can they do all three? caller: i do not know. i don't really want fox news to be honest with you. i just see what's going on on the border. i have friends and family that are from guatemala and honduras and had a -- and panama. people don't realize how bad things are. it's bad for americans that are suffering, that are on the

streets. i live very close to l.a. and it's horrible. it is really horrible and you are just bringing people across thder. who is paying for all that? i worked all mlife and now taxes are paying for people to mecross the border they have done nothing to help the united states and we are paying for all this. host: darrell in pasadena, california, independent. we are going to keep taking your calls this morning on the question about immigration and border security policy from the white house. we also want to give you an update on the minority leader, mitch mcconnell, republican of kentucky. many of you probably know or saw yesterday that when he started his news conference, a few minutes into it, he appeared to freeze. i want to show you that moment from capitol hill yesterday and the follow-up. [video clip]

>> good afternoon, everyone. we are on a path to finishing the nda this week. there's been good bipartisan cooperation and a string of -- >> mitch? >> pay, mitch -- hey, mitch? do you want to say anything else to the press? >> go ahead.

>> could you address what happened here related to your injury from earlier? you suffered a concussion. >> i'm fine. >> you are fully able to do your job? host: the leader saying he is fine. i asked if he's -- when asked if he is fully able to do his job, he responds yeah. from nbc, in a newly revealed incident, mcconnel fell at washington, d.c. airport prior to wednesday's freeze up. cnn with a tweet that says mitch mcconnell, who suffered from a fall this year, also fell in helsinki on an official trip before meeting the finished president. he also fell when deplaning at dcaa this month. mcconnel has long had a limp due to surviving polio.

from cnn's reporting online, he talks about this in february, when he fell in finland, when mcconnel and the u.s. delegation met with the finished president -- the finnish president in helsinki just days before he fell in march at a hotel in washington, d.c., where he suffered a concussion and broken ribs, which sidelined him for nearly six weeks before he returned to the senate. just this month at the airport, mcconnel was getting off the plane when he tripped and fell. he returned to the capitol later that day. nbc reported on the fall the other day. they have declined to comment on these incidents. mcconnel was a survivor of polio as a child and long walks with a slight limp. he walks on stairs one at a time and at times rests his hands on

an eight -- on an aide to assist him in the capitol. his health has received more attention since his fall at that hotel in washington. back to more reporting from capitol hill, everett, who covers capitol hill as well for politico, tweeting out that president biden called the minority leader yesterday to check on him. here's a quote yesterday for mitch mcconnell. i told the president i got sandbagged. i am fine. that's the important part. got to watch those sandbags. that is what mcconnel said he told the president. president biden tripped over sandbags earlier this year. ernest everett also tweeting out that mitch mcconnell's episode jolts the senate gop, allies and attractors.

here is a tweet from ted cruz. my prayers are with them. it was concerning. i hope it's a momentary issue and he is doing better. joni ernst, republican from iowa, by his decided that news conference, i just hope he's doing ok. i was concerned. and john bresnahan, cofounder of punch bowl news, longtime reporter on capitol hill, quoting senator capito, saying concerned about mcconnel as a leader and friend but noting he came back to answer questions at the press conference. capito very firm mitch mcconnell should remain as leader. that is the latest on the minority leader after that incident on capitol hill yesterday. back to our question to you. benny in louisville, kentucky. go ahead on our question on immigration and border policy. caller: good morning.

i think it's a joke. the republicans are claiming the border as this >> -- border as if these immigrants are russian the border and many of them are coming because they have family and friends and they are hard-working and pay local taxes and there is labor here for them. so that is why they are coming. they are not bum rush in the border. they are not taking american jobs. they are doing jobs that many people do not want. if congress -- congress needs to be the one to take the initiative. that is what i think. host: all right, james. sierra vista, arizona, republican. hi, james. caller: hello? host: we are listening to you. caller: good, good, good.

you are on topic with this. the guy before me is an idiot. i live 30 miles from the border. i see what is going on. we have border patrol out here that is unbelievable. they do their job, or they tried to do their job, and we have a mayorkas character that has no clue what really is going on down here. i have seen and lived with a gun in mind because i have seen what goes on down here and it is scary. i only live 30 miles. walking distance is 12. these people that are just bleeding heart liberals decide that they know better than we

know? i don't think so. these people are more runs. what is going on with the leadership in this country? it mind boggles me. host: all right. james in arizona, close to the border. we have aligned this morning for border residents. you can dial in at (202) 748-8003. tell us what it's like to live where you live. robin in washington, an independent, what are your thoughts on the president's border and immigration policies? caller: i think it does not fall on just one or two people and this is an ongoing problem. i watched the judiciary committee meeting. i have watched when they report on the cartels giving colored wristbands to individuals and

put them in particular cities and according to their color they are being used as a sex slave or a drug smuggler or drug seller and it is nothing less -- when they talk about dereliction of duty, it is on the entire congress. it is not republicans or democrats. it's been ongoing and it's only getting more and more violent. more and more people are being abused and they are literally saying, hey, slavery is still ok in 2023. host: all right, robin. caller: we still have slaves coming across the border. host: the user agrees with you on twitter. they write policies have been a problem for many decades. i'm not convinced our government wants to or is capable of finding a solution. this is congressman ted lieu of

california yesterday at the hearing talking about previous administrations and the problems and issues they also had with immigration. [video clip] >> in 2006, the president was also familiar with the border because he was a former governor of texas, and declared the united states have not been in complete control of its borders for decades. this from a republican president in 2006. in the prior administration, the republican president trying to solve their issues at the border and failed. i would like to show what was happening during the prior administration in 2018. >> a pitstop on a punishing journey to the u.s. border and is just beginning. migrants from central america continue to make their way north, fleeing poverty, persecution and gang violence. the caravan includes an

estimated 7200 migrants and more are expected to join tomorrow, potentially pushing the number past 10,000. >> in may 2019, the situation got worse. politico published an article in june 2019 titled border arrests rose in may as the border search continues. who was the president in 2018 and 2019? >> president trump. >> now we are here in 2023. secretary mayorkas, in june, border crossings declined to the lowest level in over two years, correct? >> they declined to the lowest level in over two years. yes. >> politico published an article last week that stated approximately 99,500 45 individuals were apprehended last month, the first time the figure drops below 100,000 in more than two years. that data is largely correct, right? >> i believe so, yes.

>> so based on the fact you testified to, here is this chart. under trump, there were 133,000 border apprehensions in may 2019 and last month there were fewer than 100,000. they are doing better last month than they were in may 2019 under trump. thank you for your public service. now the republicans want to impeach you? good luck with that one. host: california democrat ted lieu at yesterday's house judiciary committee. we want to know this morning from you about the job the white house is doing and the homeland security secretary, alejandra mayorkas, who testified before those lawmakers. paul in cedar hill, texas. democratic caller. caller: ted lieu is telling nothing but the truth. those soundbites from fox and

talking points are a shame. congress needs to do something. they used it, played with it, talked about immigration. it's a major problem. the temporary fixes do not work. we need congress to do their job. we need laws, not a temporary fix where we are holding kids in cages. we need laws, something that will make it work. host: what do you think that is? do you have some ideas? caller: it is the wording of the constitution that allows someone to come here. they are questioning the fact that if someone is boarding here they are a u.s. citizen. this is a warning. they need to get up and do their job and put some real reform in place as opposed to using this stuff to gamble when it's election time. that is the only time he comes up, reelection time.

they need to fix it. of course, we need people here working, but there's a way to do it. host: part -- all right. the new york times with the headline understanding the factors behind the dip in migrants entering the u.s. illegally. why and how it has dropped so dramatically. the answer to those questions is at the heart of a legal challenge to the president's latest immigration policies, which critics say are undermining america's decades-old role as a refuge for people fleeing violence, persecution, famine and economic dislocation. the flow of migration across the hemisphere typically rises or falls because of many factors, weather patterns, war, famine, economic conditions, and actions

taken by other countries, but the decisions by the u.s. about how it polices the border also have an effect, including the asylum policy a federal judge blocked this week. before the presidents asylum changes took effect on 11, officials were encountering about 705 migrants trying to cross the border illegally each day, record numbers putting severe strain on officials and border communities. since then, the numbers have declined to about 3000 each day, still historically high but dramatically lower. on tuesday, a federal judge ruled mr. biden's changes to the asylum system or legal. the judge of the u.s. district court in northern california said the presumption that most migrants crossing illegally are ineligible for asylum violates decades of law and, pending an appeal, cannot remain in place. administration officials warned

that removing the new asylum restrictions could cause illegal crossings to spike again. gary in sterling, virginia, the republican. let's hear from you. good morning. caller: good morning, greta. hello? can you hear me? host: we can. we are listening. caller: i am an old-time republican. you know what that is? host: you tell me. caller: it means i believe in common sense. you know what common sense is, right? host: exactly. your point, gary? caller: you know what is the opposite of common sense? host: gary, this is going to take a while if we do this back-and-forth. caller: no problem. the problem is birth control. now, don't cut me off, because i know you people don't want to

talk about birth control but i worked in a restaurant from 1994 to 2007 and asked the guys in 2005 what did they want. to make a long story short, he got back to me a week later and said the first thing we want is birth control. i said but what about your religion? he said it does not matter. we are desperate. host: how does this relate -- gary, you have to tie this back to immigration and border security. caller: where do immigrants come from? bambinos. good god almighty. what's the matter? doesn't anybody understand birth control? i mean, the average family down there is like six or seven people. i know. i was raised down there. host: you are basing that on -- caller: i beg your pardon? host: you are basing that on

facts or from what you saw? caller: what is the difference? host: all right. we will go on to joe in texas, independent. good morning. caller: hello, greta. most of you people in the media and washington do not know what's going on on the border. i retired as a high school principal 30 years ago. we were able to teach statistics then on the people who were here illegally. now, in texas, there was 2% more hispanics then there were blacks didn't texas at that time. today, there are four times as many hispanics as there are blacks that in texas today, in

the public schools, kindergarten through 12th grade, they make up 52% of the population. i was a math teacher before i became a principal and in mathematics we were taught in the united states it takes 32 years for the population to double. the only way those percentages change -- changed was because there were so many illegals crossing that you people in washington try to make out that it's not happening. when the news media starts reporting honestly what happens, then the politicians in washington might start doing something about illegal immigration. thank you. host: a lot of statistics thrown around in yesterday's hearing with the homeland security secretary. here's an exchange between matt gaetz, republican of florida,

questioning the secretary over how many of the more than 2 million individuals encountered at the border have been released back into the country, detained or sent home. [video clip] >> the mayorkas doctrine is this. if you show up at the border and get released into the country, if you don't commit a specific aggravated felony, which, by the way, does not include a lot of assault and battery and bad domestic violence, but if you don't commit one of those crimes, you get to stay forever. is that a fair characterization of your doctrine? >> no. that is false. >> tell me how many you are sending home. here's another number. 1.2 million people today have been through your entire process. they have been through what you call a removal proceeding. it's just an amnesty dance. after the 1.2 million people get an order from the judge saying they don't have a basis to be here, you still don't remove them. what is your plan?

>> that is false. >> how many of them then? just give me the number. >> in this country, there are between 11 and 12 million -- >> but i'm asking about a subset you will not send home. the reason you are smirking about it and the reason you will not answer my question is because everyone gets the joke. it is not just us here. it is the cartels too. so now what you have done to execute this mayorkas doctrine where you get to burden our hospitals and schools and social services, you send the message -- you have scaled it to the moon. this app does not do any search of their criminal history in their home country, does it? >> i disagree with everything

you have set. >> i am sure but answer the question. does the app you are promoting does any -- promoting to any criminal background check into their history and their home country? if it did, you have already told me. it does not. host: matt gaetz questioning the homeland security secretary yesterday. on that app he's referring to, the new york time refers to these new legal pathways. when mr. biden imposed the new asylum policy and may, his administration also added new opportunities for some migrants, but not all, to enter the u.s. legally without having to try to cross the border illegally. the new opportunities are for migrants from four countries, cuba, haiti, nicaragua and venezuela, limited to a total of

30,000 people each month. migrants can apply to be accepted while in their home country. they don't have to travel to the border first. those who meet certain qualifications, like having a relative or friend to sponsor them in the u.s., can be admitted for up to two years with a work permit, but no way to earn a permanent green card or american citizenship. officials have said the drop in illegal crossings at the southern border is in part the result of migrants taking advantage of the new opportunities. officials have said that during the first half of 2023, nearly 160,000 migrants have come into the u.s. legally from the four countries. illegal border crossings by migrants from the four countries has dropped 89%. but the new opportunities, known as parole, are not the solution for everyone. this is according to the judge who just ruled against the biden administration's asylum policy,

saying they will necessarily be unavailable to many asylum-seekers due to the people -- due to the parole program's limited scope and eligibility requirements. on the smart phone app. when the administration imposed the asylum rules, the extent of the ability for migrants at the border to claim asylum at 26 official ports on the 20,000 -- on the 2000 mile border. they will not be subject to the new asylum rules. they will generally be allowed to wait in the u.s. while courts decide whether they are granted asylum, a process that sometimes takes years. the catch, to make an appointment, they must use a new smartphone app known as cbp 1. officials say the system is hoping to funnel some of the migrants away from illegal crossings into a more orderly system of the ports. officials have said 30,000 migrants used the app to make appointment in.

wallace in lakeland, florida. thank you for waiting to listen to that reporting from the new york times. what are your thoughts on border and immigration policy? >> well, it's quite obvious it's not working. what i want to know is what country in the world opens up its borders but yet spends all its money, resources to protective order somewhere else, puts their own country in -- to protect the border somewhere else, puts their own country in crisis. it is an invasion. texas is being sued for putting up walls. host: that's a headline in the new york times. texas governor's border tactics test the limits of the state's

power. you saw some pictures of the buoy barrier the texas governor put up on the u.s. border and that -- the federal government has taken issue with that as well. host: yes. as long as it's hurting the u.s. citizens -- yeah, as long as it's hurting the united states citizens, then it's ok, but if we try to stop the immigrants or anybody else that is diverse or whatever, try to stop them from making our lives worse, than we are in the wrong and they are invading our country. they are coming into our country. i have -- what i want to know is how come biden is still in the

white house went him and obama committed treason way back when they turned the terrorists loose? host: i went to stick to the topic. mark, tulsa, oklahoma, independent. good morning. caller: hi. i saw the -- i called 30 minutes ago. it was this thing on mitch mcconnell. i want to make a comment about that as well as immigration. can i do that? host: can we stick to the topic? caller: so do not comment on the old man that needs to resign? host: go on. caller: let me talk about immigration. i ask the people of the u.s. we have a very diverse country. it's beautiful that we are so diverse. let's take a different look. we are being manipulated by the media to be divided on this

issue. i asked the american people this. what would socrates say? what would jesus say? what would mohammed say? what would -- what's the guy from india? host: gandhi? caller: what would gandhi say? what would they say about people wanting to come and spread their diversity upon us? i think they would all say, bring them on. let's be stronger for it. let's quit isolating ourselves. americans are the ones -- first, our medical industries are getting us addicted to fentanyl, first and foremost. the street dealers go to jail for the rest of their lives and they are not even trying to kill people. then what happens is the media say they are rapists.

these people are fantastic. they do services in our country. if texas is overwhelmed by it, which i can understand, the other cities in the u.s. need to say come on, because we need workers in these cities and let's give these people opportunity. but i have an optimistic view for our country. i think our country is going in a good place because we are seeing how much of a joke are government is and it will change for the better and i am looking forward to that day when all of us start working together, sharing our diversities, and building this country up like we should. if you look at pictures across the world, dubai, or china, look at their cities. i have been all over the u.s. we are in stagnation here in the u.s. it is because we are to busy bickering and hating each other. we need to come together and start kicking some butts and i'm

tired of the hate and division, the divide and conquer, enough of that. we see through it. there's not one man that's going to change it. it is not going to biden -- going to be biden, trump. when we get all of our wisdoms involved in this country, beautiful things will happen. host: all right. i have other people waiting as well so thank you for your thoughts this morning. i just want one other thing based on what mark said. they talk about come in this piece where the migrants -- they talk about, in this piece, where the migrants are coming from. many of them are coming through the darien gap, the dangerous land bridge that must be traveled to get to southam -- to get to the u.s. from south america on foot. many of them are coming from venezuela and other areas. people from china are the fourth largest group in the jungle

indicative three with more than 10,000 crossing this year. thousands of these migrants are children. dale in jacksonville, north carolina, democratic color. caller: good morning. first of all, i want to say those republicans during the hearing were so rude and he could not even -- mayorkas cannot even answer a question. every time they ask him something, he would start to answer and they would block him and interrupt him. it happened with every republican out there, just having a circus, like the whole house is having a circus ever since they took the house. this is just a circus they are doing to make biden look bad. i thing mayorkas is doing a great job. the lady, the democratic congress woman talked about the fentanyl, this is what you hear the right saying, oh, all this

fentanyl coming into the united states, but where is it coming from? it's coming from legal ports of entry by who? u.s. citizens. the republicans will not say anything about that. so there's no president that has ever conquered the immigration problem that we have and i think this is just part of the house's circus they have been doing ever since they took the house with kevin mccarthy. i think mayorkas is doing a great job. he's doing the best he can. i think biden is doing a great job in the best he can and the statistics do not lie, so i think the republicans are rude, unprofessional, and continuing their huge circus that they started ever since they took the house of representatives. host: all right. cindy, norwalk, connecticut, republican. caller: good morning. thanks for taking my call. you know, it's a bad situation, and i don't think any president

has handled it 100% correctly. let's get that straight. but just to say that mayorkas is doing a great job, you know, when the shoe is on the other foot, i see plenty of democrats being rude when they are grilling somebody. the thing is is when you are asked a question you should answer it. yes or no. you don't have to go into some convoluted thing and evade the question. so the rudeness is partly coming from frustration because the questions are not being answered. they are being invaded. so let's not forget the border patrol agent on horseback -- patrol agents on horseback with mayorkas putting out the false claim they were whipping migrants when that was totally false because people are not, especially in our neck of the woods in the northeast,

horsemen. and, yes, fentanyl is a problem. there are some u.s. citizens involved in illegal activities, but come on. the fentanyl comes from china, comes through mexico. it's a bad problem. 100,000 people a year dying of fentanyl. that's not a good thing and anybody that wants to cover that up and say it is not my -- it is not biden's fault, you are kidding yourself. host: two of you mentioned fentanyl. cato.org has some facts they put together. fentanyl funding is ultimately paid for by u.s. consumers, 99% of whom are citizens. in 2021, u.s. citizens were 86.3 percent of convicted fentanyl drug traffickers, 10 times greater than convictions of illegal immigrants for the same offense. over 90% of fentanyl seizures occur at legal crossing points or interior vehicle checkpoints,

not at illegal migration routes. the location of smuggling makes sense because hard drugs at ports of entry are about 97% less likely to be stopped then people crossing illegally between them. the government exacerbated the problem by preventing most legal crossing border traffic in 2020 and 2021, accelerating the prevalence of fentanyl, and seizures at ports quadrupled from 2015 to 22 anyone. it went to over 90% of seizures. another viewer on twitter writing in the good news, illegal crossings are down 20% relative to last year. the bad news, that means illegal crossings are still quadruple the level before biden took power. needed is immigration reform. deport all illegals, resolve asylum claims before entry and

make legal entry easier. a democrat of california during yesterday's hearing also asked about potential changes to the immigration system that could impact illegal crossings. take a listen. [video clip] >> we all know that congress has not acted in many years to update our immigration laws. in fact, if you want to take a look, we are still operating under the outlines of the 1965 act, which no wonder does not work that well for the united states in 2023. so i would like to ask first, do you agree that it would be better to have a legal framework where people could actually enter the united states with visas and the like instead of a mishmash of asylum claims and the like at the border? >> congresswoman, i do. i see other countries with

systems that are more advanced than ours that actually can match the need for labor with the supply for labor and in fact canada is one of those countries immediately to the north. >> i would note the canadian government has now opened up an official government effort to poach the most educated and the most talented postdocs and doctors in the technology field in silicon valley. 10,000 of the best and the brightest applied on the first day. so that is a loss to our country. i would just like to know that we have a bipartisan bill called the work force act that could streamline the h2a program and legalize their status as -- and

legal status for agricultural workers. do you think that would regularize our situation of the border? >> i do. there are approximately, i believe, 10 million open jobs in need of workers. i hear from executives across this country about the need for labor and it's proven that lawful labor pathways cause a reduction in the number of regular arrivals at our border. host: you can watch more of c-span's coverage of that judiciary committee hearing yesterday on c-span.org. you can also find it on our free mobile app, c-span now. jason in montgomery, alabama, independent, we will hear from you next. caller: good morning, greta. host: morning. caller: i appreciate that clip you just played because that is part of the problem.

there are obvious solutions that can be rendered to help the situation, but as some of your callers have indicated, there are too many immigrants, illegal or otherwise, to seek any solution. the issue is we have a consumption problem. you mentioned it a moment ago. the drugs are not coming here randomly but because americans buy them. immigrants are coming because there are jobs that need to be filled, specifically in agriculture. if we could wave a wanted and get rid of all illegal immigration -- all immigration, the agricultural industry would collapse. so it's crazy to me how these republicans can call these people everything but a child of god and pretend like they are

not here actually doing things. when they cross the border, they don't throw a gun on an american employer to get a job. the employer has the job waiting for them when they get here. we could revise the visa system, stop going down to those countries, picking winners and losers, like in a ran contra -- in iran contra. we could do things like that, but that is not effective. they would rather have the fight, because, at least for the gop, that stimulates their base. that gets them riled up, wanting to come out, wanting to donate. it keeps people like mitch mcconnell in power even though he does not need to be there anymore. host: heard your point. some other headlines for you this morning that we can talk about an open forum coming up on washington journal at 8:30 a.m. eastern. the washington times.

hunter biden's sentencing deal crumbles. the judge demanding more details on immunity from further charges. that questioning by the judge is what made the plea deal fall apart yesterday. also on the front page of the washington times, yesterday on capitol hill, whistleblowers, former department officials, and military pilots testifying about what they referred to in the washington times as ufos. they are also called unidentified aerial phenomena. we are going to talk about that hearing with congressman tim burchett, republican of tennessee. so all of that coming up on the washington journal. anna in texas, democratic caller, good morning to you. caller: good morning morning to you and to america. i will be 75 in a few days and the border people have always

come across the border to work in fields, which they are doing now, in florida is going to have a real bad problem because they are leaving florida, coming to texas, going to california, because they need workers. i just made a list of it. they do the highways with the infrastructure building. we have had a lot of tornadoes and bad storms here so they are doing the roofing. the insurance companies hire companies to do the work and guess who is there? it is the immigrants who are doing the work, not -- you don't see any black men on top of the roof or wi -- or white men. we talk about a lady was talking

about guns. we have more guns in taxes than anybody. the lady who was talking about the horse with the haitians, well, you get a different view, because we have local news, and this was exactly right. these people have work visas. they have been working all their lives to come here for jobs. they are sending money back to their families and probably people take it from them. as people are saying, we are sick and tired of the hate, because these are the people who do our jobs, who keep us stable, and that is all i have to say. host: right. tim is a republican in illinois. hi, tim. caller: i want to say why doesn't anybody talk about the cost of illegal aliens. $400 billion plus a year. they are going to give them everything.

why don't they talk about the illegal aliens that caused citizens to die? they ought to be promptly executed. the cost is outrageous. host: tim, no, we're not going to go there. you cannot use this platform to talk about violence like that. fred in california, independent. good morning. caller: good morning. the problem we have in this country is it does not matter whether you are republican, democrat -- it, we run into problems with there's only one truth. we have republicans saying one thing. you have the democrats saying another thing. there's only one truth. we have to come out with some kind of law that is going to keep the congress personnel in line with telling the truth to the public.

we also have to do the same with media. i watched c-span. a lot of my friends don't. they refused to watch c-span and they are getting local news, which is telling them one side or the other, and that has to stop. it's basically all i had to say. host: ok. mallory in fairfax, virginia, democratic caller. caller: good morning. i want to say quickly to the person complaining about giving billions of dollars to immigrants, the united states will be giving a $.6 billion to israel for weapons on top of the $300 billion they will be giving to the department of defense. i know it is hard but just type in map of u.s. in 1776. at that time, texas did not exist. i would like to say biden could easily stop what texas is doing.

there violating human rights -- he's ignoring the killing, harming, maiming of children and people. it does not make sense. my last point is the person who said something about the black versus the hispanic population in texas, sir, black people do not walk over here. we were brought over here to work. so what is your point? i know you are just based off of hate but i will need some of you to get it together. kamala said do not come. ron desantis is acting a fool in florida. have a good morning. democratic caller. caller: good morning. we are sending millions and

probably billions to other countries to secure the border but we cannot secure ours? it makes no sense. it is a broken system. those people are coming here illegally. this country was built on people coming here legally -- well, not originally. but now we come here legally. if immigrants want to come, they have to come through the process so they can come law-abiding citizens we allow them to the average. for the lady in texas, you are making an assumption based on the color of their skin th they are illegal. you don't know that. host: coming up, john cy vance discusses the democrats plan to

reform elections and expand voting. later, republican tim burchett discusses yesterday's hearing on unidentified aerial phenomena, uap's, and questions that remain about what the federal government knows about them. ♪ >> a year before arkansas, little rock, central high school was desegregated, 12 black students in tennessee enrolled by court mandate in clinton high school in 1956's fall semester. sunday night on "q&a," the author of the book "the most tolerant little town" talked about the experiences of the students who desegregated the first goal of the south following brown v. board of education. >> a black woman who is walking by is pushed down, her glasses get broken. another woman has a bottle thrown at her. some kids try to rough up a

black teenager who has nothing to do with desegregation. and then that night, white segregationist protesters take over the courthouse and host the first of a series of nightly rallies getting everybody all riled up about desegregation and what is happening. by the next morning, there are many more people outside the school, and it is a lot more contentious and heading towards violence rapidly. >> rachel louise martin with her book "the most tolerant little town" sunday night at 8:00 eastern on "q&a/" you can listen to "q&a" and all of our podcasts on our free c-span app. >> 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, i

republic drives. get informed straight from the sources on c-span, unfiltered, unbiased, word for word, from the nation's capital to wherever you are. because the opinion that matters the most is your own. this is what democracy looks like. c-span, powered by cable. >> "washington journal" continues. john sarbanes joins us this morning, the co-chair on strengthening democracy. before we talk about your efforts on election reform, with a new poll taken recently by the associated press, it found 44%, just 44% of all u.s. adults are highly confident that 2024 votes will be counted accurately. your reaction to that. guest: that does not surprise me

because i think over the last few years, people have increasingly felt anxious about the state of our democracy and the infrastructure of it, what kind of keeps it strong, making sure that people have access to the ballot box without having to run an obstacle course every two years, having confidence that when votes are actually cast, that they are counted in an accurate way. feeling that you can get to the polling place without worrying about intimidation and harassment, whether you are a voter or a poll worker, or an election judge. so there are a lot of things that have been coming to people the last few years that have made them concerned about the basic kind of foundational components of our democracy. that is one reason we think it is so important to have legislation at the national level. it puts uniform standards in place that govern how we conduct

elections in this country. also, by the way we make sure that the corrupting influence of money in our politics and in campaigns and frankly in the way we govern is addressed because a lot of the folks out there feel that special interests are the ones that are getting their priorities addressed, but the concerns of average americans are not. so we have to show people that we are as interested in strengthening their democracy as they are. and that is behind some of the important legislation that we have put forward. host: let's talk about that legislation and specifics because if you go back to that poll, when they break it down by parties, 71% of democrats are confident in the integrity only 22% of republicans and 20 -- and 24% of independents. when you are talking about legislation, how do you think you can appeal to those

republicans and independents and give them confidence. guest: we know the measures we are proposing are appealing to republicans and democrats and independents because there is polling on different components of the proposed legislation, so let me give you an example. the first step, when you step into the democratic space around election time is getting registered. people across the country, regardless of their political affiliation want it to be easier and more straightforward to get registered, so we ought to have in place automatic voter registration, same-day registration, online registration, these are things that have been proven at the state level because some states have done this. to be safe. to be straightforward. what it means is that when people show up to vote, their registration is solid. they have confidence that they

can walk into the polling place and that they will be able to cast their vote. that is just one piece. registration. and we put those proposals into the bill that we put forward, which is the freedom to vote act, and make it possible for people to have that confidence. that is registration. when it comes to voting, let's make it more convenient for people to vote with mail-in ballot, with opportunities to vote early, a certain number a day to vote early. when you describe these as uniform standards that would apply across the country, you get real support, again, across the political spectrum because people want to have confidence on the morning of the day when they get up to cast their vote. whether it is on election day or whether it is an early voting site or whether it is sitting down at your kitchen table to

fill out a mail-in ballot. they want to have confidence of that transaction and that it will be straight forward. that is what we are trying to achieve with the freedom to vote act. host: i would like to invite our viewers to join us after they have heard these ideas from you. also, i want to ask our viewers, what would give you confidence in our election? democrats, (202)-748-8000. republicans, (202)-748-8001. independents, (202)-748-8002. you can also text your name, city and state to (202)-748-8003 . from this legislation, the freedom to vote act, the democratic proposal, you talked about some of these. this was passed to the house in the 117 congress when democrats were in charge, stalled in the senate. there is more money for additional poll workers, increased funding for cyber security measures, and it implements nonpartisan

postelection audits and strengthens donor disclosure requirements for super pac's. , talk about the last point a little bit more -- talk about the last point a little bit more. guest: this addresses the issue in the country that money has too much influence over the way our politics operate. it is a form of corruption. one place we have seen it is with these huge super pac's and dark money groups that poor dollars and -- pour torrents of dollars into our elections every two years but they hide behind the curtain. we do not know who they are, where the money comes from, so one of the basic reforms that we put into the freedom to vote act is a disclosure requirement, and if you are an actor out there that is contributing more than $10,000 to impact or effect a political campaign, there is going to be disclosure requirements so we know where that money is coming from. that would certainly apply to

these big dark money groups that are spending not just $10,000 but millions and sometimes tens of millions of dollars. that is not right. the average person sitting in the living room watching the television screen, seeing these commercials coming in that are paid for by dark money groups, with all the money behind that, it makes the average person feel marginalized in their own democracy because they do not have the money to compete with that. so, we want to create a level playing field and make sure there is disclosure and give more power to ordinary citizens out of the country who want to feel like the democracy belongs to them and not to shadowy interested in by the curtains. that is what the disclosure piece of this is all about. it is really, really important

in order to restore confidence on the part of americans and address some of the deep cynicism they feel when they look at politics and government and feel like money always rules the roost. host: let's hear what our viewers have to say. in augusta, georgia, democratic caller. caller: good morning. my concern is i voted for the right to vote during the time when we as black people could not vote. on top of that, i am talking about the courts. it seems as though the conservatives ignores laws that was passed by the court. the court says that you should divide the section so blacks would have more but equal portion to the voters. and then i don't know if i should go to the voting booth or not because i hear what you are saying, it is good, but give me

some confidence that i can go to the ballot and vote and talk to my friends and encourage them to go because what you are saying is nice, but, sir, i need some thing else from you. guest: i appreciate that. that is the reason why we want national legislation because out of the country, there are some states that are doing the right thing. they are trying to make it more convenient and straightforward for people to get to the ballot box and cast their vote. but we have seen in other states, unfortunately, places like georgia and texas and other states around the country, who seem to be moving in the opposite direction. and you see more voter suppression, more obstacles and impediments to people getting their vote cast and their vote counted. that is why we want uniform

standards. that is why we want to say, wherever you are in america, whatever state or community you live in, there is going to be some basic requirements on how elections are conducted. there is going to be basic protection of coworkers and election judges and election administrators, so there is this into patient harassment. there is going to be clean, uniform rules on what it takes to register to vote, all the different ways you can vote when it comes to election time, the way votes are counted until the election is over, protections and hacking into election systems. these are all common sense things. the problem is if you do not have a national standard, which is what we are trying to achieve with the freedom to vote act, then, individual states can come

up with their own sets of rules. some do that and responsible way but, others, i think, in the measures, because of some of the caller. host: tim, deltona, florida, republican. caller: all right. i am going to say this, ok, i don't think the federal government needs to get involved in trying to regulate regulations, ok. i know when we moved from north carolina to florida, ok, you could register to vote, ok. i am going to go back, ok. when i turned 18, i had to register for selective service, but on the same day, i went and registered to vote, and you have more than two years between elections to be able to vote, to register, ok, so there should not be any excuses why people do not register to vote.

i do not agree with same-day registration. ok? i do not believe in ballot boxing. because when your harvest ballots, you have people going out there. you do not know if they're going to change things, you do not know if they are helping people, ok. your biggest problem in the last election that you had, in the presidential election, was that you had mass mail out votes. ok. and the problem with that was, and what people got upset about was this, they do not know how long it had been since their voter rolls had been called where people might have passed away, moved out of state, so what the state stated was his they took anybody on their voter role that they had their addresses, they took and they sent absentee ballots, ok.

i have a disability, ok, but i get up, i go to the voting booth, and a register. host: i am going to have the congressman respond to you. guest: well, actually, i appreciate that because the caller went through a number of different points along the way that people encounter in terms of getting registered and casting their vote. we just want to make sure that however you want to get onto the rolls to make sure you can cast your vote that there is a clear process for doing that, and some of these proposals like automatic voter registration, same-day registration, which i think is very important, can just make sure that when somebody goes to cast their vote, there is not some artificial impediment in their way. now, the caller is correct that you always want people to do things sooner rather than later.

i mean, i encourage my kids when they turned 18 and they had the opportunity to cast their vote to make sure they got registered early and so forth. absolutely, we want to encourage that, but a lot of people may have moved fairly close to election time, so they have to get re-registered in order to be able to vote during that particular election cycle, and the reasons why sometimes you cannot do it until later in the process. again, as long as they are uniform standards, and this is important, as long as we have confidence that the people who are showing up to vote are eligible to vote and verified to vote, so we feel that everyone who should have access to the ballot box is getting that access to the ballot box, that helps elevate the overall confidence we have in our democracy.

this is important because right now, we know that there is a lot of foreign actors, people outside our country who want to attack our democracy, undermine it, and pit us against each other. the more confident we are that our democracy is strong, the more resilient we are against those kinds of external attacks on our democratic system, and that is another benefit of putting these basic guidelines and standards in place across the country. let me just add, individual states, if they want to put additional protective measures in place and so forth echo above the standard, they can do that for the most part, but we just want to have a basic floor, a foundation of what it means to be able to cast your vote in america and have your voice heard. host: the republicans have a

proposal on elections, as well. i want to show you what the chair of the house administration committee had to say, brian's titles, at a news conference recently, and he criticized what democrats would like to do. [video clip] >> at its core, this is about making it easy to vote and hard to cheat. this makes substantive reforms needed in the country. unlike the democrats' hr one, drafted behind closed doors that barely had one hearing, we have had a robust hearings, and in total, most recently, in atlanta, georgia. why did we choose gorgeous for the rollout of the bill? because georgia passed voter integrity legislation and the democrats throughout the whole host of lies about what integrity laws would do. the president of the united states called that jim crow 2.0. when we look back, empirical data shows that the most recent

georgia election, not only were people happy with how voting took place, but more people showed up to vote. why? because when you pass voter integrity registration and people have more confidence in the election, more people participate. that is a good thing. it makes it easy to vote and hard to cheat, and i appreciate the support of our secretaries of state and members of congress behind me. [end video clip] host: the congressman talking about the republican legislation. before you respond,uickly, some details about the american confidence in elections act. give state and county election officials access to the social security list to aid ithe calling of voter rolls. urging states to present some form of bore casting a ballot, overridexiing laws and d.c., including ones that permits noncitizens to ve in local elections, and prohibits agencies like the irs from asking nonprofit organizations

for donor lists. your reactions. guest: well, unfortunately, i think the proposal that the republicans have put forward in terms of how to handle our democracy moves as in the wrong direction. i certainly agree that in america, it should be easy to vote and hard to cheat, and i would argue that the freedom to vote act puts all of those basic protections in place. so that you are not able to cheat when it comes to our democratic system, and it is easy and convenient for you to get to the polling places. but, you look at some of the things that are contained in their legislation. one, they would pull a lot of resources away from local election administrators so they can do their job. they would, unfortunately, they get easier for partisans to get into the polling space where a lot of the intimidation and harassment can then occur. we need to protect that. the polling place is the last

sacred space in our democracy, and you want to make sure that whether you are an election judge or a voter going into that space that you feel like partisanship there is off limits, it is a professional operation, you have people there to help you make sure that your vote is cast. that is what the average person wants to see when they go into the polling place, and that is what we are trying to create with the freedom to vote act. it would also make it more difficult to do mail-in ballot a and other things, where we can put in place very important ways of verifying that people are who they say they are, so i am very confident about that. the other thing, the freedom to vote act does say that if a state would like to put in place voter identification requirements, they can have that, but they have to make sure

that there is an expansive list of documents that can qualify. they cannot just narrow it down to 23 things. if you have a student id, that should be able to counterfeit is issued by a responsible institution and so forth. in terms of identification to make sure that people are validated when they get to the polling place, we can have that in place, but let's make sure it is an expensive set of opportunities people have to demonstrate who they are when they show up at the polling place. one last thing i have to respond to, it was mentioned by chairman stiles that the freedom to vote act was somehow devised behind closed doors, out of the light of day. that could not be further from the truth. this was put together over a period of years, based on the input coming from people all around the country, republicans,

independents, democrats. that is why we have all those provisions relating to making it easier and more convenient to vote. that is why we have included in the freedom to vote act a provision that would take on partisan gerrymandering and get rid of partisan gerrymandering because that disrespects the average person out there. they want to feel like they are making decisions on how districts are drawn and that they are not being drawn just for the benefit of lawmakers and politicians, so we create a system that makes that very independent and objective so that it is not politicians drawing the districts but independent parties that are doing it. finally, i just have her come back to the money side of it. you are not going to fix our democracy if you do not address the undue influence that big money has right now because it is a corruption thing, and that is something that we take on in our bill.

unfortunately, the republican bill, again, goes in the other direction. they want to make it easier for big-money groups and dark many groups to hide the ball and not let you know where their money is coming from. i think that is a mistake. host: we will go to joe, d.c., democratic caller. caller: good morning. i really like a lot of things the congressman has been saying. i think early voting would give people more confidence in the system. i think the money thing, being able to see he was contributing large amounts of money to campaigns, i and with that, i just wonder if at the end of the day, any of it will increase voter confidence when a certain former president has instilled fear that no matter what happens, if he does not win, it is rigged. i do not know if it will do the

intended. i think maybe more people would be behind the many disclosures that may be having the federal government regulate things like when and how people can vote. maybe that would get support from the other side of the aisle, but i wonder if that will increase voter confidence when so many people say, well, it is already anyway. kind of nihilist perspective. host: congressman? guest: sure. people do feel like the system is rigged on a lot of levels. that is why it is going to take a while for us to get back to the place of confidence and how the system works, but if you put these basic measures in place in terms of how people get registered, vote, how to vote is counted, and what will happen is that when the results come down in a particular precinct or a particular county, or in a state, if people in that location feel like, wait a

second, i went to the polling place, things were done very professionally there. i do not feel harassed or intimidated. i have confidence that my vote was cast properly, that it got counted, that the people handling this were doing it in a very professional way. then, if somebody comes along afterwards and tries to attack the results and say, you know, the votes were not counted properly and so forth, the public can respond to that, and they can feel like, no, we feel confident with all these things in place that in my neighborhood, in my community, in my city and state, things were done well so, i can have confidence in the results, regardless of what any particular politician might say to attack that result, whether it is president trump or anybody else. in order to get to that place of

confidence, where you can cut through some of the disinformation and the misinformation, yeah, you have to have these basic pieces, these building blocks in place, and that is all we are trying to do. that is what is strengthening democracy and fighting corruption is all about, getting us back to that place where the average citizen out there can feel confident that their democracy works, that their vote is counted, and that their voice is heard. host: cliff, virginia, independent. caller: good morning. good morning to mr. sarbanes. you made a comment about easier voting. i agree with some of the things you say. loading is responsibility. you should not be able to borrow your neighbor's electric bill and go vote. in the last election, almost 57%

of people voted, 155 million voted in the last presidential election. i do not see -- maybe you could make it clearer why it needs to be easier to vote. that is my comment. host: we will take that question. guest: that is a great observation. let me respond this way, yes, there was a tremendous turnout the last election, but if you talk to a lot of people who eventually got to the ballot box and were able to cast their vote, they had to jump over a lot of obstacles to do that. sometimes, that deters people from showing up in the first place. they look at the system, they worry about whether it is going to be easy or difficult to cast their vote, and that may be enough for them to stay home, so we wwant even more people -- want even more people to vote, but you saw places in the country where the lines to get into a polling place, people

waited two to four hours. part of what we have in our bill is we have to deploy a system in a way that nobody is standing in line for more than 30 minutes cast their vote anywhere. that should be a basic right in america and a strong democracy, so, yes, a lot of people voted, but it should not have been so hard for so many of those people to get to the ballot box. it should be a straight line and not an obstacle course. should not have to climb over a fence, under a wall or go around things in order to exercise their franchise and your right to vote in america. we should embrace that. i do want to come back to your first point, voting is a civic responsibility. all we can do is create the conditions which make it possible and convenient for people to register and show up

and cast their vote and participate, but then it is the civic individual personal responsibility of americans across this country to step forward, take advantage of that opportunity, and cast their vote and help guide the future of their country. host: congressman john cy vance, thank you, sir, for your time this morning -- john's our veins, thank you, sir, for your time this morning -- john sare banes, thank you. host: we will be joined after the top of the hour to be joined by tim burchett on unidentified aerial phenomena. when we come back, we will open up the lines to open forum, any public policy or politics issue on your mind, start dialing it now. we will be right back. ♪

>> live, sunday, august 6, on in-depth, best-selling author and historian joins book tv to take calls about native american history, the civil war, and more. he has published several books, including empire of the summer move. his latest "his majesty's airship," about a british blimp that went into flames in 1930. join in on the conversation with your phone calls, comments and texts. in-depth with sc gwynne, on book tv on c-span2. ♪ >> american history tv, saturdays on c-span2, exploring the people and events that tell the american story.

at 3:00 p.m. eastern, the centennial conference hosted either presidential foundation and library of congress, marking the centennial of the 30th presidential ascension to the white house and it 9:30 on the presidency, a discussion remembering pat nixon and betty ford, who served back terms in the white house from 1969 to 1977, exploring the american story, watch american history tv, saturdays on c-spa a find the full schedule on your prog guide or watch online anytime at c-span.org/history. >> be up-to-date in the latest in publishing with book tv's podcast about books, with current nonfiction book releases, plus, bestseller lists, history news and trends through insider interviews. find about books on c-span now, are free mobile app, or wherever you get your podcasts.

>> "washington journal" continues. host: welcome back. we are in open forum for about 30 minutes on "washington journal." we begin with senate minority leader mitch mcconnell, the republican of kentucky and the health incident he had yesterday on capitol hill, when he started his weekly news conference. take a look at what happened. you probably saw the reporting and how he reacted later. [video clip] [laughter] >> good afternoon, everyone. we are on a path to finishing the nda this week. there has been good bipartisan cooperation and a string of --

>> are you good? >> do you want to say anything else to the press? >> ok, go ahead, john. go ahead, john. >> could you address what happened here at the start of the press conference and was it related to your injury earlier this year when you suffered a concussion? do you find you are fully able to do your job? [end video clip] host: from kevin hill yesterday, you saw the minority leader asked by cnn, was that what happened at that conference related to his fall earlier this

year in march? he says he's fine and able to do his job after he was questioned. that fall happened at a hotel here in washington, d.c. he was out, recovering at home for six weeks, and then there was no reporting on capitol hill yesterday, ginger gibson of nbc saying, in a newly revealed incident, the leader fell recently at washington, d.c., airport prior to wednesday, yesterday's freeze up, and then cnn's reporter, mitch mcconnell, who suffered a concussion this year, also felt in helsinki on an official trip before reading the finished president and he also fell when departing at dca this month. mcconnell has long had a limp due to surviving polio. 81 years old. he would be up for reelection in 2026.

politico talking to mitch mcconnell. he spoke with reporters later in the day and told them that president biden called him to check in on him, and mr. mcconnell telling reporters what he told the president, i told him i got sand bagged. i am fine, i am fine. that's the important part, gotta watch those sandbags, referring to when president biden tripped over sandbags earlier this year. this quote was from ted cruz, the senator from texas, our prayers are with him. that obviously was concerning. i hope it was a momentary issue and he is doing better. from joni ernst, republican of iowa, i hope he is doing ok. i was concerned. and then you have punch bowl news, quoting senator of west virginia, the republican, saying "she is concerned about mcconnell as a leader and

friend," noted he came back to answer questions at the press conference. she is very firm that mcconnell should remain as leader. from "the new york times," reporting on what happened yesterday, aides declined to elaborate on his medical status, including whether he had been examined by physicians in the aftermath of the episode. margaret and silver springs, maryland, democratic caller. what is on your mind? caller: yes, good morning. host: good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. about the elections, this money balance, i shall confidence because when i cast my vote and it was counted, they sent me an email, so i was able to feel better about it because i know my vote was counted, but that

was a way to make it better for the citizens, to make it safe, especially if somebody like me, a retired citizen, so mail-in ballots, a lot of people are rejecting it, but it is more convenient for people who are handicap, senior citizens, older folks, or people who are shaken. a lot of jobs that are out there were born american citizens. they do not want those jobs, so most are occupied by others to come to the country. that is all i have to say, thank you. host: mlb sends a tweet, "i already have confidence in the u.s. voting process, we do not have a problem with our elections. if we are talking about campaign funding, i would love to see

publicly funded elections." harvey in dallas, texas, republican. what is the issue you would like to talk about this morning? caller: thank you for taking my call. my issue is with the speaker who talked about the convenience of standing in line for over 30 minutes going to vote. in other foreign countries i have visited with and talked about this country, you have people who come in from different parts of the country and vote one day. give everyone the day off to vote. if it is inconvenient, exercise your rights about policy for the country, and that is a sad day, but even more sad, you get a speaker who you have on, who influences millions on a platform like this, that he is the gospel in the world. there is no mutual respect, and in one foreign country, they vote in one day, fingerprint, and when they count the votes,

all the parties are there with cameras to make sure it is a true election, so there is a convenience factor. you will spend more time trying to get a passport or try to get liquor in the store if you are under age than what they had made for the elections. it has worked up to this time. you have legislatures from the last election that change the vote for each state, and there were 300 attorneys who push that through. if you have one day to vote, give the people time off, and then have them vote like that. that is fairer that having someone give an opinion to influence, whether republican or democrat, it is too one-sided. people have a brain. let them think for themselves. host: new haven, connecticut, independent. caller: yes, good morning. i called the first time during the immigration segment, and that is what my comment is about. i will tell you what it is. there is so much misinformation

and disinformation from our elected officials that it is incredible. we talk about that we need to update and clarify and expand on black history. we need to do that to american history in general. give you an example. during the hearings that they had on immigration with secretary mayorkas, the elected officials were talking about him allowing open borders. in our history, said mexico -- between u.s. and mexico were passed as an act of congress in 1942. what happens is, we do not have a clear history of that. we have a myth, for example, of rosie the riveter, that when our men were fighting over there in europe, that rosie the riveter put her big boy pants on and got

a wrench. yeah, a lot of women took men's jobs, but there was an act of congress that allowed mexicans free access into the u.s. to do the work that was necessary, and what we need is immigration reform to cancel that, and that is an application of duty -- abdication of duty from our elected officials and are trying to blame this one guy, mayorkas, who was trying to do his job with both hands tied behind his back. that is my comment. host: i, julian. other headlines -- all right, julian. other headlines, "washington times," hunter biden sentencing deal crumbled. more details on immunity from further charges. the judge that forced prosecutors to acknowledge that hunter biden remains under

criminal investigation, including for working as an unregistered foreign agent. the defense attorneys balked when they prosecutors told the judge that hunter biden would not be protected from further criminal charges for unrelated crimes. the abrupt mis of the plea deal was welcome news for republicans who greatest -- abrupt news of the plea deal was welcome news for republicans his greatest issue was letting him offer those crimes. yesterday on capitol hill, lawmakers heard from a former defense department employee, as well as military pilots, about possible uap's, unidentified aerial phenomena. they refer to it as ufos in the headline. we will talk more about that, coming up, on "washington journal" and at :00 a.m. with congressman tim burchett. jeanette, democratic caller, portland, oregon. caller: thank you for taking my call.

boy, i could talk about all these things, but the reason i called was to talk about the voting. here in oregon, where i live, i think we have had all mail-in ballots for 30 years, and it has been the most wonderful thing. when you register at the dmv, you can either get a license or identification card when you are 18. you put your address on there, your ballot is mailed to your address. it has one name on it, your name. you have to sign it and mail it in. all the signatures are checked. it is easy for everybody to vote at home. at first, i was worried about not being able to vote at the polls because i enjoy that, but, now, if you do not get your ballot or if you really want to, you can go vote. but i think 99% of our people

use mail-in ballots. there is no coal places to mess everything up. no hands around them. there are five different sequencing places where your ballot goes through the system. nobody has ever had a problem. nobody said gets mailed to ballot, even if somebody filled it out, it would not be valid. so that is an easy way to do it. nobody gets hurt. host: what protections are in place to make sure that if somebody fills out a valid for somebody who is dead, that it would not get processed? do you know what protections are in place? caller: yes. not only immediately when somebody dies are they taking off our roles, but also if somebody squeaked through, the signatures are checked and

double checked, and they are sequencing ballots, so even if somebody, wherever they go, when they get processed after they are mailed, even if somebody was trying to mess it up there, they could not. so it really has protected us from any failures. i have not heard in the last 20 years of anybody here contesting anything, so i just think it is an easy way to go. host: jeanette in oregon. in new jersey, republican. caller: hello? host: i, john, it is your turn. caller: i am sorry. i just wanted to talk about immigration just a little background. i am the son of immigrants, with my parents came from europe. but, i do not quickly analyze this immigration issue for early

enough. according to a poll i saw, worldwide, 400 alien people said they would like -- 400 million people so they would like to live in the united states. all these populace is that talk about immigration, how many people do they think the united states can absorb? and, also, on this immigration issue, i have had dealings with immigrants. wonderful, hard-working people. i have tremendous respect. a, all the immigrants i have dealt with our unskilled. how many unskilled workers doing need? i will give you a perfect example. we needed shrubs around my house trimmed and somebody made a recommendation. they showed up, all the workers were african-americans. i was talking to the supervisor. by the way, they did a phenomenal job. i talked to the supervisor and

said, hey, do you do any other work in the community? he said, no way. my guys will not work for those wages. all these people are illegal. so when you talk about the hard-working people, they are hard-working, but what effect do they have on other unskilled workers? they drive them out of the market. and to get back to my point, how many immigrants do the democrats or republicans are independents one to admit to the country --want to admit to the country? host: colin in d.c., independent. caller: good morning. thank you for having my call. i just wanted to connect -- my overall point connects to everything that has been said, and that is, fundamentally, we are in a climate crisis. no disrespect to your other callers, but i hear a lot of

them may be on the older side of things, and they are talking about things like immigration, border, the right to vote, they are talking about all sorts of different issues. no offense, they probably will not be here in the next 25 years. those of us who are going to be here, we are not making decisions to tie this back to the mitch mcconnell and the jerry talkers we have in the u.s. you can look at examples of what happens when those in the executive branch and those in the legislative and judicial branches, when they become an advanced age, the younger generations suffer. look at the usr -- ussr weather, look at various other countries in europe i mean, you can look at numerous historical examples of crowding out of the young people, which turns into wider social movements. now, we also have a climate emergency on top of that. the problem is going to solve

itself one way or another, and i do not mean to scare people, but just look at the hundreds of heat records, water temperature records that are being shattered right now. we are in game time right now and have to make the decisions. the people in power, i am sorry, they are asleep at the wheel, to put it frankly. host: because of their age? caller: because of their age. i am sorry. their age is limiting their effectiveness. i do not think this is up for debate. i do not. i think as a young person who was getting ready to start a family, is this going to be possible in the u.s. where i am living right now? i do not know what i don't think anybody knows, so we need to compartmentalize certain i would say cultural war issues. we don't talk about crt anymore, we do not talk about it to the extent we did, even just a few weeks ago.

these are distractions. this is a continent emergency and we need to act now. host: you might be interested in this politics and nation section in "the washington post" this morning. experts on aging not that worried about hyden and trump, despite american concerns -- biden and trump, despite american concerns about the competency. front runners will probably retain the ability to perform in august. bonnie, democratic caller, texas, good morning. caller: good morning. i am calling about voting. host: ok. caller: here in kerrville. host: thank you for that. caller: we have about 52,000 population, county population. we have a new county commissioner who has been pushing to do away with our

counting of ballots. we have the hard computer program, and he says that it can be hacked, even though it is not hooked up to the internet in any way, it is just used per county. he wants us to go to buy counting by hand -- to go to counting by hand. he has been pushing this from the beginning. he has had all kinds of people here to try and get the population to switch over. he is going to have a town hall this coming month on it to explain and have people trying to convince us that our way of

voting is problematic. part of it is he says we get chips from china and those chips in the machines can be hacked. host: all right, bonnie. i will leave it there. coming up, we will talk about what the federal reserve decided to do yesterday on interest rates. the first page of "the wall street journal," said will lift rates to the highest level in 22 years. the chair says it is too soon to tell if the latest rise is the last one needed in the inflation battle. nick timiraos wrote the piece and will be our guest in the next hour of "washington journal ." listen to what jerome powell said yesterday at his news conference. [video clip] chair powell: it has been my view consistently that we do have a shot in this case that we will be able to achieve inflation moving back down to our target without the

significant downturn that results in high levels of job losses that we have seen in some past instances of tightening. that has been my view, and that is still my view. i think, you know, that is consistent with what i see today. but, it is a long way from assured, and we have a lot left to go to see that happen. the staff now has a noticeable slowdown in growth starting later this year the forecast. given the resilience of the economy recently, they are no longer forecasting a recession. i just want to note that our staff produces its own forecast, independent of the forecast that we as fomc participants produce. having an independent staff forecast, as well as individual participant forecast is a strength of our process. there is a lot of constructive diversity of opinion that helps us make or informs our

deliberation to help make better decisions. >> and is the reason of optimism that inflation has come down and you still have a strong labor market? does that add to the optimism? chair powell: i would not use the term optimism yet. i would say there is a pathway, and, yes, that is a good way to think about it. so far, we have seen the beginnings of disinflation without any real costs in the labor market, and that is a really good thing. [end video clip] host: jerome powell, chair of the federal reserve, no longer predicting a recession. but he would not call it optimistic. you can ask your questions and comments about what the federal reserve chair said and what the board decided to do yesterday when we talk to nick timorous of "the wall street journal" at 9:30 eastern. north carolina, independent, we are in open forum, kenny. caller: yes, what i want to talk

about is the protest in israel. they had an american population over there that we had, as many people as we had, it would be three to 5 million people in the streets of america protesting. this has been going on for months, 7, 8, 9 months. c-span has been giving it little coverage. i do not know why the news media in america do not like to show the truth about israel. but, the congress leader, i guess was right, i don't see anything about her anymore, they were saying she was anti-semitic but she was right on point. there is an issue with voting, and so does america. right now, they are losing their democracy. that is the most important story that is around. i think you covered it once for a little while, protecting the guy that was in there.

host: we will go to liz in new jersey, democratic caller. liz, what do you would want to talk about? caller: real briefly about voting and about issues like climate change. i think the voting by mail is a step forward for our democracy, and it eliminates all types of voter harassment or intimidation at the pole has the person does not have to go to the poll and yet their vote can be counted. i voted in new jersey all my life. most of it was in carson. i switched to mail in and i feel very confident in it. a lot of the ideas that dead people are voting, just like the funeral directors let the social

security system know that a person has died if they are above 65, they could do that through the hordes of election in each state and town. that is not really an issue. host: larry in minnesota, republican. good morning. caller: howdy. host: we are listening, larry. it is your turn. caller: yeah, ok. i noticed you guys have a few programs on here and there about how to stop gun violence. am i right? host: we have certainly talked about that issue on "washington journal." we have also covered hearings and discussion about it in washington. caller: good. caller: i do not quite understand the term gun violence. i have weapons in they have never been violent, i have been in the military.

none of their weapons are violent. there must be something going on with your mentality, so to speak , that you aim your -- what would you call it -- you are after the gun, not the person. i think you were in the wrong place. host: understood, that does it for open forum. we are going to take a break. when we come back, we will be joined by congressman tim burchett, republican of tennessee, to talk about the uap hearing that happened yesterday. later, wall street journal chief economist correspondent nick timiraos will talk about the fed's latest rate hike and what it means for the fight against inflation and the broader economy.

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many in the media were referring to it as the ufo hearing, but the words used yesterday was unidentified aerial phenomena on, uap. witnesses say ufos are no joking matter, would you agree? guest: one hundred percent. i hope to spearhead that, we had excellent witnesses and my staff did a great job getting folks prepared. we have some of the best pilots in the world in our military. those tictac, like the little candy, what they are shaped like , we had one of the gentlemen chase ufos, i believe his wing man filmed them. just incredible testimony.

host: what did you hear? guest: that we are not alone. these are craft we do not have any idea how they function, basically. they have no heat signature, they can do speeds that are unheard of. if there is a human in there, they would be dead because of the geforce. they would liquefy their bodies. they are just incredible. we had testimony that we have recovered craft, which has been rumored for years. i dug into it a little bit -- i knew these answers, but i wanted them on sworn testimony. if we had these craft, you have got your pentagon folks who are craving every dollar they can get. since i have been in congress, they have not passed an audit.

it was over $1 billion a year and assets are unaccountable, yet nobody in congress questions it. now, there is legislation filed in the senate asking for more money so they can study it. we need transparency. let us see what they have got, i am tired of looking at redacted files. they tell us they don't exist, we filed legislation on the reauthorization which basically said if you are an airline pilot and you spot something in the air, that is a uap -- that is a term they have come up with that moore confuses the facts. if they spot these things, when they make the report to the faa, that report will be made to congress. the intelligence community, not the committee, blocked that piece of legislation. it was not able to have a vote.

so you have got the pentagon on one side saying they do not exist, the other side saying send us money, let us study it. we have been dealing with this since at least 1947, every major country in the world has had an incident they have covered or covered up. the american public is tired of it. i have a t-shirt on my website that says more people believe in ufos than congress. it is a big seller in a big belief. other recent polls show around 50% of the population believes we are not alone. host: what are these things you are referring to? guest: i do not know, that is the big question. myself, matt gaetz and another representative went to florida. they are both from florida. we were told we were going to get to see photographs, talk to pilots. when we got down there, we were

briefed. you cannot take your cell phone or any electronic device, you put it in a little safe. similar to the type of device or apparatus were cocaine at the white house was found, everyone has seen those pictures so you know what i am talking about. we go in and we are briefed on terrifying stuff that was going on in our country, but nothing on the ufos and we were not allowed to talk to the pilots. matt gaetz said this was unacceptable, we left and went to the general's conference room. they sent us up a nice fruit tray and we called the pentagon and called the people in charge, and matt was able to explain to them we do in fact have the clearance to see it. you have unelected bureaucrats telling your elective body what they can and cannot see, that is

not right. host: you still have not seen anything? guest: we end up going and talking -- they bought in some pilots who had seen -- and i have seen things, yes ma'am. but that instance, we were not afforded what they said we were going to see. i have seen things that defy anything -- these are folks, there is no reason for them to live. the only thing they get from this is a blemish on their record. we were told by pilots they will destroy the video, because when they come back, they are supposed to be debriefed and they are interrogated up to eight hours. they get a blemish on their record. there is a lot going on with this issue. host: this is from the washington post. so far, government officials say none of the sightings have led

to the discovery of extraterrestrial life. guest: they are talking out of both sides of their mouth, because the pilots, their own tapes that they release, it is not magic. there is something or some being controlling them. host: how do you know? wouldn't you have to have proof? guest: i see a jet flying over your shoulder right now, three jets. i do not see the pilots, but i know somebody is flying them. i have talked to too many eyewitnesses who have bought this back and i have seen the pictures, i've talked to the people that have been there. i have seen the videos. something does exist and the federal government is covering this up completely. imagine if you had a craft like this, it shows no heat signature yet can travel at incredible speeds.

anybody can see the videos if you go on video -- on youtube. the military said these tapes did not exist, then they were released, they were leaked. they said they are fake and the pilots came forward and said they are real. host: is there another explanation? guest: what if it is the chinese? if it was the chinese, they would own it. if it was the russians, they would not be bob down in ukraine. if it was us, why would we be flying? we have 14 documented near miss incidents. these are $50 million aircraft, why would we be flying experimental aircraft and not alerting pilots to it? that could have a midair collision. that does not make any sense. the only other conclusion is

this is something not from this world. host: from the washington post, several congressional officials familiar with previous testimony that the whistleblower gave yesterday in the hearing provided in a classified hearing have said they were unable to substantiate or corroborate his claim the u.s. government secret real runs a program to recover in reverse engineer crashed alien vessels. host: we were asked to go in with the individual and we were denied. guest: which individual? guest: the one they are talking about. host: the whistleblower you heard from yesterday? guest: yes ma'am. host: u.s. to go in with him, who denied that? guest: david, by the officials at the capital. we were told his security clearance is no longer valid, which we have yet to

substantiate. we try to have the hearings, people have backed out because of pressure from the pentagon. we had somebody that was affiliated whichever way with nasa, they backed out. now nasa is saying that did not happen. i was stonewalled by staff members, i've been stonewalled by congressman. i have talked to congressman who have had sightings, president carter in ford had a sighting of a ufo. there is a lot going on. i get it. i would appreciate some of these people that are giving negative comments that will not go on the record, we need to start looking at their financial disclosures. on both sides of the aisle, who is making these contributions, these large contributions, and

why are they sitting in decision-making positions on intelligence committees? that would be very telling. host: i want to show yesterday, from the hearing, republican from north carolina questioning the witness on uap recovery efforts by the u.s. he had been detailed to the national reconnaissance office, for those that do not know, the and who up their hand and swearo god they are telling the truth, let's get answers. agency that operates u.s. spy satellites. host: will you get other people before your committee? [video clip] >> you say the government is in guest: yes ma'am. this was a subcommittee, we are possession of nonhuman spacecraft. race on your conversations, do you believe our government has going to try to ask the speaker made contact with intelligent extraterrestrials? guest: something i cannot to form a special committee of discuss in a public setting. this so we can further study it. >> i cannot ask when you think this occurred. we have been stonewalled so much it does not really bother me. if you believe we have crashed craft, stated earlier, do we

have the bodies of the pilots who piloted the craft? members say let's get a >> as i have stated in my news congressional delegation, let's go to area 51. nation interview, biologics came with recoveries, yes. go out there, get a t-shirt and >> where they human or nonhuman pose for a picture because that is not where this stuff is. biologics? >> nonhuman, that was the the only real way we will get this information, we will keep chasing this rabbit down a assessment from people with whole, if somebody walks out of direct knowledge. >> was this documented by a lab somewhere -- i am not asking for espionage, but videos, photos, eyewitness? someone walks and provides real >> this specific documentation i proof. you are a doubter, there are would have to talk in a skiff millions of doubters. about. host: congressman, your reaction when i got up the other morning, to the line of questioning in i had to do early media, as you his answers? can imagine. guest: i am not an attorney, but a good attorney told me one time i walked out of my office at did not ask a question you do 4:30, people will already there. not know the answer to, and i knew the answer to that people flew in from denmark, it question. was unbelievable. i have studied this issue for many years. i talked to a member of the press who had been there 15 years. my buddy and a representative there is a real interest and a

are responsible for getting this real distrust of the government, committee together. i go back to the kennedy the man is a decorated veteran. assassination, why not release those files? maybe an washington, d.c. that why not release the files about does not mean a whole lot, but roswell, new mexico? in tennessee it means a whole lot. this man has nothing to lose. why bring members of congress down to florida to an air force he has had his home broken into, base than turn us away if there he has been threatened, his life is nothing to see? host: as a moderator, i was threatened. reading the opposing views so this is real. you can respond. guest: you are doing great. i do not mind people being too many times i get on shows detractors, because they should. and they spoonfeed, that is what i dig about you all. this is the real deal and i love if it is not real, we are it, the people can call in unfiltered because that is real expending a lot of energy to destroy people in the way of america and that is who pays my salary, even those who do not agree with me. host: congressman tim burchett, meaningful legislation. host: so far, government come back again. officials say none of the we will take a break. sightings have led to the and we come back, we turn our discovery of extraterrestrial life. attention to the federal reserve earlier this year, the anomaly and the actions they took yesterday. resolution office determined nick timiraos joins us for that, nearly 200 of over 300 reported

sites were unremarkable and stay with us. ♪ possibly could be attributed to routine objects found in the air including drones and balloons. guest: i have seen all of those. when the two gentlemen that are >> since 1970 nine, in heading up this program from the pentagon came over to the partnership with the cable intelligence committee, which had an open meeting i was industry, c-span has provided allowed to go to come up these complete coverage of the halls of congress from the house and fellas could not spell ufo. senate floors to congressional they had no idea, they are hearings, party briefings and committee meetings. career bureaucrats. c-span gives you a front row it is the classic compartmentalization. seat to how issues are debated they were asked serious and decided with no commentary, questions about an event that happened at a nuclear facility that shut down, they had no no interruptions and completely unfiltered. idea. c-span, your unfiltered view of government. they said we cannot tell you that in this setting. >> if you miss any of c-span's i walked out, i was the only member of congress not a member of the committee. coverage, you can find any time online at c-span.org, videos of i was invited, they said i would get to ask a question and i got key hearings, debates and other a text that said you cannot ask

the question. events feature markers that guide you to interesting and i walked out in the press asked newsworthy highlights. me what i thought, my quote was the markers appear on the we got hosed, and we did. right-hand side of your screen when you hit play on select videos. this makes it easy to quickly they pat us on the head -- these get an idea of what was debated folks are not going away. and decided in washington. they are not going away and i am not going away, the members of scroll through and spend a few minutes on c-span's points of congress on the committee are not going away. interest. >> order your copy of the 100 18 we are going to start getting answers. the pentagon lose $1 billion a congressional directory, now available at c-span shop.org, year. your access to the federal they are audited every year, they never pass. government with bio and contact i seem to be the only person information for every house and raising hell about that, but it senate member and important is ridiculous. information on congressional i support the military, but they committees, the president's cabinet and state governors. want bigger budgets and no oversight. scan the code at the right to it is ridiculous. host: we covered yesterday's order your copy or go online. hearing. guest: thank you for doing that. host: you can find it on our every purchase helps support nonprofit operations. website, in case you missed it. let us go to the republican in ohio. >> nonfiction book lovers, c-span has a number of podcasts new your television, please for you.

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judicial committees? weekdays, catch washington today host: can i have the congressman for a fast-paced report of stories of the day. listen to c-span anytime. respond to that question? guest: that is a valid question, c-span, powered by cable. thank you. >> washington journal continues. i am not on the judiciary committee, i am on the oversight committee. host: at our table this morning, the chairman and speaker instructed us this is what they nick timiraos, who writes for wanted us to be on and do, we are doing that. the wall street journal and has the front page story this morning. fed lifts rates the highest we have $50 million aircraft and level in 22 years, why is that important? guest: it means that if you are americans put in harm's way saying something is going on and borrowing to buy a house or a the people want to get to the car or paying off credit cards, bottom of it. it is getting more expensive. we have the pentagon requesting that is the price of trying to more money, senator schumer is get inflation down, because apparently requesting some money. inflation has been at a 40 year we like transparency. high, so the fed is trying to slow down the economy by making we do not think it needs to be covered up any further. it more expensive to borrow. that will slow down investment imagine if we had an energy source, as we saw on the tictac spending and the idea is as you bring down demand, you can get videos that could heat our homes inflation down over time.

in the winter and cool them in jobs are at risk. the summer, provide endless this is not an easy exercise. energy. imagine what that would do. there is some danger involved. the war pimps at the pentagon traditionally when the fed would be out of business. raised interest rates as rapidly as has occurred over the last year, we have had a recession. we could start working on peace usually a recession creeds enough slack in the economy and instead of war. that would be an incredible form of higher unemployment that you bring inflation down. find. i know it is may be a little out what the fed is trying to do is there for a lot of folks. delicate. you do not want to do more than but if you start digging deep you have to do. enough, you start finding these folks. some people do not want us to if you don't have to have a recession, you want to avoid it. move any farther ahead and some they have slowed down interest people enjoy the fact we are in rate increases, but we are at the worthless wars, but you are right. hunter biden, i am on the the highest level since 2001. host: it could go higher, oversight. chairman, has done a good job. chairman palace is too soon to tell if latest rises the last one needed in this inflation but this is a committee of battle. guest: the big question jurisdiction for this issue, just like transportation is dealing with roads and trains yesterday was is the fed done, and airplanes. that comes down to what you think is going to happen in the economy the next few months. this is our committee of jurisdiction for this issue. the fed says it is data

host: nick in florida, dependent, they will look at the independent. caller: good morning to both of next couple months of employment you. figures and inflation figures to i have a couple of quick decide whether the economy is questions. cooperating and interest rate did the hearing yesterday create creases are doing enough to slow enough support and give you the economy down. enough horsepower to create a center may be in tennessee where in june, they released quarterly projections where they say what they think they will do with people, both military and interest rates under their main economic forecast. civilian pilots and citizens, could call into a research that projected two more increases. center or send video from online yesterday was one of those, they and get it out of washington in have three more meetings this year. the hands of the pentagon and intelligence people? powell yesterday did not sound like someone who was extremely number two, i watched the whole eager to do the next increase in hearing yesterday. september. mr. grusch responding to they did not raise rates last month, that was their first questions from congresswoman pause since they began raising cortez, he said he would provide her with a list of names and places after the hearing where rates early last year. so it sounds like they would like to space things out if they all of the reverse engineering can, but he did not take it off and the people in charge, do you the table because there are some know if he did that and you get members of the committee that to see it? guest: thank you. probably want to raise interest that will be done in the skiff, rates again at the next meeting. host: why pause the one time whatever that stands for, i then pick back up?

always forget. guest: the way the fed chair again, i am on two hours of sleep. explained it was they have been slowing down the pace of we can do a secure briefing away increases over the past year. if you look back it with the was from the prying eyes of the press and general public, which doing a year ago, they were raising interest rates by three is unfortunate, actually. quarters of a percentage point i am sorry, the first question at every meeting. they had not raised that much -- host: support for a research since 94, that is very center out of washington. guest: there is enough research fast-paced. the fed would say it was out there, brother. necessary because inflation was so high and interest rates were we need the government to turn so low. these files and quit sending us they were doing three quarters into this gift to read files of a point, then they slowed it. that are redacted that looks like showman -- someone shouted with a 12 gauge shotgun. the idea of skipping the june president kennedy was killed meeting was they are further slowing down the pace. why would you do that? over 60 years ago, they still will not release that and nobody it takes time to see how is left alive that has dealt -- interest rate increases will slow down the economy. that deals with. this is just about arrogance, nothing changes the very next day. if you are thinking about buying power, control and money and a house or car, these are that is what runs this town. decisions you make over the host: it stands for sensitive course of several months. you give yourself a little more

compartmented information facility. time to see how the economy is caller: good morning. handling those increases. guest: how did the economy my question is -- i would think handle the pause? guest: we will see over the next few months. we got new gdp numbers and in it is very cool if we have ufos, so long as they are friendly. the second quarter, the economy i do not know why the military grew at a solid rate. would be hiding it all of these years. i knew someone, someone i that is about what you would trusted -- after the 60's, want to see if the economy was expanding at capacity. so far, so good. before the 2000s -- he actually the other reason the fed skipped or paused in june was we had flew b-52s in the vietnam war. seen the bank stress after the failure of silicon valley bank at that time, i was really and a couple other banks in the spring, there was some concern interested in ufos and wondering if they were out there. that would lead to a sharper slowdown in bank lending. he said to me there is a place you are raising interest rates, called the mountain and in the trying to slow down the economy, mountain, there is a radar. but banks are going to suddenly he said that radar monitors the pulled back. skies 24/7 around the whole the skip in june was to see how world and we constantly watch the banking system was going to it, there is nothing out there we cannot identify. react to some of the stresses. when he said that i was like, we have second-quarter earnings

in the banking system the last ok. couple weeks -- banks seem to be now this is coming up and i am wondering if -- this is someone managing may be better than you i do not think whatever lie to might have feared. me. host: we want to get viewers i am curious what you think about that. guest: of course, we have secret involved this morning, what is the economy like where you live, installations all over the what is the reaction to what you country and north america. saw from the federal reserve yesterday? we know what flies into our airspace. gas prices are going up, food prices will go back out. this is been captured many times. if you live in the eastern or we were told about 5% of reports central part of the country, (202) 748-8000. are reported just because of the fact pilots do not want this mountain pacific, (202) 748-8001 . blemish on their record, even alan is first in brooklyn. commercial pilots. caller: good morning. we have what is called whistleblower protection. i am not the first person to mention, several people in military intelligence gets congress have discussed this. involved and military intelligence to me is a lot like congressional ethics, it elizabeth warren, we have a probably does not exist. backwards set of tools available host: you said why would the by statute for the fed to deal people that came forward lie with inflation. about this, but why would the government cover it up? there has been a drastic cutback guest: power, control, reverse

in the rate of enforcement of antitrust laws to prevent the engineering. if they were to release they had accumulation of monopoly and these vehicles, then they would pricing power by large companies not be able to hand it off to , there is no corresponding tool certain industries that would in the fed's hands to raise greatly profit from it. taxes on the profits that result but you have got to imagine -- from this kind of monopoly host: i am not following the pricing power. until we include that tool with answer, talk about that a little more. interest rates that hurt the guest: why would they not turn smallest people in the country, it over to us? it is as if we are limiting the host: why not the transparency? power of doctors to cure people guest: if you have this by letting them use bleeding techniques used in the 15th incredible invention and you can profit from it, why would you? century instead of giving them modern pharmaceuticals. host: let's get a response. you have areas of the government that have handed this over -- guest: that is a point you hear from time to time, are reusing which was outlined in a line of the right tool for the job? questioning -- to the business you kind of go to war with the world or whatever in certain system that you have. areas. that removes it from protection, where i cannot get a freedom of information act.

if they wanted to direct other we have got secrets, and i understand that. regulators like antitrust authorities to take steps to try it is like when they were doing to slow down the economy, they could. the intelligence committee and questions were asked of the gentleman from the pentagon, we have chosen over several decades that this is the way we are going to deal with inflation. maybe some people did not think capabilities of flying underwater. about it so much because he said i cannot answer that in inflation was relatively low and stable. from the fed point of view, they this, because it is secret. cannot wait for other people to obviously, there is a defense act. element of that, too. host: what is the evidence they have been assigned at this responsibility to keep prices stable. companies are profiting from they have a 2% inflation target. what has been in your opinion discovered? guest: they are private they are not going to be in a corporations, there is not a position to wait around for whole lot that we can do aside congress to act or for others to act. from what we are told by witnesses and experts. if you look at the maintenance in my line of questioning, i over duties, you saw a lot of narrowed that down pretty tight the discussion, maybe you can and they were not allowed to tell us, except in the scif, now we are not allowed to go in the scif. use fiscal policy, tax policy. it is a catch 22, a cat and that did not work terribly well.

mouse game. we know it. we are the ones who are going to deal with it, if congress wants to come in and cut spending and but eventually, someone is going raise taxes, that is their to walk out. there's too much information. prerogative. i've talked to too many pentagon but the fed will not wait around for other people to take up arms people that have seen something. i've talked to people in the against inflation. host: connecticut, good morning. military, late 50's and early caller: good morning, how are 60's incident that occurred. you? host: good, question or comment. again, why would they lie about caller: i have a comment. it? host: connecticut, democratic the way it is bringing down caller. caller: we do not have the inflation right now, isn't it making the rich richer and the poor poorer? intelligence to go to another galaxy. the other gentleman that called, he put it very intelligently. so, if we are getting visited by it seems like there is a more unidentified flying objects, logical way to do it than the way jay powell is doing it. they must have superior intelligence over us to reach our galaxy. the banks are getting richer, guest: i cannot argue with that. the rich are getting richer and poor people like me are getting poorer and poorer every day. guest: that is -- there is a lot obviously, if they have the capabilities as in the tictac

video, the pilot said we saw it of people who are frustrated and could not believe it. with where we are right now with inflation. in the video, the audio, you the point to keep in mind is if hear them laughing about it. you do not deal with inflation and you allow it to become more can you believe this? persistent and let it run it is miraculous. through the economy, we have seen in other countries is it is terrible for the poor. it is not of this world. if you are on fixed income, not there is no way if we had that making a lot of money and your paycheck cannot cover the -- we would control the skies. host: ohio, independent. increase in prices for goods and services that you need, it is caller: how are you doing? worse for the poor. the challenge here is there is in 2017, i owned a martial arts school. never an easy fix when you get a problem like inflation. the question now is, over what i was sleeping and i woke up, period of time do you deal with there were footprints. i had lock my doors and i have it? host: the federal reserve chair an alarm system. said yesterday the board no when i woke up in the morning, longer predicts a recession. there were these alien tracks what did you make of that line? that went across the floor. guest: what he is talking about i videotaped and i had two is the fed has a staff of witnesses come there who will hundreds of economists that put take polygraph tests. together a finely tuned forecast

that same video and all of the ahead of every meeting. evidence i sent in, it happened for the march meeting after the failure of silicon valley bank, in 2017. they put a recession in the i was surprised to see that you forecast, which is very unusual. did an interview with him and he economists have a hard time talks exactly about that. predicting recessions. so when the staff said base case every time someone asks if they are a threat, it is exactly what assumption is we are going into a recession later this year, happened to me, the evidence i sent him is what he describes. that was a big deal. you go to sleep, wake up, there they maintained the forecast in may and june. are muddy footprints across the the staff no longer has a floor. are these things a threat? recession for the economy. i am that person who sent that they have a sharp or notable information. slowdown at the end of the year, but they are no longer i was really pleased to see that you did an interview with him projecting a recession and there and he talked specifically about it. has been a lot of optimism among investors you could have a guest: he was in my office so-called soft landing where you bring down the inflation rate yesterday, he is a patriot. without significant increase in unemployment or a severe he worked for the program they downturn. said did not exist in the we have had one good month of pentagon, then said they inflation news, headline defunded it, but it is still inflation has come down a lot. going on, apparently.

the fed looks at a different there is a lot to be said in the measure called core inflation pentagon about what is really going on. that excludes food and energy i cannot comment on that, i do prices, that did not go up quite not know enough about it. host: what is next? so much. guest: i want transparency. the hope is may be the soft landing is more plausible and risk of recession is going down i would like to get our witness a bit. host: wall street may be in the scif, let's start asking optimistic, but he said he would serious questions. let us see where this stuff is not use that word. he says i see a pathway, what does that mean? guest: the reason he cannot be too optimistic, the fed has a 2% inflation target. if they can get things down below 4%, that is still pretty high for them. the easy part of getting inflation down his supply chains are healing, energy prices are coming down. you get through some of the easier parts of getting inflation down and to get inflation the last mile down to 2%, it may require higher unemployment, less job growth. that could be more difficult.

you do not want to put up the mission accomplished banner too soon, so he is being careful. host: omaha, nebraska. good morning. caller: good morning, i had a couple of questions for the guest. good morning to america. the guest said earlier, he was saying government did an interest pause. when they did the interest pause, it takes several months to see how it works. the government raises rates -- every time they did for the last 11 months, how long does it take for us to see those things in action? it seems like they did that really quickly further rate increases and i do not think they help the poor people. to me, it seems like inflation happened when corporations -- to me, inflation happened because

corporations decided to raise rates when they know americans got money and that is what i believe about inflation. have a great day. guest: that is a great question. he is talking about what economists refer to as the lags of policy. how do you know when you have done enough? it is a little like driving, but you cannot see through the front windshield, so you are looking through the rearview mirror. it is easy to drive off the road. why did the fed raise rates so quickly if they know it can be dangerous to do that? they did it because inflation was very high last year and interest rates were so low. you had good reason to think you needed to get a lot of stimulus out of the economy, you are not sure how much it would take to do that. they moved quickly, there were definitely risks involved. there were risks in not moving so quickly and letting inflation get out of control, it could be harder later if you do not deal with it now.

that is what we saw in the 1970's. as for the question about how we ended up with inflation, whether it is because of companies taking advantage of strong demand, this will be debated for decades. economists will study this episode. we do not have a great understanding of how inflation is caused. there are people who argue it is because of the labor market getting too hot and people bargaining for higher pay. what we had during the pandemic was different, we have supply and demand out of whack. especially 2021 when inflation started, people were raised to spend money. they've been cooped up in their homes and have not traveled. they traveled in the supply-side was not able to manage that. there were shortages of cars, you could not buy cars and everyone wanted to buy a car. bikes, planes. airlines were having terrible staffing shortages.

what do you do if you have a lot of demand and cannot meet supply? do you have an auction, alphabetical order, do you raise prices? as demand comes down, airlines have gotten more seats, flying more planes, car companies are making more cars and interest rates are slowing down demand, you are seeing prices come back down. host: wisconsin, good morning. tim, good morning. moving on to josephine in new jersey. caller: good morning. i am just curious, this is the bbc, and england, the interest rate went down to 8.9%, they thought it was glorious. what are we listening to, what does that mean? if it is 3% in the people think

it is 15 or 20, perception is not reality. is it 3% or not? guest: there are different ways to measure inflation. economists look at core inflation a lot of times because they think if you take out food and energy prices, it tends to better predict what underlying inflation or future inflation will be. that's been running closer to 4.5% for the last few months. it was 5.5 percent, 6%. it is coming down more slowly than headline inflation and the challenges if you allow it to go on for a while, people begin to think prices will be higher in the future. economists believe those expectations are important in determining what inflation will be. if you think prices will be higher a year from now, you will ask for more money. if you are a landlord, you will charge more rent. so there can be a

self-fulfilling element to this. the idea is you want to come in and deal with inflation now. if it stays down near these levels, comes down to 3% and stays there, that will be great news. but there is a risk it could go back up, especially if the reason it came down was due to volatile elements like energy prices. you see energy prices go up, a lot of the things we consumed are delivered to our doors with diesel trucks. you consume a lot of things that get to you with energy, so when prices go up, the fed will be more concerned about that after a period in which we had high inflation. host: linda is in michigan, good morning. caller: good morning. last year or perhaps the year before, inflation was up around 8%. it is down now, food prices have

not go down. that does not make sense to me. a little while ago, they blamed bird flu for the reason eggs were so high. i know that was true, but when the bird flu is gone, my eggs have not gone down. so is it price gouging by the food industry? guest: this is another really good question on inflation. inflation measures the growth of prices. sometimes people are talking about the price level, think about coffee. i used to pay two dollars for a cup of coffee. now they say inflation is low, but it is still four dollars. the growth in price is inflation. even if the price is not going up, it will not go back to two dollars. for that to happen, we would have to have declining prices.

when people talk about inflation settling at 2%, the price will not go down. it is just not going to go up anymore. it will take time for people to get used to that. some things may go back down, but not everything. when we talked about inflation rate, we are talking about changing the price level slowing down, growth is slowing but not declining. deflation is something central bankers try to avoid. it can be difficult to get out of deflation, it is something that scares them because if you think prices will be lower tomorrow, you do not spend today , then you go into a recession and it can be hard to get out of deflation. when the pandemic hit, that was a concern. we would have high unemployment for a long time, lower and lower prices. the fed and congress through a

lot of money at this, put interest rates low to make sure we could get through the pandemic. the concern before the pandemic had been too little inflation, which seems crazy to think about now that we have much higher inflation then we are used to. host: in pennsylvania, your question or comment. caller: one quick question. if we were energy independent, would we be able to control inflation better? host: let's take that. guest: you could, in theory. oil is controlled by opec, which is a cartel. if we were able to control energy supply, there is a prospect would be less reliant on the decisions other people make to control supply and demand. but even in the u.s., when refineries close, you can have domestic disturbances to supply

and demand. but if we were able to rely more on other sources of energy, when opec changes air supply or production decisions, it might have less of an effect in the u.s. host: real quick, shirley in pennsylvania. caller: i just have a quick comment. he made a reference -- many callers said the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, your guesstimated comment about people on fixed income and the effect it has. we do not have time to wait for that effect. we are going to lose our homes. as we approach 2024, the increase for social security, which affects disability as well , it is not going to be hardly any money. last year was the biggest

increase, 8.7. these prices, i agree with everyone that called in. they did not go down and rent -- people like us, if we wanted to buy a house, we cannot begin to afford it. host: i have to jump in, my apologies. guest: i think that covers a lot of this. inflation is not popular and we have learned that after a couple decades of not having much inflation. interest rates at a 22 year high, that is part of it. the fed is trying to make sure they've done enough to get on top of this and we do not have an episode like the 70's where they have to take interest rates even higher because they did not get top of it. host: what do you predict his next? guest: you tell me what is happening in the economy and i can tell you how the fed will respond. if the economy cools down, it is likely the fed will not have to raise interest rates again. but if inflation does not cooperate or the economy

re-accelerates, the fed might do more. host: what economic indicators do you watch in the coming weeks before the fed gets back together? guest: the jobs report, inflation report. tomorrow there is a wage growth report that the fed pays a lot of attention to. inflation and jobs, those are key. host: you can follow his reporting online or on twitter. the house is about to gavel in, so we will bring you live to capitol hill, gavel-to-gavel coverage of the house live here on c-span. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2023] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]