♪+ host: good morning, everyone on this thursday, september 14. happening on capitol hill yesterday , elon musk, mark zuckerberg, ill gaetz and others gather behind closed doors only open to the press at the top of a meeting with senators to discuss

artificial intelligence. lawmakers are grappling with regulating the ever evolving technology as it threatens to upend the global economy. this morning, we want your take on artificial intelligence. are you concerned or hopeful? if you live in the eastern or central part of the country, dial in at (202) 748-8000, mountain pacific, (202) 748-8001 , join us in a text with your first name, city and state at (202) 748-8003 or facebook.com/ c-span and you can post on x @ c-spanwj. the washington post this morning with a headline about yesterday's meeting. it reads ai risks and regulations at the center of the tech titans d.c. forum. this one put together by the senate majority leader chuck schumer of new york.

[video clip] >> it's been a very productive morning and afternoon. we talked about the morning where became clear that the panels with all different views believe government has to act and we need action on the transformative side to do great things with ai and do things also for the sustainability side so we can sustain ai without any great damage and there has to be some balance between the two. in the afternoon, we assumed we would get a little more details. we discussed a whole bunch of issues, some of which we only touched on in the mornings and some a little deeper in the things we discussed were open and the pros and cons of that. we talked about health care the amazing potential that ai could

have with health care. mike talked about his experience with his wife and many others and how it would be great if ai could prevent that happening with others. we talked about election laws and we need to do something immediate before the election we talked about the displacement of workers in the training of workers into the new ai jobs and what we do about displaced workers who might lose their jobs or have diminished jobs. we talked about who the regulators should be. a lot of different decisions and questions about that. we talked about the need for immigration. we talked about transparency. the afternoon meant just as well as the morning in the sense that we got to delve more specifically into some of the other issues once we set the table. one thing we know for sure, our work is just beginning. we need to have more of these forums and we need to get our committees working on different parts of legislation because

again, to not act would be something that we want to avoid. we know will be hard. we know it will not be easy. we know it will take bipartisanship in coming together and we know we have to listen to diverse groups. it is such an amazing potential but also such an amazing challenge that is really our obligation to do everything we can to come up with legislation that will make the world with ai a better place than it is today. host: the senate majority leader chuck schumer of new york yesterday. he was surrounded by some republican senators in a bipartisan meeting they held behind closed doors for hours with leaders of the tech industry like elon musk and bill gates, mark zuckerberg and there were civil rights advocates there and consumer rights advocates in the meeting as well. you heard the majority leader talk about trying to get ahead of this before there are jobs

lost to artificial intelligence. gallup did a poll asking people, americans if they fear technology taking over at work. this is the percentage of people worried that jobs will become obsolete because of technology and you can see the change from 2021 when it was 15%. now, 2023, it's 22%. those college educated, the jump went from 8% to 20%. are you concerned or hopeful about artificial intelligence? there are the lines on your screen and we want to hear from you this morning. congress is moving fast it appears, working with tech leaders and others to possibly regulate this new technology. there is also this poll that was done by axios.

it was broken down by those who voted for donald trump and 2020. and those who voted for president biden in 2020. others were 39%. let's listen to a little bit from one of those tech leaders, elon musk who talk to reporters after he left the closed door meeting. he had a tesla waiting for him and this is what he had to say. [video clip] >> i think it was a very good discussion among some of the most important people in the world. senator schumer i think did a good service to humanity here with the support of the rest of the senate and i think a lot will come of this. this meeting has been important for the future of civilization. >> do you think legislation will come out of this? >> i think it will but i don't

know what the timeframe will be. i think things will go on the right direction generally. leader schumer, he has people to raise their hands in the room to ask of people wanted legislation and most of them did. i think regulation by the sec or the faa will happen. i think the consequences of ai going wrong are severe. we have to be proactive rather than reactive. host: elon musk outside the capitol yesterday after he and other tech ceos were behind closed doors with senators talking about artificial intelligence. now we turn to you, are you

concerned or hopeful about this technology? ron is concerned, tell us why. caller: good morning, nice to see you again. this is -- when they talk about words like seachange and cyber intelligence revolutions and a variety of other words that are invented to describe what's happening with their world economy, this is not just going to affect the united states or just one area, the industrial area. this is going to affect africa, affect europe, affect asia, everywhere. as a result of that, it's a very serious thing to discuss. how do you control it? i think we have a few

interesting thought lines that have come up to us. we've lost control already. i would like to see someone, when we have these secret, behind the scenes meetings happening that comes out as a spokesperson and says what came out of it and what direction we are going. in my opinion and this is just my opinion, we are talking about 40% of the jobs in the global economy can go away because of artificial intelligence. what's going to happen to those people? there is going to have to be an economic change. there will have to be a sociological change. everything is going to go upside down. it's like the industrial revolution. i think senator blumenthal said it was another industrial

revolution. no one gets that but we went away from horses and carts to the automobile. host: many of the senators came out and spoke for the cameras. you can find what they had to say on our website, c-span.org. senators were in and out throughout the day talking with these ceos and there were consumer advocates and other people in the room as well. i'm curious where you got the 40% from. caller: it's an extrapolation from a variety of looking at it objectively about the service community and how many jobs are service oriented. service oriented will go away and we are already robotic and at risk. restaurants are going robotic and grocery stores are going there everywhere.

it's going to affect many, many people. host: here is what entrepreneur.com website has to say.

this meeting on capital hill yesterday, while it was close behind closed doors is where they spoke. congress has held hearings on artificial intelligence and c-span has been in the room when they have held those hearings. go to our website, c-span.org, go to the search engine at the top and put in those words, artificial intelligence and you will see hearings from earlier this week and we covered one in

may with the chatgpt ceo that talked about regulation and today, one p.m. eastern time, federal agencies will be the topic before the house oversight accountability subcommittee. you can watch that on c-span3, on c-span now for c-span.org. that's 1 p.m. eastern time today. anthony in detroit, you are concerned about ai? caller: yes, i am. as one component or major tool to be used for the government but also corporations that really deal with the data and i see this happening. i would call it predictive policing. it's part of a total information

awareness is what i think they would call it in the government's fear. let's say you have social media accounts and certain apps running on your phone and they can analyze all that, where you been and where you are going and you said something against the administration were what have you. they could say i think you will be a criminal tomorrow or let's say even this gentleman t, peter hiel who owns palantir and analyze data with ai and he also founded paypal. they could use this total information awareness to shut down your paypal account or access to your bank account. i think something like that is happening in canada anyway. it's a slippery slope especially with central-bank currencies. we don't want to go there. host: michael is also concerned

in detroit. caller: hello, ai needs to be dissected from artificial. artificial intelligence has been a part of corporations, it's been an intelligence that's been separated for what's natural. when you look at our society, there is a lot of occurrences that have taken place and people know it's not natural. they force it down our throat by these capitalists around the world because they can make money off of it. they've always look for it in corporations. they want to sell more products. that's the only way you're going to make money.

they are cutting cost to the point where it's down to the bone. artificial intelligence, from my perspective, is people -- there is people who have artificial intelligence. the way they evaluate things is not the progressive development of our society. host: here are some opinions on social media.

more of your calls and texts and post on social media coming up. joining us now this morning is julie grace, the congressional reporter with axios to give us an update on the looming government funding deadline. where do things stand now? we are 10 days out from september 30 deadline to fund the government? guest: i talked to a lot of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who are optimistic about averting a government shutdown. there is a lot of disagreements on a stopgap now with conservative pushing for border funding and spending cuts to be included which is likely going to be an uphill battle in the senate which is looking to jam the house. we will see how it pans out but right now, it sounds like they are heading toward a government shutdown.

host: kevin mccarthy had a plan yesterday in the morning, what happened? guest: he is pushing for a continuing resolution now. we heard congressman mackey say that a clean cr at our current spending levels could be an automatic level to vacate. host: for those who don't know, what are you talking about? guest: that would be a mechanism to oust the current speaker. mackey brought that up and other members floated spending cuts. the rsc conducted a poll were 88% of members of the caucus, the largest conservative caucus in congress would like to see acr passed quickly with almost 80% of that saying they would like to see a conservative priority tacked on there and they feel they have the leverage to do so in the senate. it will be interesting to see how it pans out. we saw one before recess

yesterday so it's been a struggle for them to get the process done in the odds of it happening before the deadline are slim to none. host: the speaker announced earlier this week and impeachment inquiry into president biden. how is that related to this debate within the party? guest: i talked to some conservatives who said the impeachment inquiry is different from the spending that there were firms -- some frustrations prior to their announcement to that and we heard them say that came after and that kevin mccarthy had support for that. there is concern from the leadership side that they laid out there. they are not going to be able to continue this investigations if there is a government shutdown so they are hoping conservatives will get on board with the continuing resolution. host: what does a continuing resolution mean? guest: it's a stopgap measure to

have them finish the appropriations process. host: it means the government wouldn't shut down and they would have a limited amount of time to come up with an agreement. remind our viewers what happens to the agreement made between the speaker and president biden. guest: i had a hard time hearing you there. host: what happened to the agreement made by speaker mccarthy and president biden? guest: there would be an automatic 1% spending cut next year that would go into effect in april. on the republican side, it's an automatic 1% cut that would go into effect because they feel they could be more effective in getting deeper cuts in some of the areas that they see as a priority. the frustration is on that side there. host: explain why some conservatives are opposed to a continuing resolution, what do they want? guest: there are many

conservatives that have always pushed back on continuing resolutions. part of the speakers deal and part of their agreement on the debt ceiling, the big push was to go through regular order and passed all 12 appropriations bill without an omnibus. that's kind of the mentality on their end. host: to follow more of what's happening on this possible government shutdown, you can follow julie grace reporting at axios.com. they give you for your time this morning. guest: thank you for having me? host: back to the discussion with you about artificial intelligence. are you concerned or hopeful about this technology? paul is concerned? caller: yes, hello and hello america. you can put me down as very

concerned. when i pulled up ai on a cell phone search, maybe one of those bots will come after me because i slandered ai. i pulled up deep privacy issues and autumn is asian. -- andautomazation, stolen identities and privacy in the weapons thing is a big thing because that reaches a real high moral level. we already have the justification of control room assassinations by error military agencies and departments. young people forced to sit in a

control room or concrete bunker and push the button and destroy sometimes whole families, wedding parties and funerals all the way across the world. would you call that ai? host: that discussion is happening on capitol hill and they had hearings and we've covered them. if you're interested, go to her website, c-span.org, you can listen to the discussion. sean in new york, good, what do you say about artificial intelligence? caller: i talked to the switchboard operator and usually it says stick to the subject but you had a woman from axios on talking about the budget resolution. it was taking place in the senate. the woman you had on their, i guess access is a left-leaning

media. the only thing she talked about was the republicans. she never mentioned the democrats and what's going on in the democratic party, what's going on in the senate with the democrats. everything that comes up is that the republicans, they don't want to be bipartisan and they don't want to talk much. host: i will jump in because we want to stick to the topic. republicans are in control of the house and the issue of getting these bill to the floor seems to be on the republican side. there is more bipartisan agreement on the senate side. adam in phoenix, what do you say about ai? caller: good morning. i work as a computer programmer, i'm 30 years old and i've been working in i.t. for about a decade. i think it's pretty good in the main reason why is because it

helps us with ai and resolution to reduce the amount of time it takes to do simple tasks, triggers for emails and you can automate a majority of office tasks. the reason why i am concerned is because i am concerned the simplification and the quickness of these test leads to capitalists shutting down jobs and turning people away. and that's my main worry. host: what you think about the impact of this on education? two people need to learn how to write or will a machine do it for them? caller: i think they need to learn how to write, of course. i don't think there are issues about writing or reading. it's more about the day to day office tasks and that's the main focus for me. host: got it, he says he's

concerned. missoula, montana is hopeful. good morning. caller: hello there. i'm more hopeful. i'm hopeful ai comes to an end because it will hurt jobs. the only thing it will do is probably still work for writers but given that is really bad now. i'm hopeful ai does not get any further than it already is there was a row that name hal in 2001: a space opera seat and he went people.

i hope it's a mini craze we get our focus and are hopeful that it makes workers start unionizing so they don't get the jobs replaced. host: william and middleton command -- connecticut -- here is the daily beast headline.

this is an x post yesterday. in this article, they say --

from the washington post reporting -- republican senator todd young was in the room and came out of

the room after one of the sessions with senator chuck schumer. here's what he had to tell reporters about the forum. [video clip] >> i would agree with the assessment that today was a big success. we not only heard from the best minds in the business and important government and nonprofit leaders, we had very active participation from our colleagues with 60 u.s. senators in the forum and we had members of staff in addition to that. it was roughly the entire united states senate as we add up the various offices that participated. i think we are getting to the point, adding together the previous forms and today's extensive opportunities to hear guidance questions and hear directly from u.s. senators posing questions once we factor in everything. i think we need some jurisdiction and i think we will

be ready to begin that process, considering legislation and going through our normal regular order. i want to commend chuck and mike and martin for ensuring working with me that this is a bipartisan process and we are doing everything we can to set ourselves up for success. this way we can enjoy the incredible upside potential of this technology and mitigate the understandable risks that many people want to mitigate. host: republican senator todd young, part of the group of senators that met with the tech ceos on capitol hill about artificial intelligence. rick in georgia, good morning, you are concerned or hopeful about ai? caller: i guess i would say both. it does a lot for humanity in general. it's not there yet. it can do many things but there is a lot of things that are lacking.

the ceos are trying to say is more capable of what it actually can do. i think it can replace a lot of jobs so that it assists people in general. unfortunately, with this system, we don't really have those promises. it's more likely to be used for good with people who have a lot of money and will control this technology. if government actually stepped in with some rules and regulations for how we will use the technology, it could be used for the greater good area unfortunately, we would rather pay attention to the chinese weather balloon. host:

michael in north carolina, what do you say? caller: thank you for taking my call. i'm very humbled. i'm concerned and the only concern i have is moral issues. we have people on one side of the moral issue and another side of the moral issue, what will we put into these computers, this ai, maybe they can tell us what is right or wrong. i don't have much hope for that. i know might world history and my american history and there is a lot of dirty deals that the government has done to impress

people. the bible says impress the port so beware of folks. i'm worried that if sin the wrong hands, it will be misused. in the right hands, it will be helpful. i think the two will continually be in contact -- in contrast with one another because i think america doesn't even know anymore what this will do. host: john in oregon, what do you say? caller: i'm concerned, thank you for taking my call, by the way. i am concerned that they are having these hearings behind closed doors. they should have these hearings in public. i just think you will have the three biggest names in ai on capitol hill and it should be a

public hearing where we can all see it. i don't like the behind the closed doors. host: talking about yesterday's meeting on capitol hill. elon musk, bill gates, mark zuckerberg, eric schmitt, these tech leaders, 13 of 22 people invited behind closed doors with senators talking about artificial intelligence and what should be done. should congress be regulating this technology? we are getting your take on this morning in our first hour. we will come back to your calls in just a minute. i wanted to show you what senator mitt romney, republican of utah, had to say to reporters yesterday after he announced he will not be seeking a second term. [video clip] >> i considered my age and the fact that at the end of the second term, i would be in my mid-80's. i think it's time for guys like me to get out of the way and

have people of the next generation step forward because they will be shaping the world. over the last couple of decades, people my age, the boomers have done pretty well for ourselves. we voted for all sorts of benefits and programs for us and we paid for them. i think some of the people coming along next want to have a say in how we leave the earth and how they prepare for the future they will live in. >> you are a trump critic and within likely being on the ballot next year, would it give you a chance for reelection? >> there was a recent poll in utah which had some struggling him or his for me. the people in utah don't all agree with me. they respect people who vote their conscience. i appreciate that and i don't have any question in mind to run again. i don't think we need another person in their 80's.

i'm long in the tooth already and we don't need more like me. there are many issues like china and ai and a lot of guys were younger know how to do with those issues. host: senator mitt romney talking about why he decided to not seek another term in the u.s. senate. if you miss that news conference, you can find on our website at c-span.org. you heard him mention artificial intelligence that needs to be dealt with by younger people. that's what he had to say and that is our topic this morning for all of you. are you hopeful or concerned about this technology? ron in missouri, hi there. caller: we will enjoy artificial intelligence but we will push it to the limits where the artificial intelligence will rule over us. it will do our decision-making

on humanity. without even thinking about the outcome of less fortunate people. host: gary, good morning to you from washington, d.c. caller: it's not really a concern but ai is here and it's been here. we use it on a daily basis like in hollywood and all other entities fill our minds about it but we use ai today in a way you can go into a restaurant and order your food from a touchscreen. it's ridiculous. i think it will help us. it doesn't need to be regulated. i believe it needs to be regulated but ai seems to fit in. that's my take. host: ray in d.c. in a text --

c-span has been covering hearings on this topic, artificial intelligence and should congress regulate it. that happened in may and here is senater richard blumenthal, the chair of the subcommittee on privacy, technology and the law asking open ai ceo about how to make consumers aware of where the content is coming from. [video clip] >> consider independent testing labs to provide scorecards and nutrition labels or the equivalent, packaging that indicates two people whether or not the content can be trusted and with the ingredients are and

what the garbage going in may be because it could result in garbage going out. i think that's a great idea. i think companies should put their own -- should hear the test or the results or model and here's where it has weaknesses or strengths but also independent audits for that part are important. these models are getting more accurate over time. as we have said, this technology is in its early stages. it still makes mistakes. we find users are pretty sophisticated and understand where the stakes are that they will likely be and they need to be responsible for verifying with the models say and we go off and check it. i worry as the models get better and better that the users can have less and less of their own discriminating throughout

process around it. i think users are more capable we often give them credit for in conversations like this. i think a lot of disclosures which you will see about the unite your season of the model and they are important. i am excited for a world where companies publish with the models information about how they behave and independent agencies provide that as well. host: from may on capitol hill, if you miss the hearing and you want to hear more from sam altman from chatgpt, you can find on our website, c-span.org. george and freeman, ohio, good morning. caller: good morning. on the ai situation, it's very interesting that we are on the verge of disseminating

production for billions of people. we are talking about it like it's a good thing. there are a lot of low educated workers etc. and factory workers that will be eliminated by this. their jobs will be eliminated and how will they support themselves, no one is giving an answer to that. we see chuck schumer never misses an opportunity to put on a show but never really talks about what he's going to do for his constituents or the american people. i really have a negative view of what's happening. host: marcia is in north carolina, you are concerned about ai? caller: yes, ma'am, i am.

i've worked at walmart. i am retired now and they brought him all the machines to take over the registers. they took the cash office and put in a big machine there to also give us our change. we were always waiting on our change. always something went wrong. the people that shop walmart hated it. they headed going through the lines because something would go wrong with the machines and it wouldn't accept the card and they would have to go to another register. it was awful. now they are ringback people. they are getting rid of the

machine and when people call the company or want information, you're already dealing with ai. they are coming on and you get a recording and you don't talk to a human. you talk to a recording. that's ai. i would rather when i called like a called you this morning, i had a perfectly sweet person on the other line. the human reaction they are taking away that. i do not like ai. i think it would be a great mistake for us for when we go shopping or make calls or whatever we do in our lives to be run by ai. host: all right and she is perfectly sweet, the person who answers the phone.

annapolis -- i can use an ai reader now. bill in maryland, let's hear from you. caller: good morning to you and c-span. my take on this, i stand in the middle. i think ai has some positive potential and likewise of negative potential. i'm not implying that i would like a large federal government but in order for this to go anywhere, i think there has to be a collaboration between the private and government entities. namely, congress.

i think it has to be a situation where the government should step in. when it comes to the complexity of technology, our technology is advancing so quickly and so rapidly at such depth, alleged you are actually in that perspective, congress is not going to be keep up. there has to be a consideration with that. i'm hearing a lot of us baby boomers not so inclined to go with ai. i would really like to hear some of the people, the younger people call in on this and express their concerns. i don't want to make a decision for baby boomers but i think baby boomers, not baby movers but the generation after would be pretty much in concert with

the advent of ai. host: thank you for that. diane in indiana, your hopeful? caller: yes i am. i am a writer, i am retired and wanted to come out of retirement to do some writing. and learn how to write, i'm a baby boomer and i want to learn how to write to different platforms. search engine optimization just puts -- it's in a rational system for putting to the top of

the list, the most popular sites that people of gone to. i didn't like it and i just dropped it when i heard a statistic that said that 61 or 67% of people who were self radicalized by right-wing websites were led there initially by the algorithm itself built into the search engine. with ai, it seems they switch the paradigm and i'm just now studying it as a writer where it will be more vetted especially in the sciences where they will be one article for the fellow researchers and another that can be condensed by ai for the

person who perhaps is talking to doctors, a script for them and a script for the user, the person that's going to be using maybe that medication or whatever. they say ai will bring that down. to an understanding level. i thought that's pretty good because they will have footnotes and it will be vetted. host: diane there in indiana. she was talking about that she is hopeful about artificial intelligence. that's our conversation with you this morning. jeff in falls church, virginia, hopeful or concerned? caller: i would say somewhere in the middle. i'm 32 and one of the previous colors so they want to hear from younger people.

i am a government contractor and we do a lot of actual ai. what's important is people should start to learn the differences between actual ai and a robot answering the phone. things like predictive analytics and things like imagery analysis and we see the day to day to make our lives easier but there are -- there is so much more behind-the-scenes going on. there is a lot of good that could come out of this. it's a tool that's in the hands of people now and people like sam altman are open that we don't know what the future holds. it's a tool that's extremely powerful. we don't know what the limits of it are. it is something we should be conscious and careful of the can be the source of a lot of good and a lot of bad. it's hard to say hopeful or

otherwise. it could go one way or another and that's -- and that depends how we approach it. the interaction of government and private sector leaders and day to day people, get educated on what this is. it's tickled to have real conversations about any topic you want to get knowledgeable on. host: i want to show you some reaction on capitol hill. senator chris murphy, the democrat from connecticut was in the room yesterday.

david in denison, texas, good morning to you. what do you think about ai? caller: quite honestly, it scares me to death from the standpoint of how they are talking about it in congress. i've been doing website since

2002. one of the first things i studied was to make sure i understood search engine optimization. this was two years before google was created in the google that was created at that time didn't do anything like what it does now. they didn't have a computing card index on the site. one of the principles behind search engine optimization is that the search engine will lie to you to get a search result. they found ways to index the content on the side based on how to construct this. you become more relevant. this woman who called a few

minutes ago who spoke about a certain algorithm in search that lead to them being more inclined to help right-wing organizations , that's completely false. there is no secret algorithm that will do that anyway. fox news which is among the largest, their stories, if you are not on the first page above the fold like position 3, 4, 5, you don't exist for most people from a search standpoint. like any other data i've used chatgpt. it's very helpful. it's helpful in getting past writers block.

you got to do your editing and you got to know what the topic is. host: all right, hopeful, helpful, fairfax, virginia, what do you say? caller: china is going to be advanced in ai. the most important impact is the executing of the jobs. there are jobs where you need to use your mind like legal zoom has taken the legal jobs and this will advance. it's needed to fight against these industries. facebook knows what you want and

what you're interested in. humans can go crazy with ai. host: on your point about china, here is thom tillis, republican senator from north carolina. john and mount rainier, maryland is concerned. good morning. caller: good morning. thanks for taking my call. i am 36 years old. i am not a fan of ai in general. it seems to me that human beings tend to create technology and

things that we find to be useful for us in the short term but in the long term, we have trouble preventing certain bad outcomes. right now we're in a climate crisis because of choices we have made and technological developments. i think it's problematic we don't know what we are doing. if you take away just the human element from society, we will be living in a really weird kind of dystopian paradigm. i think ai should not exist and it should just go back to people driven everything. i know that's my ideal and it's not realistic but that's what i would like to see more of in the world. thank you. host: that was john in maryland. he is concerned about artificial

intelligence. today at 1 p.m. eastern time, there will be another hearing on capitol hill. federal agencies and artificial intelligence, the house oversight and accountability subcommittee is holding that hearing. we will have live coverage at 1 p.m. eastern time on c-span3 and c-span now and on our website, c-span.org. you can watch that hearing at 1 p.m. eastern time. also, we have covered many hearings on capitol hill about artificial intelligence. you can find them if you go to her website, c-span.org. let's hear from benji in d.c. caller: hi there and thank you for taking my call. i also wanted to give a perspective of a young person as well. i'm coming into my 30th year.

i'm a graphic designer. the positive in ai in terms of the roll out that adobe has in terms of our graphic design ability is a positive but at the same time, the negatives you will see will come from from the capital owners who will ultimately take advantage of the technology to replace jobs. what you will see is a possibility is people getting replaced by ai and being replaced by these systems in order to cut costs, save money.

you're kind of thing that already with lots of jobs in manufacturing. i think the downside to ai for sure is when you are looking at the bigger picture and trying to save money and trying to cut labor costs, you'll see people start losing their jobs. host: we have to leave it there for now on the debate over artificial intelligence. coming up next, we will hear from two lawmakers from lawmakes about the quickly approaching government funding deadline and how the newest impeachment inquiry launch about president biden will play out. coming soon, norman, a member of the budget rules committee and then later, and -- i democratic congressman, janice blatt --

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guide or watch online anytime at c-span.org/history. >> washington journal continues. host: joining us from capitol hill is congressman ralph norman, republican of south carolina, a member of the conservative freedom congress -- caucus group. it sounds like the members of the freedom caucus rejected a plan by the speaker to move forward on a continuum resolution and bundle a so-called committee with spending bills on the floor. can you walk us through what the speaker offered and if you oppose it or support it? guest: it is a sad day when way at the last minute are coming up and we've got seven days left in the legislative session to be dealing with a budget and

appropriations bills that should have been done with a month ago. mccarthy said he would have the 12 appropriation bills in june or july so we could look at it and make cuts and get this country back on a firm economic footing. that has not happened. it is been hard to get the speaker to come up with something concrete. here's what we want. and this is the bare minimum. we are $32 trillion in debt and counting. what we ask for is the total number to be $1.47 trillion and along with that, our policy that the border is stopping illegals coming across the country. over 5 million that we know of.

cuts in the military. and that is the beginning. we sent a letter back in july and that is what we are asking for. we hear crickets. out of the 12 bills, you got 10 of them, one passed and two others have not come out of committee. one of the bigger ones, health and hhs. what we wanted was spelled out on paper in july. what he has suggested is a clean cr, which is meaning to go to the pelosi and chuck schumer budget which would put us right at i think her last numbers were $5 trillion or $6 trillion. either way, it was insane and we are not going along with that. we will see what happens, we

will come back in the next two weeks and the odds of getting the procreation -- appropriations bill passed -- it can't be a clean cr. host: do you support a government shutdown if your demands are not met? guest: if we can't come to agreement on firm cuts, the country is on life-support. i don't support bankruptcy. so when it comes to a government shutdown, let's have it until we get numbers that make sense to the american people. what we are asking for is not out of the question. the government shutdown the businesses over a stupid covid shot. they shutdown education, took children out of classrooms. if that is what it takes, we will do it. host: according to reuters, the number that you and freedom caucus members -- less than what

president biden and republican house speaker agreed to in may. the white house and senate leaders including top republican mitch mcconnell have rejected your demands. guest: last time i checked there are three branches of government. the house controls the purse springs. let us send our package over as conservatives and if the senate wants to shut it down, let them. but i'm tired of ceding power to a senate that is out of control with spending. they have got to come down to reality. this is a number that is unreasonable. it is a very reasonable number. we've got to get back control of the out-of-control spending in this country. i am tired of these deadlines.

you're going to shut the government down, i heard the same thing on the debt ceiling. janet yellen moved the debt ceiling state three times and i don't think there ever was a firm date the government would run out of money. it started june 2, it went to the fifth and that is not how you negotiate. we will negotiate with people in the country and we will cut the spending a meager amount. and the freedom caucus, it could be they wanted far more cuts because the only thing this president has given us is a bloated budget, and lie that we can put in for an american people and say this is why we think it ought to be cut. it is just the beginning. he does not have the votes and we ought to be up there this weekend and take as long as it takes to work this out and come to an agreement.

host: are you catching a flight home? guest: -- kevin, the -- i am for the biden impeachment and what others are doing. i will make the argument, of control spending. host: if by the next post, to come into compliance with the deals you made in january with you and others, then i'm not seeing motions to vacate the chair regularly until he is removed. would you support the motions to

vacate the chair? guest: i hope kevin does. he put a 10th of the time to get the country -- to his credit, he got it. 20 of us held out in the five days. but the moral of the story is i don't see anybody working with this. people have, and say will you support this? no. others, every dollar in d.c. and every dollar has an advocate. we're going to put it on this time. host: the speaker announced an impeachment inquiry into president biden and you said you support it. is the speaker -- did the speaker announced that in hopes

of getting do and others to support the spending plan? guest: separate issues. the biden impeachment should have happened a long time ago and was a separate issue than spending. you can't link the two together. he did the right thing to announce it. what the president has done is shipwreck this country. but you can't link the issues. host: let's get a call. richard, republican. >>-- caller: good morning congressman. how come mitch mcconnell and others are silent about the coverage on joe biden and his bank records? a lot of republican voters i speak to think they are taking money from foreign governments and they are silent about the fraud uncovered in 2022. she is going to trial so

september 21 on the notification. what do you think? thank you. guest: i don't understand why they are quiet. there's a time to showcase to the american people hard evidence. the $20 million the family took to pay taxes on, the 20 llc is don't appear out of thin air. these are hard evidence. we have got so many things this president is in violation of. the constitution, the invasion on the border. the man can't read a thank you note on a teleprompter. that is why he doesn't give press conferences, i guess. but everybody in the senate ought to be outraged over what is taking place and it is their duty to let the voters know what is taking place. i guess you'll have to ask them why they are not saying anything.

host: a congressman said republicans cheapen a vital power of the house, writing no evidence so far, that the president committed anything close to a high crime or misdemeanor or the of removal of office. ample evidence that his son profited from the shared last name and that mr. biden and the vice president attended dinners with his son's clients which shows poor judgment. it is also become clear that he knew more about his sons business dealings that he claimed. but there is no smoking gun. directly linking biden to hunter and the alleged wrongdoings. mr. mccarthy claims republicans are just conducting oversight of the impeachment inquiry if necessary to ascertain all of facts, including finding evidence if it exists. but there is nothing this new effort will be able to access that the house judiciary, oversight and tax committees could not already get as part of the ongoing probe. how do you respond to? guest: that is ludicrous.

let's say he is right. you have a president saying he is going to be the most transparent president that has ever existed in this country. he has not released records on anything. and the democrats for five years never held the first hearing. if he is so honest, let's produce the records and prove it. what has already been uncovered is pretty serious and i think what the impeachment inquiry will do is allow every committee to subpoena all the different people, look at the people that have put their careers at risk by testifying what his son has done. but it is time for him to come clean, the president, and go with the committee and provide whatever they need if he is innocent. he has a lot to hide.

what has been uncovered is serious. host: the crime? guest: we will find that out. after the committee. kevin wants all of the facts in place before we accuse him of anything. the president can get all of the facts out. our jury is the american people. host: in maryland, irene, democratic call. caller: ima proud -- i am a proud federal government employee and have been for almost 18 years. it is so interesting that you are coming on the show talking about we need to shut everything down, until we get our way. is that how we teach our kids to behave? no. we teach them to work together, communicate, to get the goal that they need to get to. it is ridiculous that you think

it is ok to shut down the biggest employer in the country for your own needs. it is kind of selfish. not really a question and i doubt that you care, but the american people know this is ridiculous. let's shut everything down when we don't get our way. guest: that is a ridiculous comment. we are working for her. want to get the government under control. i guess you think the numbers, 32 trillion dollars and counting, is imaginary. it is like defying cavity. -- gravity. if i jump off this ledge, it is not going to freefall but it is a hard stop that i have.

the country is in a hard stop when it comes to spending, either she is denying that or--i'm not doing this for you. i'm not taking anything out of this. i want to cut it. if we lay down individual corporation bills and layout the individual cuts, live funding, other countries and many other things with this administration that she agrees with, if she wants to put her family in peril, people are tired of government anyway. she does that i assume on her family budget. every business has to do it. but to continue spending is a ridiculous thought and i'm not going to be part of it. host: in maryland, dennis. a democratic color. -- call.

caller: if the government shuts down are you still being paid? i work for the federal government and i can't afford to shut down right now. it is too expensive. i am paying almost $400 a week for four kids and i can't afford that. i don't know how you think this is going to help me. they cut food stamps. i can't afford that. i know where i'm going to be if the government shuts down. i'm going to protest in front of the senate and congress until you guys open it up. because i can't afford it. this does not help me. host: will you still get paid? guest: my understanding is we don't. you have your essential services , deemed essential and nonessential. social security checks still go out, medicaid checks still go out. the security still gets paid for

my understanding. but the fact that he is just taking the position that we can't shut it down, we don't want to shut it down. that is not our first option. it is accept legitimate cuts so that his job will be secure the future and their children if they have any. i'm doing this for children and grand children. but you have to get back the basic overlying premise and underlying facts. the country is going bankrupt. if you are bankrupt, you can't pay federal employees and you can't pay the security of the country. economic security is national security. i'm fighting for him. most liberals take the position that you can't do it. let's get us on a budget that is sustainable. if you think the current trend we are on, the spending that has occurred is ok, we have a

difference of opinion and the math does not add up. host: in athens, georgia, independent. caller: morning. representative norman, i told my wife less that as i listened to you and your colleagues in your general speeches that this is a good group of men. good morning. how much do i love c-span? i love it immensely. i usually do not call throughout the week, i save my calls for the weekend. but representative ralph norman, you are a wonderful service for the united states. you are a true blooded american patriot and you are trying to save the united states from itself. one less point. one of your colleagues said $33 trillion is 33,000 billion dollars and that brought it

home. the amount of number -- numbers and money is huge. there is an advocate for every one of those dollars in the city of washington, d.c.. thank you, please continue the fight and stay on that floor in the middle of -- and speak your truth to power. thank you, i love c-span. talk to you later. host: congressman? guest: i push his comments. and he's right. these numbers don't lie. what we are proposing is very minimal. if you are bankrupt, what can you do? i was on an airplane and thought about the situation this countries and. you can have the nicest airplane, but if you are out of gas you don't fly. the country is in a dangerous position right now with other countries, what the president is doing to help enemies that don't like us.

the $6 trillion that he gave to iran, a country that would love to close off the face of the earth. it is insane. if we can't do this, i don't know why we are appeared. we are appeared to save the country, and we are going to do the best we can. because that is what we took the oath of office to do. host: in what carolina, a republican. brenda. in youngsville, north carolina. it is your turn. caller: i just wanted to call and say thank you to representative norman for standing up for all of us in the country, no matter if you are a federal employee or an average citizen out there working. he is right, we are in trouble with the debt ceiling and somebody has got to stop it.

the republicans do not want to shut down the country. no one wants to shut down the country. but the other side it does not seem like our ever willing to step in and make cuts. and try to get us anywhere near on budget. it is crazy to me. i'm so grateful that he is making this a point to stand up and -- for everyone and it is for the future. thank you. host: a follow-up on the question of whether or not you will get paid during a government shutdown. a quick search, and appears during the 2018 shut down, members of congress were still paid because according to usa today, congress is required to set its own salary to be paid by the treasury. though salaries are outlined in separate laws from the appropriations legislation.

guest: it was my understanding that we don't. but if that is the law, i guess we do. a lot of us sent the money back. we have only had four shutdowns in my memory and they were short-lived. but if you are correct on that, we ought to have to live under what everyone else is living under. we should knock at a paycheck. it's host: robert in massachusetts, a democrat. caller: in massachusetts, young men, old men. joe biden is an awful person. he is trying to save the country from republicans. he would retire. i want hakeem jeffries and amy klobuchar to run.

host: turning to campaign 2024. who do you support on the republican side? guest: nikki haley. nikki haley is a proven leader. she has international experience , she has had a great run as governor, she is a true conservative. if you want somebody who will get the country back on track, it is nikki haley. we need eight years of a young person leading this country and she will do for america what she did for south carolina. i know her and it would be a great day. i do think, as you can see what she has done after the debates, she's going to continue to go up in the polls. she will be the first female president and it could not come quick enough. because joe biden is derailing this country in a way that i've never seen. if the other people calling are happy with a border out of

control, 5 million people have already come across illegally, if he likes that a crime in the streets and inflation, paying more for gas and everything else, we have a disagreement. but nikki haley will get this country back on track. host: why not former president trump? guest: i like his policies. his policies were great. but we have got to win this and we need more than four years. he can only serve four years. three, we need youth. donald trump is a young 80 years old, but it is a grueling job and i think you need somebody that can attract moderates, independents. nikki haley can do that. she has proven that. host: an independent. good morning.

caller: talking about the debt. when trump was in, he gave money to the wealthy. hey gave tax seductions to the wealthy. he put $8 billion into the debt. then we had bush that had all kinds of wars and never cashed out once had to pay for all of those. so you want to see where we have run up the debt, you can look at that kind of thing. stop blaming other people. you can't even pass anything. now we have so many children in poverty in this country who can't pass anything for that. before you can get to the wealthy -- give to the wealthy,

always. host: let's let the congressman respond. guest: you're not an independent, you are a democrat. which is fine. that is in old-line, give to the wealthy. tax cuts for businesses -- that runs this country. the government does not run this country, businesses do. what donald trump did was great for the economy and the family business. it was great for -- at every level. we do not have the issues we have now. if that caller is happy with what is going on in the country now and thinks that today you are better off than you were under the trump years, we have a different view of what is good in this country. what is happening is -- what biden is doing is insane. if she does not realize that, i feel for her. host: in virginia, a republican.

you're talking to congressman ralph norman. caller: good morning c-span and congressman. i am an independent thinking republican. i do not subscribe to talking points. i have a real life and a real job and a real family that depends on me. i have to work to pay for my family's bills. so you can't sit there and talk about their dust talk about your talking points. we know that this country is in deep trouble with the debt it is carrying. that did not happen because of democrats alone. a huge majority of that and republican presidents -- it is

your job to make sure the government is running. it is not your job to shut down the government just because you can't have your way. i know you don't say i am not a republican, but i am an independent thinking republican. that means i can think for myself. i can read, i can write. host: guest: your response. -- host: your response. guest: let's take democrat in the publican out of it. the greatest country known to man. if we lose america, where do we go? you just said you have a business and you provide for your family, you said it is not my right to shut the government down. i am one of form to 35. with the senate, it is 535. going to use my vote to try to stop insanity spending.

i think i could sit down with you and go one by line and tell you exactly how it is. you would agree with me. if we do not agree, we would agree to disagree. but where you are off and i disagree with your thinking is i'm supposed to sit appear and let the government spend they want -- what they want and be ok with it and add to the debt. the $35 trillion, you can double that when you add social security, medicaid and medicare. it is going broke. everybody, democrats, republicans would agree. the numbers don't lie. i appreciate your comments, but i am protecting you and americans who love this country and we are losing it. i'm not going to sit back and watch that. i'm going to use my vote to do what i know is right.

host: one last call. hillary in south carolina, independent. caller: i was calling because i'm listening to this representative and he said he did not know that they get paid if the government shuts down. and as long as he has been there in the government who should know that. i'm quite sure he remembered getting his paychecks when the government shutdown before. the other thing he was talking about the budget. if you are so concerned about the budget, you took a ppp loan of 306 -- $306 -- threaded 6005 hundred $20 and you got forgiveness to pay back. why don't you pay that money back and get your colleagues to also pay their loans back and that will help the government. thank you. guest: first of all, i do knock at the money. i'm in the real estate business. that want to keep hotels open.

360,000 $306,000 did not go to ralph norman. on the payments for congress, i understood that we did not get paid. if i'm wrong, i will admit it. but we've got a serious spending problem in this country and to deny and -- i think you live on another planet if you can't admit that. it is a growing number of us that are just not going to let that happen on our watch. we will see how it works. hopefully it will be shut down long. host: republican of south carolina, ralph norman. we always appreciate your time. thank you. guest: my pleasure. host: we will take a break and we will continue our conversation about the spending battles on capitol hill, with democratic congressman audrey on os biot -- adriano espaillat.

then answering questions about the updated covid vaccines. we will be right back. ♪ >> sunday on q&a, georgetown university law professor sloan, author of "the court and more," talked about liberty is ke up with world war ii and the court of today. >> the anti-japanese cases, a deep stain, as well as the nazi case and the rush to justice in those cases. those cases i think have important lessons for us. one is the danger of deference to the government's claims of national security. they were wildly inflated in both cases. but the second, which i think is important today, is the danger

and the catastrophe that can result when justices are unwilling to stand up to the president who appointed them or their political patrons. that is an important lesson today at a time when more than at any time in our history, the positions of the justices correlate with the political party of the president who appointed them. >> sloan with his book, "the court at war." you can listen to it on q&a and you can listen to that on our podcasts and c-span apps. >> a healthy democracy does not just look like this. it looks like this. where americans can see democracy at work. where systems are truly informed, our republic thrives. get informed straight from the source on c-span. unfiltered, unbiased, word for

word from the nation's capital to wherever you are. because the opinion that matters most is your own. this is what democracy looks like. c-span, powered by cable. ♪ >> american history tv. saturdays on c-span2. exploring the people and events that tell the american story. at 9:00 p.m. eastern on lessons in history, discussing oregon country and how the united states and britain divided the northwest coast. at 9:30 p.m. eastern, a look at how television has desperate trade the white house and the presidency. this is by the white house historical association and the library of congress. exploring the american story. watch american history tv saturday on c-span2 and find a

full schedule on the program guide. or watch online at c-span.org/history. >> washington journal continues. host: we are back with congressman ardrey on representative espaillat -- congressman ardrey on representative espaillat. let's begin with your democratic caucus. you are counting the votes for democrats. speaker mccarthy announced the impeachment inquiry into president biden. what is your reaction? guest: my reaction is that this is turning highly political. that they are looking to shut down government and they want the american people to look the other way. a small boot -- roop of republicans are trying to run the house and forced leadership

and everyone on the house floor to hear to their values and points of view, which are radical in scope. host: according to a cnn poll about prident biden and his so, hunter biden's business alings, 61% say president den had it leased some involvement when he was vice president. 42% say he acted illegally. 18% say actions were unethical but not illegal. and 38% say they don't believe biden had any involvement. the 61% and 42%. how does president biden address those concerns? guest cologne -- guest: until now it was innuendos and no real evidence has been brought. the american people have not been privy to any real evidence

they could rely on. and their opinions have been shaped by what happens in media. there is a process that the speaker put forward. the american people will see the evidence and i think they will conclude that the vice president , vice president biden then did not commit any crimes. his son is not an elected official and is not the president of the united states. host: let's listen to what speaker mccarthy had to say yesterday when he went before reporters to defend his decision of bringing forth an impeachment inquiry. >> how do you justify this inquiry without holding a houseboat? >> easily. nancy pelosi change the rules. let's walk through why and what an impeachment inquiry is. it is simply empowering the house to a greater level to get

the documents they need to answer questions. how do you answer a question? first, what is it? let's walk through what we know and -- we do know that an fbi informant has alleged to the fbi , the vice president that there was a bribe. we know the biden family created 20 shell companies and we do know now that $20 million went to them. we know that what president biden told the american public was not true, that he never talked to his son about his business dealings. we know based upon the testimony by hunter biden's business partners that they were selling a brand. up that the vice president would get on phone calls. that hunter biden went on 12

trips, international trips with the then vice president. we do know that he went to meetings and his son got a new porsche, more than $3 million. we do know now that when the shell companies got paid, nine members of the family got paid. we do know now that the government, while it was investigating hunter biden, was treated differently. the biden family. they let the statute of limitations run out, which we know from irs workers who came forward that that is not how the irs works. so you have all these questions. and to get the answers to these questions you will have to subpoena certain documents. host: how do you respond to the speaker and what he said about the role the then vice president joe biden played and what he was doing?

guest: it seems the speaker knows so many things, maybe he does not need an investigation. maybe he does not need impeachment proceedings. he has already concluded so many things. therefore we don't see the need for this to occur. maybe he should just move forward and go to the department of justice. i think this is radical in scope and it is a lot of nothing. he cannot bring it to the floor because he does not have the votes. he is being held hostage on every single vote by a small radical group of republicans and that is the reality. host: do you believe that president biden when he was vice president showed poor judgment? guest: i am not here to cast judgment on the vice president. i don't know every piece of evidence the speaker was

speaking about today. there will be a process according to him. but it seems to me he has concluded and has a conclusive opinion about the process. to me, that sounds like it is premeditated. it is slanted in one way and that is to harm the president of the united states prior to an election year. the reason he does not take it to the floor is because he does not have the support of his own party. host: ed in pittsburgh, a democratic call. you are up. caller: good. i have a comment and then two quick questions. i find it funny that ralph norman did not know anything about getting paid in the government shut down, i would bet my life that he knew. but why are there no bills being

brought to the floor about the 2100 secret trust for social security recipients? the social security recipients, people are getting killed out there today with this inflation. i have noticed bills have been floating around and i want to know why this has not been brought before either. why when people on disability and social security recipients, when they get a raise, they get their snap benefits. why can something not be done about that? case in point, i got that big raise last year, $90 i got. and they took $200 worth of food stamps away from a. how do you justify that? i will listen to your answers. guest: i feel for you and i have

empathy. i know that people on social security and snap are going through a hard time. to answer your question, the reason why these bills are not heading to the floor is because a dysfunctional majority of controls the floor and they don't have the votes to pass bills. that is why we have done very little. we are leaving today because they don't have the votes to pass a robust agenda. we are heading into a government shutdown that will hurt people like yourself with regards to food stamps. and certainly people that get government services, people on snap, airport services -- a host of services that the american people rely on on a daily basis will be dramatically impacted if

we head into a shutdown, including snap. host: in oklahoma, independent. caller: good morning. power you today? -- how are you today? guest: good, how are you? caller: this is my take. the republicans advance a certain message. it is like hunter biden never did nothing in his life. did you know that hunter biden was at the -- by president george bush in 2006? he was executive vice president for a bank. and c-span, i want you to have one day about hunter biden and his early life. he is a liar.

people don't know that. the make it seem like he is just living off of biden's name. yes, he was a lobbyist. he made money. he invested. all of these people talking about shell companies and all of that, they don't know what hunter biden do and c-span is to put that out there. george bush put him on the board of amtrak. host: all right. that was kurt. congressman. guest: i believe the shell game is this process that according to speaker mccarthy has concluded in his opinion before it even starts. this is an effort to have the american people sidetracked and not focus on the government shutdown they are willing to perpetrate.

it will be disastrous to americans on both sides of the aisle, republican and democratic families. >> matt in maryland, democrat. caller: good morning. my first question is for c-span. do you plan on running this past 9:00? because if you don't, you're only giving the democrat 20 minutes and the republican got a whole half hours. host: we spoke about that. guest: we got next time. call--caller: first, i heard it is illegal to hold the government hostage like this. why do we continue to let the republicans do this? they did this last time and got away with it. and now because they will push everything as far as they can, they are going to be doing this all the time.

then, i want to know -- host: we will take that so we don't waste any time. answer his questions. guest: thank you for your question. we know that during the debt ceiling debate everybody was worried, the economy was on the line, not just our national economy but the world economy. we were facing the cliff and president biden met with leader mccarthy and they reached an agreement. not everybody was happy with the agreement. some felt the cuts were too deep for people that are hurting across america that we provide assistance for. but we avoided a major economic catastrophe, they reached an agreement.

we see now a republican effort to undercut that agreement. and a radical fuel of members of the republican congress -- caucus pressuring their leaders to even cut further from that. they can't keep their word. as a result, we are heading into a shutdown. that will not only hurt the average american family and federal workers, but it would also hurt our economy. as it begins to recuperate. host: u.s. today that usa today had on the front page poll with the suffolk university. biden tries to sell americans on an economic rebound but most americans are not buying it according to this pole. they found nearly 70% of americans said that economy is getting worse. only 22% said the economy is

improving. 84% of americans said the cost of living is rising and 49% blame food and grocery prices is the main driver. guest: we understand inflation is stubborn and we are dealing with this inflation driving the prices of food up. but jobs are being produced. the job producing aspect of the economy is solid and that is a good sign. we'll keep plugging at that and we know that some of those initiatives being applied by the white house to drag down inflation are continuing to yield some results. so we are optimistic that things will get better. host: a republican. caller: good to speak with everyone today. it is very strange that joe

biden has been in congress for so many years and he has so little knowledge of economics. how does he think he can spend all that money and there -- he does not even connect the two. that is basic economics. you spent more money, there is less money in circulation. i don't know how you can sit there with a straight face and say there is no evidence against biden and his son hunter after they took these bribes from foreign governments. that has never happened in the united states before. at least not to the extent that joe biden is doing it. host: how do you respond to

donald? >> it seems to me that many people who perhaps focus on certain networks have made up their mind before the process has begun. the caller is saying he's very confident there is evidence before his seen the process or heard any evidence. or the process itself. i have--i'm a strong believer that this has taken a political slant and this is a sideshow so the american people will pay attention to the government does not pay attention to the government shutdown and other important issues that hurt their everyday pockets. with regards to the rest of the initiatives that the spending he referred to, we just came out of

the pandemic and the federal government had to assist families. don't forget the hurt and the many lives that we have lost during the pandemic and the conditions of this crisis of our lifetime. how the federal government came in to rescue families and communities across the country. we had to vaccinate people and do testing. we had to derive funding for medical and scientific institutions. we had to help small businesses and reopen the schools. this all took money. so if that is what you call runaway spending, i am happy that i was part of rescuing america. host: david in san francisco, independent. caller: i'm david in san francisco. yeah. i wanted to thank the congressman for what was just

laid out. the government shut down to me is sabotaging america's credit rating. when you start thinking of the loan sharks of the past, somebody is trying to create -- make america subject to loan sharks. that time, value and money frack toy, the united auto workers are going on strike right now for $100 an hour. if you were to do the time value of money back to 1968 when the minimum wage was $1.60 and an ounce of gold was $32, it took you 20 hours to buy an ounce of gold at minimum wage. if you were to take an ounce of gold today, $1900 -- closer to $95 an hour minimum wage if you

divide 1900 by 20. he will get with the minimum wage of today should be. $100 an hour -- they are basically asking for minimum wage in 1968. as a congressman, when you're facing off against crooked republicans doing double talk about how much america spends, what they are lying about to start, the total number is how much america has spent since 1776. if they want to shut down government, no wonder they are trying to ruin america's credit rating. host: i'm going to jump in and have him respond. guest: thank you for your comments and in addition to the many initiatives that we have supported during the pandemic, we also approved a bipartisan infrastructure and jobs bill that is producing jobs across

the country. and rebuilding america, its infrastructure that is in bad shape and dilapidated. we also enacted the chips act, which will make us competitive again with semiconductors, china and other competitors. we pass other important pieces of legislation. health care is an important part of our economy. many people don't see the cost of health care as being part of our economy. but it is directly connected to our economic well-being. we were able to cap insulin at $35 a month. we are now able to negotiate down the prices of prescription drugs. that has never happened before. the american people are benefiting. if that is runaway spending, call me a spender. but i think i'm helping the american people.

this is so important and if we have a government shutdown, it will hurt the credit rating of our nation. the american economy is hurt and our credit rating is impacted, the entire world economy is also affected. we are not just talking about america. we are the leaders of the free world. we're also talking about other nations. host: we are talking to congressman adriano espaillat, a senior whip in the caucus. sean in new york, a republican. caller: i wanted to ask your opinion on one thing in new york state. apparently i just heard that we might -- which i don't mind but i guess the system is broken.

so i have to go out of state to buy my ham? and when it comes to budgeting, if i don't have the revenue but i keep spending and spending, on going go bankrupt. -- i'm going to go bankrupt. we've got to get a hold on the money we've spent. because we are losing population like crazy and there's a reason. i think it was -- thank you. >> thank you for the questions. first on the background checks. i am a strong supporter of strict background checks. i believe that if you are part of a gaming community that you would not mind going through a background check. i think it makes us all safe. i'm a strong supporter of background checks and any other

stricter background checks. regarding the state of new york and taxes, i'm a strong believer that is highly unfair that a teacher or nurse pays higher taxes than the very rich. we must increase taxes and capture the revenue that we need for important programs across theit is highly unfair that a police officer or nurse are paying percentagewise a much higher tax rate than the very, very rich. who often get away without paying taxes at all. host: gary -- jerry, democrat.

new jersey. caller: good morning. i want to, on the statement you just made. i am a democrat. i have supported democrats -- i am 70 seven years old. i heard your comments about supporting police and nurses. i want to comment that a lot were let go because they did not take the vaccine. but i do not like is the hypocrisy that we love them when we want to talk about them, but then we do not need them when it is our way or the highway. please rectify that. what i would like to know is, can we work with republicans to get this budget in order so we do not shut down? i hate that we keep saying, oh no, we are not doing it that way. we are not going to give them

anything. the democrats do that. i have to agree that we stick together. we are going to find that thing until the end. but i think people are getting tired of it. i really think we need to work together. as far as joe biden, you guys have to agree to let this process take -- let it happen. because either nothing will happen and republicans will look like dopes, or he will be found guilty and we need to know now. host: all right. let's get those points. guest: thank you for that question. president biden met with leader mccarthy when we were facing the debt ceiling threat. they shook hands and we thought we had a bipartisan agreement. that's, i might add, we had --

they had difficulties getting the votes. not all of us agreed with the terms of that agreement. some of us felt we were giving away the store, as they say. but nevertheless, we wanted to avert the major economic cliff. we thought we had an agreement but here we are again. they are not keeping their word. they want to cut even deeper. they want the american people to look the other way at their so-called impeachment process. they also do not take attention to what matters to their pocketbooks, which is affecting americans and will affect american families across the country. we had a bipartisan agreement and they have not kept their word. host: one last call. thomas in new hampshire. republican. caller: good morning.

i have a question. do you believe taiwan is a country? if taiwan were to get invaded by china, would you be in support of defending their sovereignty, as well as ukraine? host: i will have him respond to that question. guest: i am a strong supporter of taiwan. i believe we should have stronger want to avoid war with china and their rush to impact a democracy there. i do not want to be a prophet of doom and say if there is a war profit that we should jump in but we should do everything we can to help. host: thank you for your time. we appreciate you talking to our viewers.

we are going to take a short break. when we come back, any heard from both lawmakers this morning is up for debate and discussion in open forum, as well as any public-policy policy or political issue. start dialing get to open forum in a minute -- dialing and we will get to open forum in a minute. ♪ announcer: this fall, watch c-span's new series, books that shaped america. join us as we embark on a captivating journey with the library of congress which created a books that shaped america list to explore key literature from american history. the 10 books featured on our series have provoked a, let

awards -- provoked thoughts, won awards, and impact the country. things are intricately tied to the celebrated authors and their unforgettable books. "common sense," by thomas paine. huckleberry finn by mark twain. their eyes were watching god by zora neale hurston. books that shaped america starting monday, september 18 on c-span, c-span now, our free mobile video app, or cease now -- or c-span.org. books that shaped america, a new series that explores key works that have had an impact on our nighty. you can join in by submitting the book you helped shape this country.

go to c-span.org/booksthatshape damerica. select record video. in less than 30 seconds, tell us your book and why. >> dr. seuss's cat in the house because it revolutionized tools in books forever. >> "soldier" by colin powell. announcer: join us as we look at change. be sure to watch books that shaped america, live every monday beginning to number 18 -- beginning september 18. announcer: washington journal continues. host: here's how you can join the conversation. democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002.

get text us with your first name, city, and stay at desk and state at (202) 748-8003. we can start with the impeachment inquiry to president biden, opened by house republicans. we heard from the house speaker earlier this weekend and showed the clip of him justifying why they decided to announce that and query -- this inquiry. >> you see republicans in congress have spent all year investigating the president. that is what they have spent all year doing. they have turned up no evidence, none, that he did anything wrong. that is what we heard over and over from there almost year-long investigation because the president did not do anything wrong. even house republicans have said the evidence does not exist.

house republicans have said that. to my friends in the back which just yelled that, which is in credibly -- is incredibly inappropriate. their own investigations have actually debunked their ridiculous attacks. the only reason speaker mccarthy is doing this political stunt, and we have seen this and you have reported it, is because he threatened to shut down the government. can you imagine shutting down the government over a political don't. we are talking about vital programs american families need. she said that because she wanted mccarthy to do this and if she did not she would shut down the government. and you have matt gaetz threatening to oust him as speaker if he does not do it. he did not put it for a vote because he knows even his own members will not support this. that is why we call it baseless.

because they have set themselves that there is no evidence. evidence does not exist. host: the white house press secretary responding to house republicans opening up an impeachment inquiry. you heard her talk about the government shutdown, the looming deadline to fund the government by september 30. and also the role that conservative republicans have played in pressuring the speaker on this impeachment inquiry. thursday's addition of the new york times has this headline. trump held private talks are urging the gop to impeach on a sweeping patio overlooking the golf course at his private club in best or -- westminster. it was a chance for donald trump to catch up with the georgia

congresswoman. she brought of considerable interest. the push to impeach his likely opponent in next year's election. i did brief them on the strategy i wanted to see laid out, ms. green set in an interview on the phone. this was two nights before kevin mccarthy announced his decision. over the past several months, donald trump kept a close watch on house republicans's momentum. mr. trump has talked regularly by phone with members of the ultraconservative freedom caucus who pushed for impeachment, according to a person close to a person close to the former president. beverly in maine, republican. open forum. what is on your mind? caller: hello. host: good morning. your turn. caller: wouldn't did you say? host: it is your turn. what is on your mind?

caller: my name is beverly. i live in maine. i am a republican. i am 87 years old. have watched c-span since you began. i like to hear everyone's opinions. i do believe this inquiry is necessary. if we have to shut down the government, i am on social security alone. i just had to tap into one of my savings. but i would be willing to do with a little less for a short period. i feel the democrats love this country too. it is the leaders we have a problem with. i hope we will get straightened out in time because we are really in bad shape in this country this time. host: all right. carol, california, independent. we are listening to you.

what is on your mind? caller: i heard the question about whether congress got paid during the shut down, but i was not able to get the answer because us old people have to run off every once and a while. host: [laughter] the congressman said he does not think they do but in 2018, they did, according to news reports. it appears a bill was attempted to put forth in may that would prohibit them from getting paid if there was a default on the debt and a government shutdown but it did not have a counterpart in senate. we are open for them. we'll keep taking your calls. joining as is david, a political reporter for summer fold. he will give us an update on the dmc rules and bylaws committee.

why is this important? guest: if you asked democrats, it is not very important. the position of the democratic party sent out in february as they support joe biden for president and that they support a reordering of the primaries. they are in a fight over that. the reason it is use who they support or not is because robert f kennedy, who is running against joe biden, along with mary williamson, said he needs a meeting with the dnc. the dnc is trying to to deny him delegates. he has made a couple claims are not accurate, but he is storing up what has been a very prolific -- he has been stirring up what has been a very prolific attack, the idea they are not being fair

about the primaries. host: our guest yesterday was talking to our viewers. [video clip] >> the democratic party, and my family in particular, since the 1960's has been fighting for voting rights for the people of georgia. it is ironic at this point that the democratic party is now leading the battle is the affectively distant friend -- the battle that would effectively disenfranchise every voter in georgia so their votes would not count in the primary. there are a lot of mechanisms the dnc has put in place with this new class of superdelegates. their party leaders and other elected officials who are all controlled by the party. they are there to ensure that whoever wins, like myself, if i

win the democratic nomination, we would not be able to get the nomination. either we win the convention or the primary work till. it is not very democratic. guest: he made a couple claims there. one is a mistake and one is false. one is optimistic. the first claim is there was an inversion of george's delicate rules that had a typo that said it would grant balanced -- grant ballots of rule 12 k. that was a mistake because there was not a subsection k of rule 12. they never said that your votes do not count firstly you are

disqualified to other states. it was literally a typo in george's that so. the second thing that is not true is that there are new categories of superdelegates called plo's. that is not new. it existed since 1964. if you remember the 2019 primary, there were many people. bernie sanders said this was unfair because as he got momentum, he was hopelessly behind clinton. after the primary in 2018, the democratic party got it reformed that the party leaders have this vote as a convention but cannot bow until the second ballot. if there was a deadlock, it cannot manipulate the primary in the first round. this leads to the third point which is just a fact about the campaign. kennedy has flatlined in polling for a number of reasons.

i think with the idiosyncratic campaign, the money, and attention, it has made him very unpopular with democrats. his negatives are double or triple what joe biden is in democratic states. he says he is pulling around 8% or 9% in primary state. under democratic rules right now, like california, if you get 9%, you will not get delegates. you start getting them at 15%. in new hampshire and iowa, yes. states that polled primaries they have not sanctioned will penalize or cut the number of delegates in half. that is the number of thing the democrats at the rules and bylaws committee will continue to discuss because it is not over. the problem is not the party will but that new hampshire in the constitution says they have

the first primary. democrats are frustrated joe biden did this. but that and iowa are the only place where delegates are at risk. if you look at kennedy's point, that doesn't sound democratic. but it is something the party has done before. parties even with democrats in the name exist to win elections and have features are not democratic. what kennedy said in those statements is leading to the impression the party is rigging balance and taking votes away in a way that is not true. host: what are you watching for in this meeting? guest: the answer is not a lot. the dramas between the party and new hampshire where governor sununu and democrats in the state house and senate are just going ahead with the primary. it will be a democratic party

primary on the same day. the question is, does joe biden win as a write in candidate. you can imagine if it was held right now and has in someone, most voters in new hampshire would vote for dash. that is the drama. the delegate selection and things like that were dealt in a meeting last year at the dnc. they are just trying to figure out how to get states in line on the delegate count and primary role because there are so many states where primary is coming up in january, february, and march. and negotiations over what to do through no fault of their own. north carolina and south carolina are not agreeing to change their primary dates. the kennedy criticism which has gotten a lot of coverage on

conservative media especially, for that event, they are treating like an afterthought. guest: you can follow david's reporting at semaphore.com. thank you for your time. our viewers can watch today's dnc gathering live coverage starting at 10:30 this morning on c-span.org and our free video app, c-span now. , then in minneapolis. back to open forum. thank you for waiting. caller: my eyes glazed over. that was a lot of information to take in at 8:15 in the morning. host: [laughter] caller: i want to thank c-span for allowing everyone to have their own opinion. unfortunately, i think joe biden

may be a little too old. that may be ageism. i think you should stepped out and let someone else take the job. he was great for the time we needed to get donald trump out of the office because of his craziness. it is just so sad to be that here we are in 2023, the wheels on the bus go round and round. one guy wants to impeach one guy and the other wants to impeach the other. no one is doing anything for the american people. we are tired, as american citizens, as a fight. we all need to come together. 2020 is done. whether democrat or republican, they need to run on crime, making streets safer, and getting people back to work. those are the only three things people need to deal with in the cities i live in.

i cannot even want down the street in downtown minneapolis after 7:30 because the streets are too dangerous. then they throw in marijuana. hello? can we say, democrats you are winning this eddie? i am not a republican. but i am more in the middle that i have ever been in my life. host: let me ask you, what is the issue that will drive your vote? caller: crime. crime and safety. if you are going to run on crime and safety, you will win in the twin cities. you cannot ride down the street or run the light rail. they say everything is great again, but no it is not. have you been downtown? the only way it is to go is go biking. it is sad. the only day they make it safe for people that ride downtown in

the minneapolis area is during a vikings or concert. after that, your on your own. i never thought to myself that i would have to carry mace or a gun walking downtown. host: got it. president biden will give what is being called a major economic address today at 2:45 p.m. eastern time. you can watch on our website, c-span.org, or on c-span now. scott, independent. caller: can i give a shout out to be really kind lady who answers the phone? host: that is twice today for her. caller: and did not hear you. host: i said that is twice today for her. thank you. caller: what i would like to say is, i have felt for some time i

do not believe joe biden will actually be on the ballot. the reason i feel that way as a true independent is i don't have anything against his age. i don't believe age is a factor for me personally. what i do believe is a factor is there is just too much corruption there and the american people are starting to get wind of it finally. just a couple things. i saw an interview with philip who might have been a podcaster. i don't know the name of the podcast. i was just startled that a man of his ilk -- he has been writing for the washington post, i will just guess, 30 years. he is a very intelligent man. earlier in the interview, he was asked a question when they put the hunter biden text message on the screen. where he tells his sister he has

to give half the money to joe. the question is ask him about this. we are looking at the text message on the screen and the thoughts that he did not have an answer and he was at wits end to the point that the podcaster said, if you cannot answer, you are free to go and he left the interview. the second thing i would like to mention really quickly is i saw something yesterday for the very first time. and i am very up on this hunter biden story. the media has refused to report so many things over time. tony bo belinsky met with joe biden at the beverly hilton hotel before the 2020 election. we call this firsthand testimony. he sat in the meeting with him. yesterday, for the first time --

god bless this pbs reporter who was a lady. i don't know who she was. i have never seen this clip in my life. she cornered the president in 2019. he was not yet elected. i have never seen this. she cornered him. i believe i might have seen this with you guys at some point. she cornered him and asked him directly in no uncertain terms about this. "you should have never let your son do this." she went on a tirade there. it was unbelievable. he did not have an answer and gave his usual life. as this thing rolls out, it is not sustainable. host: all right. i have to jump in. dave, las vegas. democratic caller. caller: they should not shut

down the government. the republicans always want to shut down the government when they don't get their way. i am an x veteran who was in the military. people on social security and medicare, they will hurt them first? they have it backwards. the congressman, if they do not -- if they shut down, they should not get their checks. how about, before they decide on this vote, say, they don't get their checks. i guarantee it will change. they want their money and want to hurt people. the republicans never vote for social security or medicare and they will take it away. for all you republicans, you republicans, you will lose it. host: roberts, aurora, indiana. caller: i am 86 years old. i have worked hard all my life. the last year, my payment on my

house has went from 300 $71 to $544. biden's done a great job of making this country go under. how people can say he is doing a good job? why don't you get cut low on there and get what his name on saturday night. to tell us what is happening. you bring democrats who know have no idea what they are doing like the nut you had this morning. he knew nothing. host: moses in florida, independent. hello. caller: jai, how are you? thank you for taking my call. . host: we are listening. caller: thank you for taking my

call. i wanted to say that joe biden will not make it. he is not running. it is clear the corruption is overwhelming. i think that, to have michelle and gavin newsom. but president biden is not going anywhere. you have the hunter biden reports and laptop. you say there is no evidence? are you kidding? the witnesses and whistleblower. you have the emails, takes, messages. he goes on tv, lying in front of everyone, saying quid pro quo. if you do not buy the prosecutor, he will not get a million dollars. host: we are going to take a

break. when we come back, we will turn our attention to covid-19 vaccines. the latest with dr. georges benjamin of the american public health association. ♪ announcer: book tv, every sunday on c-span two features leading authors discussing their latest nonftion books. at 9:00 p.m. eastern, elia details hisesrch from immigrant to engineer. ter, at blue origin, his memoir "boy who reach for the stars." then journalist laur shares her book about the history and experiences the six women selected in 1978 went through to become the first female astronauts. what book tv sunday on c-span 2 and find the full schedule on your program guide or watch any

time on booktv.org. ♪ announcer: this year, book tv marks 25 years of shining spotlights on nonfiction authors and their books. from author talks, interviews, and festivals. book tv providing viewers with a front row seat to the latest literary discussion, politics, and more. watch every sunday on c-span 2 or online at sees and.org. book tv, 25 years of television for a serious reason. announcer: c-span's documentary competition is that and this time we are celebrating 20 years. looking forward while

considering the past. >> leaders of today or tomorrow, it is imperative we take care of this and lay the groundwork. >> the more we work together to prevent fentanyl from becoming the world next pandemic. >> inflation really matters. announcer: we are asking middle school and high students to create a five minute to six minute video addressing one of these questions. in the next 20 years, what is the most important thing you would like to see? or in the last 20 years, what is the most important change in america? there was $100,000 it -- in total prizes. every year, the teachers of students who participated have the option to share the $50,000

portion. for more information about this, visit our website at studentcam.org. announcer: washington journal continues. host: joining us this morning is dr. georges benjamin, executive of the american public health association. let's begin with the new booster that was announced by the fda and cdc for covid-19. what should americans know about this? guest: thank you for having me. americans should know covid is still with us but we have much better tools we have developed over the last 2.5 years. we know more about the character and the way the body functions. we have better teams and we know

more about how to protect ourselves and treat ourselves should you get exposed to the virus. host: if you get exposed today, what is the viruslike, and is the booster needed? guest: i believe the booster is needed. it is an updated vaccine. what happens to most people is, even if you have had protection because you have been vaccinated or were exposed to the virus and are affected. the best majority of americans have some degree of protection but it wanes over time. this means that this updated vaccine is important to maintain the high level protection that keeps you from getting really sick. host: who needs it? guest: everyone over the age of six. that is what is recommended. everyone over the age of six and older should get the updated vaccine. host: what do we know about

covid-19? what are some specific people should know about what we have learned over the past 2.5 years about this virus? guest: we have learned to be virus mutates frequently and likes to change. every so far, when it has changed, it gets a little more infectious. it becomes easier to pass from one person to another. it is easy to pass from one person to another, even if you don't have symptoms which makes it difficult to detect. we know that if you are older or have a lots of immunocompromised diseases like kidney disease or heart disease, that makes you more than likely to get release it, if you are exposed by this virus.

we know that we can protect ourselves. we know this is true for adults and children. even though children don't get as sick as adults, we still have children that got sick and die from this disease. host: what we know about how long immunity lasts? guest: it somewhere around three or four months after you get your vaccination that it begins to wane some. the waiting is in such a way that you cannot say exactly. if you do get infected, most people who have been fully vaccinated do not get really sick to the point people die. but we still have seen deaths. we are not seen deaths in people who have been vaccinated because their immune status has aned --

waned. host: how concerned are you about vaccine fatigue? it seems like you would be concerned. guest: i am very concerned about vaccine fatigue. all of us want to be over this. we still need a visual. this is not a minor cold. it can still cause significant. more importantly, it causes a chronic disease state in a number of people called "long covid," which is people feeling like they are in a grey fog, sometimes persistent weakness, and a range of systems -- of the symptoms we are trying to get our hands around. but we know this virus can affect almost every single organ system. this is in addition to the disease we see people get

infected. host: what is the american public health association? guest: it is a professional society of people interested in public health. we have been around since 1872, over 150 years. host: dell in springfield, illinois. question or comment? caller: i have a comment and a question. my comment was with the ai we were discussing earlier on, science would be one of the benefactors of ai in terms of research and treatments. but the question was, i had it regarding the cdc.gov. i was listening and saw a post i saw that those two already had covid and those who have the

vaccine and booster are more susceptible to this current strain. i did not understand how that could be. it was on the cdc.gov website. can you explain that to me? guest: we are not saying they are more susceptible. i am not sure the quote you saw. what i know about people who have been infected and got vaccinated, or got vaccinated and then infected, it does seeing those people overall tend to do a little better -- does seem those people overall tend to do a little better. but i am not aware that there is any evidence that you must dust you are much more likely to get this new strain -- evidence that you are much more likely to get this new strain. host: michael, florida.

hello. caller: dr. benjamin, i wonder if you would comment on the fact california has asked, to his credit, all pediatricians to conduct an ace study. if you are aware of the age study because it is foundational. i am afraid you and the american public health association are going to be found historically complicit in tens of millions of deaths. not just due to the covid issue but due to our support -- your support -- of a discriminatory and class-based health delivery system founded on a false understanding of evolution that is promoted -- understanding that evolution is based on competition. evolution is not synonymous with competition. it is not saying these

class-based systems of our health care, education, and economics, which is based on science, come from herbert spencer. host: are you following? guest: i am not sure of his question. let me just say the american public health association has strongly been in support of a health system with everyone in and no one out. host: mary, nevada. caller: good morning. i had a question on, how much further would we have been ahead or how much better off would be has been, or how many lives would have been date, if we knew the origins of covid? especially like patient zero. and the fact the cia covered up that it originated in the lab, instead of in the wet market. how much more information we would have gathered and how much

faster? host: do you have some thoughts? guest: first of all, let me just say it is important we understand what the origin of the virus is. i think it helps us with forward leaning in terms of being able to protect ourselves in the future. that is the first thing. secondly, i think there are lots of delays in our understanding of this because of not getting early information from china that we really needed to have. i think that that inhibited this and our understanding quickly enough. we did have a lot of international club operation. some was from china. but it is clear we were not getting good information right away. all of this contributed to part of our problems in the united states but we also did not do this well in the united states.

there were many things we did not do well. but there are some things we did do well. i think that had we been more collaborative and had a much better public health system that we have built to respond to this kind of emergency, had we had consistent leadership and consistent message, and an all-in with everyone being worked up in the same direction all the time, every time. with more organization, lives would have been saved. we need to think about how we, as a society, trust these kinds of societal threats and focus on the real enemy and stop letting each other. host: ray is in suri cruise, new york. you are talking with dr. georges

benjamin. go ahead. caller: my first comment is, i will never trust anything that comes from any health provider again. i heard so many lies during covid. i am 66, fairly intelligent. i have worked in science my whole life. i was lied to every which way. they are still lying about it. of course, dr. fauci was the public one we saw allow -- we saw life. i cannot imagine trusting anything ever again. i do not even trust by dr. of 40 years anymore because he went along with it. host: let's get a reaction. dr. benjamin. guest: i am a physician. what i can tell you is -- i will

give you my best advice. i encourage you to check it out and go to trusted sources. find someone you do trust and talk to them, someone who is knowledgeable. then follow what i hope is good advice that you would get from jim. trust has been a problem during this pandemic. i hope we can earn people's trust so we don't go through this again. host: new york. caller: thank you for taking my call. dr. benjamin, i have a couple brief questions to amplify my understanding. i am not looking for position -- for precision to the tent of the decimal or whatever. you talked about long covid. do you have a range of percentage of how many people who get covid and a up with long

covid? guest: i don't know. there are a lots of estimates out there. the challenge we have is we don't know how many people are actually getting infected. we have not only gone to self testing, but we have a life people who are positive and do not report it. and they have mild symptoms and defined. in terms of a percent, i don't have a good number for you. we are still trying to make sure we have a good case definition for long covid. somewhere around 10 weeks or 12 weeks out, there is a population of people that get long covid but there are some that have persistent symptoms that can go on for years. you have only been doing this

for 2.5 years so we are not sure what the long-term duration would be. but it is substantial enough that we know we need to pay a lot more attention to it with a lot more diligence that we were -- diligence them you were doing right now. host: we are talking with georges benjamin about the upcoming covid-19 booster that is now recommended. where can people get it and is it free? guest: the good news is almost everyone to be able to get the vaccine. but they change the system. now that the emergency is gone. if you have insurance purchase, you should be able to get it through your insurance company. it should not cost you anything. if you are uninsured and do not have a --, the federal

government has an access program that will allow you to get vaccines or free. certain pharmacies that have been contracted with the federal government. my understanding is with those contracts in place, that should be available the next day or two. host: crank, florida. your question or comment. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i was wondering if you are familiar with aerocleanse.com? you can go to get information on new technology for disinfections in aircraft cabins and labs, and hopefully other areas, which is a novel idea.

it is in the process of being approved. it was -- it would eliminate viruses and other pathogens. it is an awesome product. it gives you all the white papers and journal articles, etc.. i would love to see c-span invite someone on to discuss this. it is imperative for people to know about this. thank you. guest: thank you. i am not familiar with that particular company or organization. i can say that we now know there is a degree of aerosol is a the occurs of the virus and -- aerosolization the occurs of the virus. i am always concerned about having good air quality.

that is something we should be paying attention to. it is something that we need to pay more attention to, as well as new tools, to help protect ourselves. host: john, massachusetts. good morning. caller: i have a question. we have people that's pretty much are not -- that pretty much are not voted into office. it has nothing to do with our governor. i basically know, because i was around back then, but in 1965, there was a virus created by our government which is the coronavirus. that virus was pretty much held up in government labs until it was the perfect time for the world health organization called schwab and all the globalist --

host: we are going to move on. anton, florida. good morning. caller: i have a question and comment for dr. benjamin. i called c-span at the very beginning of covid. i called c-span and john was the host. john reported at the time that 291,000 americans had died of covid. i talked to john that day and said, it cannot be true. how do i know? because four days earlier, a caller had asked one of those doctors like dr. benjamin as anyone can die of covid by it self alone. the answer was no. of course i never got the shot and i had a chance to talk about this later on. i said a man like me, 80, i have

never been sick in my life. what would happen if i got the shot at the time? he warned me about it. host: what do you say? guest: i am glad you are 80 years old and you sound like you are doing quite well. sounds like you've got good genes. i still encourage you to go get vaccinated for this disease. because it does tend to impact people who are much older. we know that over one million people have died from covid. that is probably an undercount because of the way we capture people in our system who died. we diagnose the cause of death. so that is an undercount for sure.

there has also been a big debate between people who died of covid and people who died with covid. and getting those numbers straight. as we go forward, we need to do a better job of differentiating deaths directly attributed to covid, or people who die with a heart attack with covid. we know at least one million people did die from covid. host: kevin in oregon. guest: over 6 million worldwide. caller: -- host: kevin, your television. caller: i just had a really quick question.

last october, when i got my fourth vaccination, they said i was good for a year. so i was scheduled to get it again october which the new covid vaccine would be out. it sounded like it was only good for six months. i want a confirmation. is it good for a year or do we go back to six months? guest: i do not think we know for sure to be honest. we are seeing that your immunity seems to wane after five or six months. i think practically, most people will get it annually. an updated vaccine will be available every year advise probably what most people will do. i cannot promise you. you are learning as we go along to some degree -- we are learning as we go along to some degree. what i plan to do is -- i will

be getting the updated vaccine as soon as i can and it is available and i can get to the store to get it. if it turns out that five or six months from now we are seeing a another surge and we attribute that to significantly waning immunity -- and that is the key word. "significantly" waning immunity. that i will benefit from a twice a year shot. but once a year is more likely what we will see. host: thomas in pennsylvania. good morning. caller: good morning. . dr. benjamin, will there be another mask mandate or will it be that we need to stay six feet from each other or is it up to the individual to wear one or not? guest: i do not see more mask mandates. let me tell you how i think about masks.

masks work. not 100%. you have to wear it properly and wear masks very tight around your face. the difference between the n95 masks or multilayer cloth masks each have their benefits. i do think that if you are going to be going to a large event, and you are in a community where there is a surge in covid occurring, and you will be around people who potentially are compromised. like if you have to go see grandma or if someone is sick like on chemotherapy, i am for you to wear the mask because it protects you from them and them from you. it is a little inconvenient but wearing a mask is not a big thing.

tragically, we allow this very simple protective device which offers a significant degree of protection, pending on the situation, to become politicized. it makes no sense. there are other societies around the world that have become mask wearing. whenever you have covid and please season. it also protects you from the flu and the common cold. if it -- it does offer protection so i encourage people to mask up. host: speaking of the flu, shouldn't americans get both the flu vaccine and latest covid vaccine? can you get them at the same time? guest: i absolutely think americans should get the annual flu shot and updated covid vaccine. as well as, if you are over the age of 65, contact your health

care provider and see if the vaccine for rsv is something you ought to have? i can tell you i have had my flu shot already. i have had my rsv shot. i am over age 65. as soon as i can, i am going to get the updated covid vaccine as well. and you can get them at the same time, one in each arm. host: what are your concerns about the rise of flu, rsv, and covid as we head into fall? guest: as they said, it is respiratory season. fall and winter. we are going indoors and will be around each other more. we are sharing our germs more. kids are going back to school

and sharing their respiratory germs with each other. we are in a higher risk season. so wash your hands, coming to work when you are sick. if there is anyway possible to do that. wearing a mask in appropriate settings and being properly vaccinated is the bedrock of protection. that is the best thing for us to do. host: all right. dr. georges benjamin, executive director of the american public health association. thank you. guest: thank you. host: it will bring into the house. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. the clerk: the speaker's roops, september 14 -- rooms, september 14, 2023. i hereby appoint the honorable morgan luttrell to act as speaker pro tempore on this day.