♪ host: this is the "washington journal," the houses in a 9 a.m., so i to our program today.

trump planned to use tariffs against canada and mexico in part to step up their border enforcement efforts with hopes of reducing the amounts of fentanyl entering the u.s. he enacted a 25% tariff this week as democrats and some republicans expressed concerns about harms to the economy. yesterday, the president stepped back some tariffs after markets reacted negatively. starting the program today, when it comes to tariffs on canada and mexico, do you support or oppose the placement of additional tariffs? call and let us know what you think. democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. if you want to share your thoughts on tariffs against canada and mexico and want to text us, (202) 748-8003 is how you do that. you can also post on our social media sites, facebook.com/c-span and also on x.

"the economic times" takes a look at the tariffs from the trump administration, giving and explainer on what's being done with them and how they are planning to use them. you can find the story on their website, where they start off with what is a tariff, adding that the definition is fairly straightforward, a tax on goods coming from one country and in simple terms, taxes charged on goods imported from other countries. in the section where it goes who pays the tariffs, it adds that they are typically take -- paid by domestic importers and paid to border protection, but economists say that the portion of the costs is often paid by consumers and sellers may hike up prices of goods that they are importing for consumers. when it comes to the political aspects and why the trump administration is imposing them, the story says that the president has said he plans to use the tariffs to boost

american manufacturing and and what he says are unfair trade practices, also saying he has also stated that the tariffs are intended to stop the flow of undocumented immigrants and illegal drugs into the united states. "mostly mexico," a lot through canada." that is what he said from the oval office. he said "those three have not treated us very well." that's a bit of an explainer when it comes to tariffs. when it comes to the thoughts of people on tariffs, one pulling in -- pulling organization said that "25% tariffs on goods imported from mexico, 38% support that. 25% from canada, 32% support, 32% oppose." steel and aluminum, 35% to 46%.

european union, 33% to 39%." in the last day, automakers got a bit of relief from the recent tariffs put on canada and mexico by the trump administration saying that the big three were granted a one-month exemption from the tariffs, adding that ford and gm, stellantis, have until april 2 to prepare for the taxes to go into effect. that's a bit of an explainer when it comes to the use of tariffs from the trump administration between canada and mexico. what do you think about that policy? let us know on the lines. democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8001. --(202) 748-8002. phil, good morning. caller: how are you? a couple of things.

first, most u.s. citizens don't know that under the inflation reduction act, it included mexico and canada. what happened after that is companies started producing in mexico and canada and the more than they would get subsidies from the federal government. the american u.s. workers were not getting the benefit of those jobs. on top of that, most u.s. citizens don't realize that there has been a trade war going on with canada on the northern border for years and as little as a year and a half ago, mexico would not import our corn because it was genetically modified and when they finally imported it, they put a 50% tariff on it. on top of that, they show alcohol being sold in canada and being taken off the shelves, most u.s. citizens don't realize that on top of the regular tariff, there is a scene tax in canada on alcohol and to. host: all of that said, when it

comes to the additional tariffs, where are you? caller: i'm for them. as long as it is stipulated. i priced out avocados a couple of years ago when they were going for two dollars, five dollars here in new york. how often do i buy tequila? every few years if you are lucky? host: republican line les, kansas. caller: caller: i absolutely support donald trump in these tariffs. i believe that what he's doing is the right thing. i can prove it. i'm disabled. i have nurses who go and buy my products at a discount outlet that starts with a w. i think you all know what it is. starts with w, ends with t. i get the same groceries every

week. i usually spend 150 to $160 every week. are you there? host: how does this relate to tariff policy? are these additional tariffs, specifically? caller: my bill dropped from one hundred $60 per week down to $100. i'm saving $50 a week. host: how does that relate to the tariffs on canada and mexico? caller: what's that? host: how does that relate to the tariffs on canada and mexico? caller: some of the products come out of canada. some of the prescription drugs. some of the food products come out of canada. come out of other countries that are being tariff. mexico, especially. as far as the avocados, they can keep them. i will use them for baseballs. host: seattle, washington,

trish, democratic line, hello. caller: good morning, thank you for taking my call. i did a survey of my own yesterday. i called various representatives and senators, primarily on the northern states and in the midwest. i asked and in turn whether they received any phone calls from folks saying that they were pleased with the tariffs and were excited to pay more at the grocery store. pretty much all of them, one way or the other, was like -- no, we are not pleased about it. i'm not pleased about it. it's affecting my grocery prices. listening to the vancouver news every night, it's affecting those people. i just don't -- i'm sure it's probably the same on the southern border. so no, i think this is just,

just a mean thing for him to do. if you want to cut down fentanyl, go after the folks that import the stuff from china . go to china, locked that down. but we know that 47 is scared of china, so i doubt that will happen. i think this is ridiculous and divisive and it doesn't need to be and it's all just a part of him trying to be the big boy on the block. he can go to h ell hell. host: ok. that's trish in washington. carolyn levitt was asked about the tariffs and the overall impact they could make when it comes to the economy. here is some of the response from yesterday. [video clip] >> last night the president said that there would be a little disturbance, but we are ok with that. can you put a dollar figure on how much the average american family should expect to pay? as a disturbance?

and why should americans be ok with that when so many are already struggling to pay the bills? >> first of all, last night the president told the truth, was realistic, and level set with the people of america. frankly, it's refreshing. everyone should be grateful that we have a president who tells the truth about the reality of the economic situation we are in. unlike the previous president who lied and said that inflation was under control and that the border was secure when that wasn't true. the president is being frank and honest. the american people elected as president for monumental reform, including rebuilding the manufacturing base in this country, standing up to foreign nations who have been ripping off the country for decades. it requires disruption. it requires a lot of effort and work that the president is focused on doing. that said, as he said last night, the administration is committed of course to ending the inflation nightmare.

look at the deregulation efforts. look at the presidential pushed last night in his speech for congress to pass tax cuts, ending taxes on social security and overtime pay for americans. taxes on tips. we need congress to get that done. it will put more money back into the pockets of the american people. i didn't even mention energy. look at his focus on unleashing the might of the energy industry. he's been cutting back on burdensome regulation from the previous administration to unleash the energy industry at home and drive down costs. he's committed to making america affordable again. host: some of the reaction from facebook, saying that you have to be a complete fool to support tariffs against our biggest trade partners and neighbors, the highest since world war ii. maybe there's a reason they came down? if a nation has tariffs on o goods, according to another, we

should reciprocate. kevin downing, t of tariffs. they did that to control the corporio. james hopkin saying that if the point is to shake thingsp and somehow show his domestic audience that he's fighting for them, it's good tat. if he thinks that tariffs will make consumers happy at the checkout, everyone will be unhappy. i don't support this. kevin, republican line, texas, hello. caller: i'm going to put myself down as ambivalent on the whole tariff situation. i do want to address the disingenuous argument that, you know, that this will be passed on to consumers. every tax of a corporation is passed on to consumers. i mean, that's just the fact of it. harris, when she was running, she was going to impose an

increase on corporate tax. no one talked about how that could be passed on to consumers. it was all about how rich corporations are. pedro, i know you probably have lived as long as i have. i remember when democrats were for tariffs on the steel industry, the auto industry. they begged for tariffs. the only reason the democrats are against these, it's one reason, trump. host: ok, that's kevin in texas. michael, new york, independent line, hello. caller: i just want to give everybody a heads up. 2016, i bought a dodge challenger. i loved it. i was on the treadmill and watching how they were built. like that show on the history channel. it was interesting that every engine, all of these muscle car engine -- engines, they are all made in mexico and then put on a

train and the train comes into the united states, bypasses the u.s. and goes into canada, where every dodge challenger and charger is manufactured from scratch. there's no doubt that tariffs are going to make that car a lot more expensive. i don't care that the car was made in mexico and canada. i love the car. i think it's great. i know it's going to costs a lot more money for anybody to buy anything like that. every toyota tacoma is made in mexico. these are vehicles we all use every day. i'm on the long island expressway right now and am surrounded by them. everyone who thinks that these people driving a dodge ram think it's a good thing, it's not a good thing. there's nothing good -- nothing good about it at all out of pocket. all the money i spent by having that car -- i made a nice garage, i had toolboxes with a nice set up, air conditioning, all spent locally.

local contractors, you know, local things. the toolboxes all came from ohio. i -- i don't think it's all good for anybody at all as far as their pocketbooks. host: all right, michael from the expressway. barbara, georgia, hello. caller: i'm opposed to it. i live on a fixed income. i have it rough. i can't afford to go buy groceries now. everything that you buy is going to become more expensive in the future. plus he is cutting back care and medicaid. what are we facing? what are on fixed incomes? i'm on a lot of medicines. if my medicines go up, what am i going to do? host: ok. that was barbara in georgia.

the hill takes a look at the political back and forth of the decisions by the trump administration on tariffs, saying that it is the trump continuous back and forth on tariffs that is taking a toll on republican lawmakers who admit that the constant announcements are difficult to follow as they tried to assuage constituent concerns, and that it's been a roller coaster with tariffs at the top of the list as the president has threatened them on numerous partners, delayed implementation, hinted at compromises, carving out exceptions and senate republicans are willing to give him plenty of leeway despite the lack of enthusiasm generally, they have acknowledged that the will they won't pay nature of his threats and constant uncertainties are giving them whiplash and that it provides them with the opportunity to say hold your breath, it's like the weather in south dakota, it will change by tomorrow. that was senator mike rounds, who noted that the weather can be frustrating as well, that

it's frustrating and we get used to it, as i may be commenting on something that is no longer a valid point within hours. jack, georgia, republican line, hello. caller: thank you for taking my call. yes, i support the tariffs. i understand how people feel, but i pay taxes for myself. we have to bring the manufacturers back over here, you know? i know that the tariffs on canada and mexico have a lot to do with the illegal aliens and what not and they are doing something about that. but what about the fentanyl that has killed so many? i think canada has to step up and do a better job about that. because it is killing people. if the shoe was on the other foot, if we were doing it to them, i would feel the same way for them wanting to do something to us as an tariffs.

the tariffs is going to the economy back. i'm a retired union pipefitter. americans have to work with your mind and make trades with your hands and body. by putting tariffs on other countries, they will bring the manufacturing jobs back over here and then everybody can have a better chance on prospering with whatever they want to do. we have to have carpenters. we have to have plumbers. we have to have people who work on cars. we have to have people for electricity and whatnot. i think that's all i got to say, sir. host: thank you, jack. glenn, texas, independent line. caller: good morning, c-span. been a while since i talked to you. host: morning, go ahead. caller: tariffs.

i support texas. -- tariffs. canada is charging us 13% on anything we buy from canada. we also subsidize canada. 38 trillion million dollars. why are we subsidizing canada as a country? so, it's illegal for trump to charge canada tariffs. ok? the epa has caused our problems. they have run all of our factories out of the country and have gone to our neighbors countries. canada and mexico. the epa caused this from years past. i know a little bit about epa they came to my business one time and wanted to give me a fine for having two car batteries outside my building. i showed them where the road was and that they better get on it.

ok. let's go to mexico. tariffs will kill mexicans, illegals coming into the united states. it will also kill fenton coming into the united states -- fentanyl coming into the united states. tariffs is a wonderful thing if you use them in the right way. trump is doing that. host: hattie, democratic line, houston. caller: thank you for taking my call. i've been trying to call lots of times. i'm against them charging all of this. my food -- i'm on a fixed income. i've been working all my life. i'm over 80 years old now. i'm so hurt that he's doing this . all of my food, everything is just going up and up and up and up. i can't even have my electric bill, my food, my egg money, that's the case.

they've been coming on here bringing the food and most of what we used to have, the cotton fields and everything, you could make a lot of stuff, corn and everything from that. but now, we look on some of these other countries, i'm against him doing this because, you know, he don't have to worry about that, you know? poor people working and everything, i'm so upset. i don't know how i'm going to live if they cut everything and the food prices are out of sight here. so, i'm just really hurt, the way that he is doing, he's just like it's for the rich, but he needs to help everybody. host: thank you, hattie, they're from texas calling in on thoughts when it comes to these tariffs. it was on the senate floor where chuck schumer made his own thoughts known about recent policy about tariffs from the

trump administration. here's a portion of that. [video clip] >> let's be clear, the administration has obviously not thought through the tariffs, they seem to be changing their plans by the hour in this uncertainty is harmful to the economy, making it impossible for businesses to plan ahead. depressing spending and slowing growth, eating away at consumer and confidence. yes, there are certain tariffs, particularly against china that might make some sense. but these have not been thought through. they are creating chaos for the economy. that's the one thing the tariffs are accomplishing. chaos for the economy, stock market plummets. and why? why are they doing this? it's not different from social security or medicaid. why is donald trump hell-bent on starting a trade war when virtually every expert knows the casualties of a trade war will be families and consumers? the reason is simple.

one reason. he and doge say that soap -- social security is a scam and they want to take away benefits to pay for tax cuts to billionaires. that's the whole ballgame. host: that's from the senate floor yesterday. you can always monitor the actions of the house and senate when they are in, c-span one and two, respectively. things to watch out for today as reported by the house, they are expected to vote as to whether to censure al green for disrupting the trump speech on tuesday to a joint session of congress. the measure was advanced wednesday with a procedural vote on party lines underscoring the acrimony between republicans and democrats in the chamber. look out for that as the house comes in at nine :00 today. the action will take place during the course of the day. follow along on c-span, c-span now, and our website for the actions in the house. let's hear from franklin in

caller: california. republican line. caller:good morning. thank you for taking my call. like the previous caller, i'm also well not so much against the tariffs, i'm comfortable with them, but we have got to bring these manufacturing jobs back to the united states. we can't just build a solid middle class based on the service industry. god bless them, i know we need service, but to have a solid living wage and support a family, not living month-to-month, just eking it out, you know, credit cards building month-to-month, we have got to have a manufacturing capability in this country. so, i don't have enough, you know, perspicacity to see, to telescope into the future to know the best way this can be done. i don't like tariffs. but it seems to be the only way to incentivize manufacturers, people like john deere, harley

davidson, who have taken their manufacturing facilities and moved them overseas, created a rust belt in the united states, get them to move -- not all, it's not the same. it's not like we will never do business with china, mexico, vietnam, india, but moving some of these facilities back to the united states so that we can establish good to, you know, a good living wage for middle-class workers and get this country back on its feet again. host: ok. thank you. jim, texas, up next on the independent line. hello. caller: this is jim. thank you for having me on. these tariffs are not looking at the full picture. i'm looking at building a new home in texas. why should i start it right now if it's possibly going to go up 25 percent? ok, that's going to hurt the

builders, the plumbers, the electricians, all the people in everything. i just can't -- i would be stupid if i did it right now. it's going to hurt the whole economy, the whole thing. the other thing, i'm a veteran. i retired. ok? they are hurting my health care. they are going to go in there and possibly cut 80,000 people? they need -- the president hasn't even been in the door of a health care facility at the v.a. he needs to get it straight, ok? i used to be a republican. when i heard him lying and everything, i said -- forget it. we need to look at the full picture. he gets excited on barking orders and he needs to calm down a little bit. host: democratic line. stephen, kentucky, hello. caller: good morning, pedro. thank you for allowing me to speak. real quick, i know we are talking about tariffs, but mr.

al green, it's very hypocritical to say he did something wrong. when biden had his state of the union, representatives bob burt and marjorie taylor greene heckled him. they didn't get any consequences. it's a hypocritical double standard. back to tariffs, it's a terrible idea to add tariffs to our neighbors and allies. you only add tariffs to countries you are competing against. it's a terrible idea. i am in the manufacturing world. we are, it feels like, wading through ups and downs. it's unpredictable. a lot of companies that are global are nervous. they have no idea what the right decision is. so, my customers, my company, it feels unstable, the way that he does this. pulling things in, taking things

out. it's very sporadic. we need stability. i'm very against this. host: let's hear from the canadian prime minister on the terra policy overall, justin trudeau, from a couple of days ago. [video clip] >> i want to speak directly to one specific american. donald, in the over eight years that you and i have worked together, we have done big things. we signed a historic deal creating record jobs and growth in both of our countries. we have done big things together on the world stage, as canada and the u.s. have done together for decades, for generations. and now we should be working together to ensure even greater prosperity for north americans in a very uncertain and

challenging world. it's not in my habit to agree with "the wall street journal," but donald, they point out that even though you are a smart guy, this is a dumb thing to do. host: the opinion page from "the wall street journal," the opinion page, trump terror of roller coaster," originally justified to combat the alleged threat of fentanyl, claiming tuesday that they are needed because we pay subsidies to canada and mexico of hundreds of billions and have large deficits with both of them, and that sounds like peter navarro and the barrage is causing economic uncertainty and slowing investment, a thrill a minute." let's hear from dante in maryland, republican line. caller: hello, thank you for

taking my call. three things. the first thing is, i don't have a problem with tariffs, but tariffs are not something that should be imposed. they are something that should be negotiated. this whole concept of tariffs was negotiated by donald trump. i'm going to say that again, by donald trump. it was 2019 with the formation of the u.s. mca, the u.s. mexican canadian agreement. in the agreement, the three countries were, for most items, not going to impose tariffs until they reached certain quotas. when you hear tariffs of 300%, two hundred percent, that's once the importation reached a certain quota that was agreed to by that, by that agreement between the u.s., mexico, and canada. the third thing is that what

people don't realize, the u.s. imports nearly 100% of poe -- from canada. -- potash from canada. that goes into the crops, growing the plants that we eat. the u.s. imports 50% of the beef that comes from canada and mexico. if you think that this isn't going to affect your food prices or that you won't see an increase in just going to mcdonald's? most of the imported beef goes to ground beef. if you don't think that this will directly affect you, almost immediately, i out i -- i think you have another thing coming. that's the take home from me. i'm not opposed to tariffs, but when you are talking about trading partners and neighbors, these things need to be negotiated and not imposed. host: dante, maryland.

felix is in maryland as well, democratic line. caller: i would like to echo dante's sentiment. my comments are from a micro and macro economic perspective. micro economically i would recommend that everyone find a good mechanic. the used car market and new car market and new-car market are prices are going to increase. so, find a good mechanic and repair your current car. macro economically, i think that this is a move by trump to privatize the economy and by up the lower prices when things start to get down. i haven't really looked into the factors that are going to affect the market prices, but more than likely you are going to start to see a lot of private equity

firms coming in and buying up businesses that have gone out. host: felix and american -- in maryland calling in again, tariffs and mexico being placed by the united states. your thoughts, (202) 748-8000 for democrats. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. independents, (202) 748-8002. we will keep going until our first guest, representative tim burchett, set for 7:30, running late. we will keep calls going until he arrives. want to make your thoughts known ? call us on one of those lines. you can also text us your thoughts, (202) 748-8003 is how you do that. facebook and social media are also available to you if you want to make your thoughts known. roy, georgia, republican line. hello. caller: everything starts with

respect. democrats didn't respect president trump. my wife brought this to my attention, they say mr. president instead of president trump. as far as tariffs, we have to support the president and what he is trying to do. he cares for the country and is trying to do the right thing. people don't realize that other countries have been putting tariffs on us for years, for years. europe, for instance. i did not see an american made car in germany, because people can't afford it. most of our cars here are imported. we have imported cars. cars made in mexico, they have $12,000 added to the price. that's made in mexico and the that's a few years ago. first of all, society would fall.

democrats need to work with him. he has a strong policy and a good plan to bring jobs back to america, to lower prices. he told you he said he would going to do this and have difficult times. you have to be supportive of what he's trying to do. host: roy in georgia, finishing off the calls. the house comes in at 9:00 today and we will have two members of congress joining us before that's done. after the break, we will speak with representative tim burchett of tennessee. we will talk to him about oversight, doge, and other matters. later on, congressman gabe amo. of those conversations, coming up when "washington journal" continues. ♪ >> american history tv, saturdays on c-span two,

exploring the people and events that tell the american story. this weekend, 5:15 p.m. eastern, historian rebecca graham talks about america's first female presidential cabinet member, late -- frances perkins, who worked to help refugees fleeing nazi germany. then watch the american tv's -- american history tv series first one hundred days as we look at the start of presidential terms. this week we look at gerald ford, 1974, including his pardon of richard nixon, who resigned from office during the watergate investigation. at 8 p.m. eastern, georgetown history university presser -- professor derek gannon on the irish diaspora and the role of the united states during the troubles and the northern ireland peace process. at 12 p.m., james bradley, coeditor of the van buren papers , talks about his biography of our eighth president, the first

in-depth look at the van buren presidency in decades. watch american history tv, saturdays on c-span two, and find a full schedu iyour program guide or watch online anime at c-span.org/history. >> mr. speaker, on this historic day the house of representatives opens or proceedings for the first time to televise coverage. >> since march of 1979, c-span has been your unfiltered window into democracy with direct, no spin coverage of congress, the supreme court, in the white house. >> is this mr. brian lamb? >> yes, it is. >> hold one moment for the president. [laughter] >> it exists because of the vision of brian lamb and the cable funding support. all this month, and honor a founder's day, your support is more important than ever.

you can keep democracy unfiltered today and for future generations. >> to the american people, now is the time to tune in. >> today your gift preserves open access to government and make sure the government stays informed. donate now, c-span.org/donate, or scan the code on your screen. every contribution matters. thank you. >> "washington journal" continues. host: our first guest of the morning, joining us from capitol hill, representative tim burchett, republican of tennessee. member of account, oversight, and foreign affairs. guest: thanks for having me on, brother. host: you attended a meeting yesterday with elon musk over doge activities. what did you walk away learning? guest: just how broad and deep the corruption and misuse of public funds is.

it just keeps getting deeper. they haven't even really scratch the surface. because when they started looking at education and at the pentagon, i suspect it will go much deeper. host: when he talks about the things they found and the savings they found, how do you verify that other than the fact that it is his word? guest: they document it. there is a paper trail that's computer generated. i have a 17-year-old daughter who shows me how stupid i am on my computer every day. but he had another gentleman there with him who, who verified everything he said. it allowed us, i'm in the -- marjorie taylor greene appointed me to her committee on the doge subcommittee. we are actually delving into all of that. i don't want to disclose too much. it means that most of the time

that those folks will try to close up the paper trail. but it's very well-documented. i'm very confident of what's going on. you know, when he started laying out the numbers of people, they are over 100 years old, they were getting benefits. he said the oldest verified american was hundred 14 and some of them were even older than our country. you have to wonder, is that just a computer glitch? but when you see the checks go overseas that have been documented, why is someone receiving benefits from america that lives in peru, for instance? that was one of the examples. there is quite a lot there. my biggest fear is that we can stay focused. it's so much corruption that goes so deep. furthermore, my fear is, as my discussions with trump yesterday , i like to call them the war pimps.

every dollar we save, they want to soak it up at the pentagon with a new weapons system as soon as it comes off the production line, it gets mothballed. the reason we keep funding them is because they are in the district of powerful legislators. those things were discussed. i felt like the more that they were discussed in the open, the more alert the american public will be and they will start contacting their legislators and say enough is enough. host: there is talk from senators about using a rescission process to formalize the cuts into legislative efforts. do you support that? should that be the role of congress more than elon musk? guest: i think so. rand paul is spearheading that. he's a good friend. i wholeheartedly support any, any rescinding of funds that have been misappropriated. but you have got to remember

that it's very broad. you can go into every department, almost, and find the case in point, absent the unused buildings the federal government owns or is renting. i suspect that the paper trail will lead back to some influential people and some folks, maybe even members of congress. that's one thing else i suggested to musk, there are 435 members of congress and i think you ought to investigate every dadgum one of them for ill-gotten gains. as i said that, i heard a loud noise behind me. didn't know if someone took a shot at me. host: elaborate on that, why would you investigate members of congress on ill-gotten gains? guest: there's no reason that they would vote for garbage other than their wife or girlfriend works for one of these governmental agencies.

until we do that, america will not trust congress and they shouldn't. why would you? why would you not want to discuss that? i have filed legislation with aoc and others to eliminate individual stock trades by members of congress. my buddy, tommy, handles my mutual fund very well. i think that members of congress should follow that lead instead of individual stock trades. another case in point, when we gave ukraine our missile defense system, by presidential order, biden did that. we had to replenish our missile supply in this country. which we should. we can't be naked in the defense of our country. who owns stock in those companies? members of congress, both parties. when did they buy the stock? some of them just a couple of weeks prior to that decision by the president. those are the kinds of things

america needs to pay attention to. i think that elon musk could bring that to light. host: there is a reported effort from house leadership to put a continuing resolution lasting through the end of the year. if that is the case, where are you on that? guest: the talk is about how it's clean, then they talk about how the cardinals, i don't like that term, the members on the appreciations committee want to make -- appropriations committee, making a claim. why not go back to pre-covid funding levels? no one has yet told me one dadgum government program added since covid that has made their lives better that they couldn't live without. we ought to go back to those levels and then we could literally balance our budget. host: representative tim burchett is with us through 8:00. rick, you are on their guests,

go ahead. caller: thank you, mr. congressman. i think you ought to answer my question. how is it that within three weeks or a month, musk is uncovering all of this misguided spending that's out of control? why hasn't congress found it out? you have already said you want things in place where congressmen are investigated. do a deep dive on it. maybe elaborate a little further on that for me? guest: say again? do what? caller: elaborate a little further on what's really been happening and what has to be done to keep it from happening in the future. guest: i suspect that it won't happen, because there will be some well intended liberal judge will step in and block the investigation. they shouldn't. when you run for congress, it is an honor to be in congress.

you ought to have total disclosure about your finances and where they come from and every investment that you make. it ought to be instantaneous, not six weeks later. as you have seen, there is a twitter site called whales, like the mammal in the ocean. look it up. it traces stock trades by congressman. some of them do hundreds of not thousands of stock trades in a year. granted, i'm sure that their stockbroker does it. but they seem to do much better than the markets. everyone wants to rail on pelosi, but the reality is she is in the middle of the hundred. she's not even in the top 10. i would suggest you look at that. you will see what's going on. it's pretty evident. it's the total arrogance of congress. i remember when i was back home and they did away with term limits. somebody was on television. they were interviewing them.

the elected official that would be forced out of office because of term limits. they said -- i don't know if this county can run without me. i thought it was an april fools joke. i thought it was a joke. in reality, that was their mentality and it is a mentality of most members of congress, that this place can't live without you. 430 five. that's my number on the congressional baseball team. i'm the 435th most powerful member of congress. everybody who gets here thinks they get an entourage and gets butts kissed and they think they will get called to negotiate trade deals with north korea and that's not the case. when you have 12% of the population voting and you go home, the democrats do the same thing as the republicans. they go home to their maga dinners, truman day, throwing out that red meat about how bad congress is and how much you

take it to them and then they come up here and sell you down the river and they do it every dadgum time and we need to wake up. host: jack, tennessee, democratic line. caller: yes, mr. burkett. guest: go ahead, brother. caller: you talked about the documentation. it from elon musk. have you seen it? guest: no, sir. caller: then why do you say it? guest: do what? caller: why do you lie to the people? guest: what am i lying about? caller: the documentation. you said it was documented. like i've seen it all. guest: i never said that. caller: you gave the impression that you had seen it by bringing it up. i've got another one for you. guest: if you are working the federal government and don't show up for work, show me any other job in america where you can do that. organized crime and federal

government. those are the only places. host: gentlemen, gentlemen, but ask the second question. caller, go ahead. caller: he's going and talking about the jobs. not them missing work. host: what's your question? what's a follow-up? we have to move on. caller: he's talking about the speech that trump made, the disrespect the democrats had foreign. how about biden? republicans hollered at him, liar. guest: and they were called out for it and they were also censured for that. imagine a political party that does not stand for a little boy who is beating brain cancer and has brain cancer. imagine not standing for a wife and widow, excuse me, and a young child who lost their father, who bravely cover their

bodies after a sniper attempt. imagine not standing for hostages released in gaza. imagine not standing for a little girl who was forced into, forced into having a sex change by her own volition with her parents asking questions found out that the school was doing that and they took a stand against that. imagine not standing for those things. that's what the democratic party wouldn't stand for. they have lost their way. guest: when it comes to the actions of al green, centre votes today, you supporting that? guest: it won't do anything. i would ignore it. you are making him a martyr. unless we had something powerful to do to knock him off of a committee or something. we censored adam schiff and that weekend he raised $1 million. i wish that they had censored me and i would sell t-shirts. it doesn't do anything. we are going to raise cain about

it, but he will probably get reelected in his district. 10% to 12% of the population voting, that's what happens. guest: texas -- host: texas, independent line. caller: this republican party today is nothing more than a socially accepted fascist movement, devoid of facts or truth. they are devoid of intelligence. donald trump claims to have signed the greatest trade deal with mexico and canada. now they say they have a trade deficit, bashing the very trade deal they have? esther burkett and donald trump claimed that there were millions of people over the age of 100 receiving social security benefits. i would like you to name five. name five. he talks about imagine not standing up for a little boy who beat cancer? the republican party spent years

bashing ruby freeman and shaye moss to the point where they had death threats and they had to move out of their home. these people are a joke and an abomination to our country and they don't believe in the constitution. host: got your point across. we will let our guest respond. guest: i don't know the names he referred to when you talk about a little boy who has beaten cancer or possibly has cancer and you don't stand for it, you don't stand for the other things, you don't stand for the waste and fraud and abuse of millions and you are right, i won't name names, that would be a violation of the rules. until that is put forth in a court case. i would believe that that would be a violation, actually. you are correct there, i'm not going to do that. host: as a member of the foreign affairs committee, what was your reaction to the supreme court on the unfreezing of foreign aid funds? guest: i'm not -- i don't -- i

don't claim to understand what's going on. court systems, imagine sending money to other countries for things like circumcisions. 10 million dollars. pornography for children. the american taxpayers paying millions upon millions for sex changes in central america. look back at what's going on in this country. hurricane helene rolls through western north carolina and east tennessee and joe biden won't do anything for them, like you wouldn't do anything for the people in hawaii or impala steen and probably wouldn't have done anything for the people out in california. then we vote for one hundred million dollars for fema. i didn't vote for it. i knew that it would be stolen or misappropriated. guess what? 54 million dollars shows up in new york city to house illegal aliens in a high-rise high rent apartment. that's the kind of thing we are

against. that's the kind of thing doge will uncover. i look forward to that being brought forward. host: to clarify things when it comes to social security, you have probably heard's stories about coding issues when it comes to the programs you listed, coming from state department or usaid when you see the follow-ups and you hear what elon musk tells you, how do you swear those things? guest: mistakes will be made, the money is going out. who cares where it's coming from , which department? the truth is it's coming from your back pocket and probably some of it is flying back into this town, into the back pocket of politicians. that will come and you will all have to come back and explain that and the folks will understand that. the money is still going out. some of the money is going overseas as well. why would we be paying any kind of retirement, the federal

government, to anybody in peru, for instance? documented cases, it's billions of dollars. why did they not want that? that's what's going to happen. they will cut the waste, abuse, and fraud out of medicaid and medicare and they will say that you are cutting those programs and we are not, we are freeing up money for folks and it's driving them crazy. host: democrats, when it came to medicaid, they said that the savings from the legislation had to come from the house energy and commerce committee and that medicaid is the one program it comes from. what's your response to those arguments? guest: my response is why are, why are, why are democrats opposed to cutting waste, abuse, and fraud in those departments? why are they not for freeing up more money for americans who have paid into the system? you have got to ask yourself that. we are talking about waste, abuse, and fraud. democrats trying to stop it, ask yourself why are they trying to do that if they are not part of

the deal? host: do you think that medicaid is due for cuts or changes in spending? guest: the delivery system is antiquated. verification needs to be in place. when those things are done and when we look at the checks and look at the rolls, make sure there is no duplication. that's what i'm saying. that is where the cuts will come from. host: tennessee, republican line, anne. caller: i have a dear friend named carol. i want to say good morning to her. she has a terrific daughter who was a great basketball player. shelley coaches basketball. she is trained to coach the girls. they are in the state tournament now. i was so disappointed that the democrats would not vote to keep men out of girls basketball. i played basketball, volleyball. my girls did.

one of them was offered a scholarship. she's going to ut. every time a democrat it person voted against it, even miss slotkin who responded to the republican speech, she campaigned on getting men out of girls basketball, yet she didn't vote for it. i want that to be codified. i have a five-year-old granddaughter playing basketball. she's also a mud buster. last weekend, she was throwing sheep. girls need to have their own sports. they need to keep men out of it. i would say to her, girls, ut, they blew out the team yesterday for those points and played it again this morning. no lady ball. host: thank you. guest: pat summit was at my daddy's funeral. she was a dear friend of my family. you are exactly right. not a single democrat in the senate and i think only two but

the system in the house and voted to keep men out of women's sports. can you imagine? that's why these records, these men are competing in things against women. they are losers in their own sport and can't compete. look at riley gains. she tied a man and the man was given the award and was allowed to stand on the winner's podium. that's the kind of thing that the democratic party stands for. you have got to wonder who are they compromising and what forces are behind all this. it's a disgrace to the country, a disgrace to sports for women. it needs to stop immediately. host: steve jones is from maryland. democratic line. go ahead. caller: my name is steve. i voted for donald trump twice. i'm a democrat. i have a question. the congressional calendar just came out. my understanding is that they

will only be in session 135 days. explain to me how you can get through the country's business when the congressional calendar is only going to be in session for 100 35 days when there are 365 days in a year? this is my other issue with the 12 appropriations bills that we can never seem to get through. for the past 25 years, the legislative branch has been unable to pass a balanced budget for 25 years. my thing with doge's maybe we should get rid of the entire legislative branch. that would be fabulous. 16% approval rating year after year, pissing money away. isn't that your job, to pass a budget and then follow-up with where the money's going? thank you. guest: yes, sir. i think it's in the last 30 years we have not passed a budget.

i was on the budget committee and i was asked to be taken off because it's a worthless committee. you are correct about the number of days. the reality is, i actually do more work when i'm at home in the district. it's not a vacation time. i can speak for anyone else. my calendar is pretty full. under speaker mike johnson, we are under -- in washington more than we were under the previous administration. yeah, we need to be here working . glaciers pass us by. i can't argue with you enough. no, people who asked the work for a living, it is actually disgusting to me what goes on up here. it is to be a heck of a lot better. host: when you go home are you still holding town halls? guest: we do tele-town halls. what we are seeing now is we've

got the paid instigators, the people who are coming in and they just clawed it up and yell at you and they want to do what they are doing right now, they are getting national attention and they are trying to focus on obscure issues that do not focus on the real issues. they are told that we are cutting medicaid and medicare and in the last bill it was not even mentioned in the last bill, so it is total falsehood. we are not cutting those. i don't care if it is a democrat talking point. nobody can run on that and nobody will run on that in the republican party. host: our guest serve the state of tennessee and the foreign affairs committee. thanks for your time. coming up on the program we will hear from another legislative before the house comes in at 9:00. a member of the foreign affairs and budget committees as well. we will have that conversation when we continue. ♪

>> sunday on q&a, kentucky republican congressman james comer, house oversight committee chair and author of all the presidents money talked about his committee's 15 month investigation into the business practices of then president joe biden and members of president biden's family. in this interviewee argues that the bidens have benefited financially from corrupt financial dealings involving ukraine, china and other countries. >> six different banks had filed 175 suspicious activity reports against the bidens, most of which were why joe biden was vice president of then they were subject to another 50 suspicious reports. let me put that into perspective. no could file issues this activity report against the son of a prominent politician unless they were darn sure that a

financial crime had been committed because when you filed one of those, the bank examiner causes a lot of problems. so the banks knew that there were some bad things going on here, and that is when the investigation really took off. >> james comer with his book "all the president's money" on q&a. you can listen to q&a and all of our podcasts on air free c-span now app. ♪ >> saturdays, watch american history tv's 10 week series first 100 days. we explore the early months of presidential administrations with historians and authors and for the c-span archives. we learn about accomplishments and setbacks, and how events impacted presidential terms and the nation up to present day. saturday, the first one hundred days of gerald ford's presidency. he took office after the resignation of president nixon

during the watergate investigation. president ford declared our long national nightmare is over, and later made the controversial decision to pardon richard nixon. in those first few months of his term he also tried to tackle high inflation in the country, energy issues, and the treatment of vietnam draft evaders. watch our american history tv series first 100 days saturday at 7:00 p.m. eastern on american history tv on c-span two. washington journal continues. host: our guest's with the foreign affairs committee and serves as the vice ranking member, also a member of the budget committee. welcome. there's a discussion going on on whether to keep on a continuing resolution until later on this year. where are you on that? guest: i'm looking at republicans to exhibit some leadership here. they claim a really big mandate,

which is false, but they are in the majority in the house and the majority in the senate and they have the white house, so they should be able to demonstrate to the american people they have a capacity to lead. and the consequences of their inability to lead fall on them and them alone. i think as you've heard and has been widely reported, they walked away from the negotiation table. so frankly again, they have the burden of leading and frankly, time is ticking for them to demonstrate leadership. host: when you say they've walked away from the negotiating table, can you elaborate? guest: it's been widely reported that they have sort of shut democrats out of this process. this morning i read that the president is pleading with members of the freedom caucus to support their plan for a continuing resolution. so they should proceed seeing what happens, but if they want to be partners in governance,

they have to behave differently. it seems like they want to do this alone so it is on them. host: if democrats were to support it, what with a sikh in order to get that support? guest: i think that has yet to be determined. the burden is on republicans. they know that they've got the numbers to pass if they can get everybody in unanimity around passing a continuing resolution, so let's see if they can do that. host: why do you think that the inability to actually pass a formal budget didn't take place? guest: you saw in december we had the opportunity to proceed, to have a full fiscal year budget. but instead, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle responded to tweets or whatever they are called now by elon musk and the then-president-elect and decided to follow that vision instead of the vision and will of their constituents which is to have an effective government that is making sure that things

run. so look, again, the burden is on them. but when you decide to follow the mosque-trump agenda, this is the consequence for the american people. host: our guest is with us and if you want to ask questions of him, (202) 748-8000 democrats. (202) 748-8001 publicans,. independent, (202) 748-8002. today the house is going to consider a censure move against representative al green. >> this is, again, a distraction. if you look at the chamber and what was coming from the republican side, the lack of decorum and the maga hat that one of my colleagues on the other side was wearing, that is inconsistent application. what i will say is let us not focus on the active censure and

the performance of moving someone out, but what mr. green was saying. he was sharing that he didn't think the president had a mandate to cut medicaid, and the clear, the republican house budget resolution, i sit on the budget committee, i sat there for 12 plus hours and over and over again to a person, no republican deviated. they decided to push for the plan to cut at least $880 billion in medicaid, hurting many americans. 22.6% of people receive medicaid coverage. so we can be distracted by the performance of a censure and the folks who all of a sudden have decided to be high and mighty about the activities of the chamber. that is one thing. i'm not going to stray away from policy because that is actually

what we are sent to work on. not the policing of the free speech. host: one of the constant criticisms since tuesday of republican for democrats with a consistently sat during the whole thing even when young people were recognized. what do you think about criticism? host: i asked my republican colleagues when they are going to stand up for the people they are cutting medicaid for. when are they going to stand up for the people that they are going to cut snap benefits from? performance in speech is one thing, and i am sympathetic to so many americans who were recognized in the chamber, but let's be very clear, that is one speech. speech is different from the legislative action that is required from my colleagues to ensure that people don't suffer in this country, and they are plotting ahead with great intention and a great ferocity to cut medicaid, to cut snap, to hurt those in long-term care, to

cut those with disabilities. so again, let's not be distracted, let's focus on substance. host: why not express that sympathy? >> i was clapping. standing itself does not denote a specific acknowledgment. again, this is performance and distraction. let's worry about the court. they did not hear from the president of donald trump did not speak to how he would lower costs for the american people. instead, he spoke to the fact that he said there might just be a little disturbance for the pocketbooks and the bank accounts of the american people while he pursues a reckless tariff agenda that is raising prices on americans now. host: joining us for this discussion, our first call for you comes from tony in detroit, democrats line. go ahead. guest: good morning, pedro and congressman.

you just actually kind of spoke on a thought so i have a thought and a question. the thought is about oversight. ok, doge. elon musk is in charge, and he is going through and messing around with the nuclear stuff. this guide builds rockets. who is to say he is not stealing information on the nuclear stuff and storing it? it does seem like some kind of smokescreen that donald trump and the republicans are doing to make us not pay attention to what elon musk is doing. my question is, is there any kind of oversight on elon musk? thank you. guest: you identify one of the things that distresses my colleagues on the democratic side and causes us significant

concern. it is why i am on a piece of legislation led by congressman john larson from connecticut about ending conflicts, but the idea here is that people with special status special government employees, people like elon musk to have to have their time in office in service re-upped, everyone hundred 30 days has the same financial disclosure requirements that anybody else has. when i work at the white house, i filed an annual ethics report. you can see how little outside money i received. in fact, nothing. but you can see that transparently. i was banned from owning stocks, banned from conflicts of interest. why is someone with tens of billions of dollars in government contracts yielding and wielding so much power across our federal government?

that is a conflict that has to be explored. moreover, you identify the issues with doge which is the mass firing of technical experts, and letting these 22-year-old coders and whoever they are go in and eliminate staff. the administration which protects our nukes, the fda, noaa. so many vital agencies where we require expertise, and these folks who don't understand government are causing great chaos and disrupting services that will disrupt our lives. host: florida, republican line. guest: hi, i've asked you how you're doing but i need to ask you a question. do you have to do a mental health evaluation as a congressman, because i'll tell you, looking at how

disrespectful, not standing up for that kid the other day who survived cancer and all those angel moms, i was a democrat from massachusetts, pocahontas's home state. i traveled the country and i went to where hope dies, florida. and you have lost the people. let me tell you, i traveled the country. your message is not resonating, ok. your transgender, you represent a small minority. and what you did with those panel the other night and everything else with not standing up, it's disgusting. and i don't know how -- host: thanks. guest: i will stand up for the people of the first congressional district every single day and i know that my colleagues and i have stand up for their constituents. and i'm deeply synthetic to anybody who has experienced struggle and challenge in this

country, and that is why i'm working so hard to prevent cuts to medicaid. 40% of which in my state our children, the recipients of whom are going through struggle, had ailments and if it wasn't for that program would not have health coverage, so that is why stand for a while my republican colleagues are waging a vigorous effort to cut at least $880 billion. so i think we can all agree that we should be standing for everybody who has been experiencing challenges, especially on the health care front. host: we ask that previous guest about those cuts and he says those changes are not necessarily cuts. when you hear those arguments from republicans, what do you think? guest: i would say if you don't believe me, just watch them. look at what they agreed to. host: if the actual cuts are

going to come from medicare -- guest: it is math. when you look at the biggest pot of money in the energy and commerce line item, you have to, it is the only place to achieve 880, at least $880 billion. look, if they decide, if they gain infinite wisdom because of the activism they are hearing from us and decide to do differently, great. they got to talk to their constituents at home. the constituents are watching, you've seen these town halls around the country where people have said no, don't steal my medicaid. and we should understand. medicaid is a cost-cutting program. everything in some states from dental health coverage to supports for people with disabilities and so much more. people in nursing homes,

long-term care, children, pregnant women. this is who the party of family values wants to hurt. and so it is a math exercise, we should look directly at what they've done, not what they say. host: mike joins us from new jersey, independent line. caller: some questions for representative. first, does he condemn essentially the behavior of representative green from texas that is his response to trump's speech on tuesday night? yes or no answer please. secondly, would he agree with doge cuts if those moneys were allocated to the u.s. citizens who are suffering in north carolina and l.a., reallocate those moneys to basically those

individuals? if not, why not? guest: great. so i don't spend my time policing my colleagues. that's not what i got sent here to do. the 506,000 people of the first congressional district asked me to focus on them, and that is what i'm going to focus on and we will let what happened with rep. hinson: of green happen, as it proceeds today. in regards to doge, doge has not demonstrated that they actually cut anything in line with their mandate. they put up this wall of receipts of cuts that they keep modifying it, that double counts things, that talks about canceling programs. in one instance, a program that was candle in the george w. bush administration in 2005. so there is no truth to what they are doing and in fact, what they proceeded with, some of the

illegal funding freezes have actually been overturned by the courts. many times over, including in rhode island's first district court several weeks ago and we've not seen clear compliance with those court orders. so what i will say is they are not pursuing an agenda which is in line with the concept of efficiency. if this was a robust process, they would carry on like president clinton did in the 90's, going through a commission, putting together a plan, bringing forth in front of congress. congress who has the power of the purse. instead they are taking a sledgehammer to essential functions of government. moreover, i worked on disaster response when i worked at the white house. i was a specialist to the president and deadly director of intergovernmental affairs helping communities on behalf of president biden in response to really difficult circumstances.

what we should not be doing is playing politics with natural disasters, playing politics with the pain and suffering that the people have achieved. so that is where our focus should be, making sure that relief and l.a. and north carolina happens as soon as possible. host: you serve on the foreign affairs committee, what did you think of the supreme court decision, does this resolve the matter overall to you? guest: i'm not sure it does because we have to see compliance. and the court did not specifically state a timeline for which those payments could be administered and as we've seen, this administration has seen court orders and said we are going to make them optional. so what we need to this disruption, to usaid, thousands of workers providing essential functions for our national entrance, for the health of people across the world. disease eradication, hunger programs.

i handed in my own district some suppliers of critical malnutrition response that still requires payments, payments so that they can continue the good work and go around these, beyond these waivers, into actually supporting the great projects that are existing better ending hunger for so many children around the world. that is critically important on top of it. what we see in those actions regarding usaid is the wholesale disregard of the norms of how we operate in government. just arbitrarily cutting employees, leaving people on their own to survive. we have people and countries who are working on critical programs who want to throw in a lifeline

to even leave the country in which they are working. those are real problems. i'm hopeful that the courts continue to exert their wisdom on this process that has caused only chaos and confusion for americans. host: to what degree do you think that better oversight is needed about how much money is given to foreign aid and what types of programs are funded? guest: i would be all for more oversight of congress. i look forward to having public hearings, not the closed-door hearing that we had with mr. marengo who is the acting deputy administrator of usaid, and in fact, secretary rubio should also show up for the house foreign affairs committee and show that he wants to work with congress if there is a good intention here to root out any fraud, to right size these

programs. let him talk it out in public, why do it in private? host: roger joins us from minnesota, democrats line. you are on with our guest. guest: one suggestion for c-span first is when you bring these politicians no matter who they are, could you put up in the corner how long they fit in office, their wages and what their net income is? i really get tired of these politicians who work so hard for us and they are becoming multimillionaires. i've been in haiti where the usaid shows up and the poor people can't afford it. i was working in bolivia when their economy was crashing and people said if you have a good boss, you get paid at the end of the day so you can buy what you need. because tomorrow it's going to cost you more.

people don't realize this country is totally bankrupt. wait until the economy crashes. what is your network? i would really night -- really like to know how hard you been working for us. guest: the amount of work i've been doing is certainly not tied to what i earn as a member of congress which you can find out on google, $174,000 a year. i've been a public servant working in government for two presidents and a governor in rhode island and now i have a great honor of working for people in congress. you can find my ethics report online and you can find my net worth there which isn't growing. but what i will say is this. when we talk about debt in this country, let's talk about the budget resolution, the house

budget that republicans pushed through and that we voted on on the house floor. to give four point $5 trillion in tax cuts, 1.1 trillion dollars of which going to the top 1%, which will require us to go into greater debt. they get out which president has added the most debt to the ledger in our history. trump. he did that in the first term. this is not something that i am saying out of turn. and so i hope that when folks think about what we've experienced with these actions from congress, to move forward with a budget resolution that is calling for these cuts, that is also adding to the debt, we look at who voted on those actions and it is contrary to what our republican colleagues often speak to. host: howard in ohio, republican line.

>> yeah, good morning. instead of the democrats organization fighting every single thing that this man wants to do or thinks about doing, why don't they get off their butts, join him, go for all the cuts in waste that everybody in this country knows is happening and help out and also protect what they want to protect? instead of sitting back, doing nothing. so right now he's making 170 $6,000 a year for just rejecting anything that comes out of the office? that is pretty wasteful. there's just so many things that the democrats can do to help if they want to help. guest: i'm working hard on

behalf of my constituents in the first congressional district. i think about the cuts to the nih, which benefits my state to the tune of $256 billion cuts that goes to life-saving research across fields. that advocacy that i'm providing , counter to the arbitrary cuts of doge, that is what i believe we should be doing. fighting for our communities. and i do that every day, i'm proud to do it, and i would say look, we heard a speech from trump the other night. did not identify how he was lowering costs for the american people. he congratulated himself a lot. he said that they made this immense amount of progress in the 43 days of his presidency, but ultimately had not actually said what they had done in line

with their objectives for the american people. so i say to people around the country, look at what is on the menu for cuts. those are really significant. the cuts to medicaid, the cuts to snap, things that people rely on. and when they talk about doge, let's talk about how they have yet to provide a significant record of the cuts that they are supposedly making in the name of efficiency. host: one of the organizations you are most concerned about is the noaa . why is that? guest: noaa is such a critical agency. they provide so much in terms of storm response, in terms of aviation. all of the things that are really valuable to our every day that we don't think about. they provide the scientific

research, the data services, the national weather service. those are so important to our daily lives, and so the cuts, the wholesale elimination of staff with great expertise can't be easily replaced. i will stand up for noaa, for the work that it does to keep our country safe, to keep us informed and ensure that we don't have any gaps in the services they provide to us that will make a big difference. host: michigan, kathy, democrats line. caller: good morning. i have a couple of questions. i'd like to know how much our u.s. senators and u.s. representative to pay in totality for the health care premiums. what percentage of their gross income that is.

this is to all the members of congress. i'd like to know who has ever, have you ever not been covered by health care insurance? or you don't have insurance, you don't seek help. and there's one other thing i wanted to say. host: we will keep it there. caller: it is egregious that anyone would try to deny some buddy health care. -working in health care for 30 plus years and a must you do work there, you don't know. -- you don't know. guest: i don't have the percentage off hand but i do pay a monthly premium, and i have had times where i've not had health insurance in the transition between jobs, and that is a perilous time for a lot of americans. you hope you don't get sick. you hope you don't fall, you hope there's nothing that happens to you during those

gaps. and ultimately, this is why averting cuts to medicaid is so critically important. when you look at some of the medicaid population, a member there was a medicaid expansion as part of the affordable care act where there are people who for the first time in their lives were able to have health insurance. there's also a very critical expansion of the premium tax credit to help people with their premiums every month that will expire at the end of this year. another very important thing to uphold because having health insurance in this country is so very important. not only for our health, but for peace of mind, our ability to move through this country, to go to work. to enjoy our lives and not have the fear of one medical bill

throwing your life into a storm of bills and debts. and that is frankly not good for anybody. host: our guest serves on the foreign affairs committee as the vice ranking man -- member, budget committee member as well. coming up, we are going to have open forum and if you want to participate in that, (202) 748-8000 democrats. (202) 748-8001 republicans. (202) 748-8002 independents. if you want to make calls just before the house comes in in about a half hour, go ahead and call. the texas tribune amongst other texas publications yesterday reporting that u.s. representative sylvester --, a former houston mayor and houston democratic politics died early wednesday morning. he was 70. his death comes two months into his first term representing texas is 18 congressional district. a seat long occupied by his

political ally, sheila jackson lee who also died in office. representative turner passed away, but it was just last week that he did an interview with c-span about his experiences in congress, and we want to show you a little bit from that. >> so here you are, to parents who didn't graduate from high school and now here comes their son. graduated valedictorian from high school. and it of graduating with honors from the university of houston. and then my mom gave me, she signed the papers for me to go to harvard law school. initially she refused. because when i told her how much , she said sylvester, i can't do that. and i reminded my mom you always told us that we could be

whatever the good lord would have us be. anatol my mom, i said dad is not here. you are. you are my mom and my dad. three days later, she signed the papers. it was my mom and my brother who took me to the airport. a one-way ticket. and i went to harvard, and my mom said i wish we could go, can't afford to go, but we will see you at christmas time. take god with you and do your best. so here i am. from two parents that didn't graduate from high school, i've gone to the best schools in the country.

and because of that education, came out of one of the best, largest law firms in the country . and now a state representative, a mayor, and who would have thought, being in the halls of congress. i can only imagine what my mom and dad would be saying. announcer: washington journal continues. host: the house coming in less than a half hour from now, we will do open forum until then. just pick a line that best represents you and if you would hold off calling 30 days if you would. the wall street journal reported yesterday following up today that the president is expected to issue an executive order as soonest today aimed at abolishing the education department according to diva

briefed on the matter. a draft of the order viewed by the wall street journal directs the education secretary linda mcmahon to take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the education department based on the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law. the order has been in the works since the president was transitioned in early february. the journal reported that officials are considering such a move. so you may see that play out in washington today as we told you earlier in the house side, that a vote on al green of texas. that house is where you can follow c-span 1, the senate on c-span 2 and all the other things you can follow on and networks and c-span now, and our website at c-span.org. our first call up on this open forum is in illinois, democrats line. leonard, hello. caller: hello. host: go ahead. caller: i just want to say i just need to get some things off my chest. democrats need to show their

constituents have a standup the donald trump like justin trudeau did, and remind people that he is a convicted felon, an adjudicated rapist, serial liar and wants to be a dictator. he used his speech the other day to continue lying to the people of the world. he's using his office to enrich himself and his crime family and those who voted him in office who will soon find out that he's interested only in growing an oligarchy for his billionaire friends. he wants to take us out of nato, aligned himself with xi and putin, and america needs to wake up. host: richard in kansas, republican line, you are next. caller: yes, sir. the first thing i would say to all the democrats out there, i used to be a democrat until i

changed my second obama vote. and there is a reason that i left the party. and the reason is the last caller. you've got to stop the talking points, you got to stop with the dishonesty. you've got to start working together. i don't expect you to do everything that the republicans do, but that display that they did the other night was disgusting. i can say one thing, at least the guy who yelled at obama, he did apologize and he did regret what he did. it's time for the democrats to eat some crow here. now let's look at what happened. all of these jobs that they say were created, people that lost their jobs during covid were laid off. when those people came back, that's not creating a job. let's look at the jobs that were created. 67% of them, they were loading up the government.

that's where the john flint, 67% of the new jobs went to government. that is what they did for four years. they loaded up the government and they hired all these employees. host: wyoming is next, independent line. caller: morning, pedro. i think c-span should be required viewing for all three branches of government. host: a lot of people watch us in all three branches, so go ahead. caller: good. what is going to happen if a combat veteran is laid off of work? somebody that got pts from their deployments in combat? i'm not a combat veteran, just a veteran, but what is going to happen when these guys, say they have a wife and child and their wife is pregnant again, and also they get laid off, their wife

moves in with her parents and divorces the guy, he's got guns at home, there is going to be a lot of people, a lot of these, veterans are going to be gunning for musk and trump, that's all i've got today. host: thank you. the caller's sentiment is reflected in reporting yesterday from the associated press and others that the department of veterans affairs planning for reorganization includes cutting over 80,000 jobs from the sprawling agency that provides health care and other services for veterans according to the associated press. the chief of staff told top level officials at the agency tuesday that they had objected to cut enough employees to return 2019 staffing levels of just under 400,000, that would require terminating tens of thousands of employees after the va expanded during the biden administration as well as to cover veterans impacted by burn pits under the 2022 pact act. let's go to donna in georgia,

democrats line. caller: yes, hello. host: you are on. caller: i would like to say in response to the previous speakers talking about the democrats that didn't stand up, i stand up for what i think is right. i don't answer to nobody else but myself. and i don't stand up to dictators, i don't stand up to a show out like trump and musk. i don't stand up for a person -- i just don't want a dictator to tell everybody what to do, and i'm 75 years old. and i am on medicare, and i hope

it runs for me as long as i live because i am not well, but i don't think it will. people take everything we've got out of our pockets, and him and musk. him and musk both. host: pennsylvania, margie, republican line. caller: good morning, pedro. republicans are going to say they thought it was a wonderful speech, democrats are going to say they didn't, so let's just save it for a minute. i wanted to thank c-span for the interviews of the new congressional members. that was fabulous. and it certainly gave me hope for the future. well, maybe not the puerto rican guy, but that is a story for another day. and i had a couple suggestions for programs.

somebody come on and talk about if you are for a movement to have presidents to have 17-year term so they won't be running for their second term all through their first term and they can actually get something done as this president is doing. and on february 23 on q and a, lewis for entree was on and i know you hate conspiracy theories, but he was so interesting and would be so fun to have on in the morning. so thank you so much -- host: pennsylvania viewers, perhaps you missed a little bit of the context there, we had chances to interview members of congress, new members of congress on capitol hill, talking about their experiences, what brings them to congress,

what they hope to do once they get here. you can still find them online if you wish if you go to our website at c-span.org. 60 new members i think in the house of representatives or so. i could be wrong on that. it gives us a chance to learn a little bit more about them in their own words, so to speak. so you can go to our website and find out more about that. >> i'm calling in about people being mad that the democrats didn't stand out. -- stand up. before trump ran for office, he and his family raised money for children with cancer. used that money to fund his campaign, then new york city took him to court and made him pay the money back that was supposed to go to charity. and they no longer can raise money for charities in new york

city. he got so mad that he said he was going to move out of new york city and they said bye. trump also cut money for research for cancer. he cut money for research for people with looking for something for aids. removing the person that said something when congress gave a speech, that was as far as joe wilson when he stood up and called obama a liar, that should have been stopped back then and now they are complaining. caller: good morning. i would just like to say that it is so sad see a president of the united states stand up there before congress and just say lie after lie after lie and repeat

every time he has a reviewer talks to the media, the same old stuff, the same old lies. and as far as this child that survived cancer, thank you, jesus for this child surviving cancer, but as far as i'm concerned, the reason the democrats did not stand up and clap for this child is because trump used him as a prop. host: linda in ohio. there is a website called denverite that talked about hearing that the place in the house yesterday, saying that several republican members of congress called for criminal investigations or even the arrest of mare mike johnson and other officials in a hearing before the house oversight committee. we had enough, america is that up with the betrayal of oats, and one of you said you're willing to go to jail. we might give you that opportunity set represented of clay higgins of louisiana, a

comment pointedly directed at johnston, who previously said he would stand up for the city's immigration policies even if it meant arrest. several mayors before this house oversight talking about immigration policies as it plays out in the city. the exchange with the denver mayor took place represented jim jordan as well, talking about the process of immigrations arresting a suspected venezuelan gang member in denver. >> what we do is we release them from a county jail and we coordinate with ice on that release timing date so that ice can come and pick him up from that location. >> pick him up where come a parking lot? guess what happened in the parking lot? >> i know, i've reviewed the video. >> the ice officer got assaulted, didn't he? he had to tase, the guy, didn't he? >> i know that there were six officers with multiple tasers. >> if you keep him in the

facility, does it take six officers? probably takes two. >> we've been doing these, 1226 times. so i reached out to ice after i saw the video, i've coordinated with their team and offered to sit down -- >> it is a simple question. it is a simple question. you can release him in the parking lot, give ice one hour notice and they've got to send six officers to arrest this guy or you can say here's what we are going to do, you're going to hold him, you bring to officers and turned him over, why not do it that way? you know why? >> we have a city ordinance. >> because you're a century city. >> i disagree with you, i'll tell you why. if you talk about sanctuary as shielding people from law enforcement, we do not do that. what we do is provide services. in this context we coordinated -- >> an officer got assaulted because of your policy which says we are going to release him to the streets.

they have to arrest him in the parking lot. they bring six officers when they could have had one or two just come into the facility in the jail and take the guy there, but you won't do it that way. >> i've seen the video. i've reached out to ice. if we need to make adjustments to what we do on releases we will do that. this is the first time in the 1226 releases. >> i read your written testimony last night. 4.5 pages. and you use the word safe, safer or safety 13 times. talking about my job, safety of the people of denver. prioritizing, making sure everyone in the community is safe. that is a lie because it was not safer for the agents part of your community, no way wasn't safe. the safest thing to do is to say ice, we've got him in custody, come here and we will release him. we can't hold him a second longer. we've got to let him go so you have to arrest him in the parking lot. that is how stupid sanctuary policies are.

host:host: you want to see more of that hearing, go to our various platforms to see the various exchanges that took place yesterday. loretta and ohio, republican line on this open forum. caller: yes, sir. i really didn't want to call in but i really believe our country is in dire states because of the deep debt we are in because past administrations have brought this about by the decisions they've made. and they should give trump at least who cares about our country, he speaks of god to make his decisions. we should go with it and give him a chance. just give him a chance. yes there is a transference of power right now, and there's different ideas. we need to see if they work for our country. host: ok. caller: and i believe we need to pray for the people who are

trying to help our country, not put each other down, not yell at each other. use reason and common sense. no family, no business, no country can succeed spending more money than the people are bringing in. host: loretta in ohio. let's hear from henry in new york, independent line. caller: good morning. the representative from tennessee was on, the next representative from rhode island, i'm all over the place this morning. i will just try to tie in to yesterday in jordan. i focus on common sense and accountability.

if we could just go back to doing common sense in this country, the democrats seem to be focused on that. that child who was sitting in the balcony, standup. it wouldn't have cost them anything. they know they sit there with a false sense of agenda, and i hate to go there because i really am independent. i am a former navy officer, i'm very patriotic. i grew up in a small town. i got into all of this but i would really like to see our country come together. i've scolded to c-span before, i will call in again. we get together on the weekends and talk about these things.

trump is trying a different route, a totally different way, but the results are that europe is taking more responsibility, and that will take some of the burden off the bus. and i wanted to ask, we are $36 trillion in debt now. is the sky the limit? what is the limit on national debt? host: beverly in wyoming, democrats line. caller: pedro, pedro. you let jim jordan on, you just ruined my day. thank you. host: apologies. let's go to christine in michigan, republican line. caller: good morning, pedro. just a moment ago when open

forum came on, it said in the newspaper talking about education, and that is what i'm calling about, why don't the churches start paying in, and then what they pay in goes for education and childcare. and make it separate from all the other stuff because the church is the one that started schools and hospitals and things for children. and separate them from all the other garbage that they are trying to promote in this country, and then we will see who really is. host: the previous caller mentioned members of the european countries stepping up

to help, talking about aid to ukraine and other european countries including france. >> peace cannot be achieved by abandoning ukraine. peace cannot come at any price. ended cannot come from russia dictating the terms. peace for ukraine can't come with the collapse of ukraine. and we have seen this happen in the past. who can forget that this invasion started back in 2014, and then there was a cease-fire agreed to, and russia did not uphold the peace in the cease-fire agreement. so we cannot have stability without some robust guarantees. we cannot take them at their word. ukraine has a right to peace and

security for itself and it is in our interest and the interest of security in europe and it is why we are working closely with our allies and many other european nations. that is why you see me in these past few weeks engage with numerous people in europe and london to draft the commitments that are the base requirements for ukraine. for us to sign a peace agreement where ukraine will no longer be invaded by russia. we have to do something by supporting the ukrainian troops. it may require further european forces to be deployed. i want to believe that the united states will stay by her side, but we need to be ready if that were not the case. whether we come to peace now or in a somewhat distant future, europe needs to be able to better defend itself and to deter other forms of invasion.

whatever the case may be, we need to arm ourselves more. we need to bolster our defense positions, and that is why we uphold nato and our partnership with united states of america, but we need more. we need to reinforce our own defense and security capabilities. the future of europe is not going to be decided by russia or by washington. host: maryland, independent line. caller: thanks for taking my call. i'd like to respond when he made the statement imagine the democrats not standing for the 13-year-old boy. since he likes to quote the, i'd like to do the same. imagine if elon musk had gone up to philadelphia, pennsylvania, rounded up hundreds of workers into an auditorium and told them

they are fired and immediately after that he asked of them to join him in an eagles chant. imagine how those workers were to respond. the democrats, they were not directing that animosity toward the child, they were directing their animus toward the messenger. and imagine if that child's father had been wearing a capitol hill policeman's uniform. we've got to stop this rhetoric. host: the house just about to come in. colorado, go ahead. caller: i don't like president trump, i didn't like him when he was a democrat. i sensed pure evil from this man and i told my friends if he is going to run for president with the democrats, i will vote republican. i told my republican friends that.

one woman, she asked me why i couldn't stand the man, she just shook her head and laughed and said you are spot on, that is him. but i want to say if you want to nobody person is really like, ask their relatives. they will tell you. fred trump wrote a book and in the book he was desperate for money because his disabled son at the time was dying and he asked donald trump to help him, mr. trump. and his uncle said that he should just let his son died. so that is the kind of man he is and he is despicable and i'm glad they sat there and they weren't disrespectful, they didn't tear the capital apart. we sat there respectfully. host: they'll in ohio, independent line, rather quick, go ahead. caller: thank you for putting me on.

the government is looking at the wrong issues. inflation is the biggest issue, and what is causing inflation is the spending of campaign financing. we have $25 million gone to trump and elon musk and he gets a position. in 2022, gas prices went up to five dollars a gallon and in june they started going down. what happened in between that? billions of dollars for their senate race. over $2 billion in pennsylvania for their senate race, over $2 billion in georgia for their senate race. who is paying for that? we are through the gas prices. in the gas prices go up and everything else goes up. host: that is bill in ohio.