>> you are watching getting answers. we always ask experts your questions at 3:00 to get answers for you. today, we are joined by congressman john garamendi, part of the delegation that came back from taiwan. we will dive into the city if he can seven the trip and escalating tensions with china. also, what is it like living on the streets as a drug addict? first, decision day for governor newsom on whether to sign off on a bill designed at preventing

overdose deaths. sp 57 would allow san francisco, oakland and los angeles to set up safe ingestion sites. how will the governor's decision impact his political future? here is joe. thank you for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> the governor still has about an hour to decide he is going to sign the bill. what do you expect he will do? >> we do not know. that may be this point, we have been preparing for a veto, but we do not know yet. >> let's just say he signs it. if you'd does, that would mean the government would get to set up safe injection sites with san francisco, oakland and los angeles. what would that look like? >> it is a way to try to get out the drug crisis, the overdose

crisis. the challenge for newsom is that he has his eye we -- you can expect to see gavin newsom jumping into the race. if he does, you can see this coming back to haunt him. all of a suddenly becomes governor heroine. they governor who signed legislation that permitted the use of heroin, supervised by professionals, on the streets of three of the biggest cities in california. >> really quickly, the concept is people would be able to use drugs under trained supervision and those administers could save them if there were an overdose. are there liabilities for the cities, or the state?

>> that is at. some states have been hesitant to jump ahead with programs like this. only one state in the country is doing this, new york. they have two sites. new york city's new mayor is a former police officer. he likes this program so much that he wants to open them 24 hours and expand the program. it has been done in canada and europe, but not here. newsom is looking around the corner and being out front on issues that the rest of america thinks he is nuts on. same-sex marriage, legalizing cannabis, these are issues where he took the lead, at great political peril. when he legalized gay marriage, he was seen as a pariah by the democratic party. he was blamed for the loss of democrat john kerry in 2000 four because republicans used it as a wedge issue.

>> you're right. in some ways, you could argue he is ahead of his time. years later, more people follow, more democrats, which here in the beer at -- here in the bay area, this is a popular idea. what about the central parts of california or central california? before we get to whether he is going to be a candidate in 2024, we still have the gubernatorial reelection. >> that is not a worry for the governor. that is safely in hand. the drug crisis is not just a big city issue. we have seen overdoses spike across the country, in small towns. people are desperate for ideas. this is only a pilot program. this sunsets after five years,

so this is not going to be going on forever. >> let's say it does. how quickly can injection sites be open? >> i am not sure. but fairly quickly. infrastructure could be in place fairly quickly. >> can we talk about the alternatives? what if he does not sign this? what are the other options? like you said, this is a real problem then it -- and it could be a political liability. >> watched, he is sympathetic to the issue. he says he is intrigued by the concept. it would be instructive to look at how, as witnesses did, legalizing marijuana. in 2010, it was on the state ballot and it failed. newsom opposed it.

five years later, he started one of the the -- one of those blue-ribbon commissions to study marijuana. i even up with the lieutenant governor a marijuana fact-finding trip to humboldt county where he saw all of the illegal grows, and that opened his eyes. and then he came up with this 93 page report, which was the backbone for the 2016 ballot measure asking californians to legalize it. it passed. look for him to do something similar. a blue-ribbon commission -- there have been peer-reviewed studies, take a look at it that way. this guy likes to get into the weeds on policy. kristin go national and >> by most definitions, he has been progressive.

are there situations where he has shifted right? >> look at the energy situation. he has been upfront saying we need to get off fossil fuels, we need take get to sustainable energy, however he is keeping open nuclear power. however, he is not totally eliminating fossil fuel. you need to have a transition, as he feels, to not leave off the fossil fuel train quickly. there are issues where he is going toward the center, toward the right. jerry brown always says his motto was to battle right and keep a straight course. kristen: as you look into the political side, let's talk quickly about the new study out

of uc berkeley that shows if biden does not run, voters have him as the number one option. how much of that is just name familiarity? how much can we extrapolate? >> of course it is name familiarity, but some of the else does,, let harris. -- kamala harris. suddenly he has gone on the air, airing ads on red states, this image of the fighter for democratic values because he sees democrats, by large part, are not fighting for democratic values. he is going to do it. he has a safe seat and a safe reelection run. part of it is name recognition, but he has also finished behind bernie sanders and kamala

harris, who finished third behind californians who want to see her run for president. kristen: senior political editor joe guerra fully. thank you for -- >> thank you. kristen: up next, we will talk about what it is really like living on san francisco streets amid the drug addiction crisis. amid the drug addiction crisis. i was injured in a car crash. amid the drug addiction crisis. i had no idea how much my case was worth. i called the barnes firm. when a truck hit my son, i had so many questions about his case. i called the barnes firm. it was the best call i could've made. your case is often worth more than insurance offers. call the barnes firm to find out what your case could be worth. we will help get you the best result possible. ♪ the barnes firm, injury attorneys ♪

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kristen: as we wait to see if governor newsom will sign this

safe injection site bill, we are getting a different perspective on san francisco's drug problem among the cities tour list. a local freelance journalist went undercover to see what is actually going on and what help is available. she has written a new blog about her experience. joining us live to talk about her experience is erica samberg. can you hear us? erica? i think our signal might have frozen. we will take a couple of seconds to see if we can recover. right now, we are going to take a look at another story, as we try to reconnect with erica. >> parts like this in front of deangelo's pizza could soon be a

thing of the past as city planners look to approve a seasonal, outdoor business program. during the pandemic when indoor restaurants were still partially restricted, the city of mill valley adopted the temporary outdoor business plan which allowed restaurants to expand their business outdoors in the public right-of-way throughout the city. this conditional use permits provided parking based on the floor area of the business, something locals have grown to appear she had. kristen: that was lena. her story will air today later. we happen to be connected with erica samberg who went undercover. you didn't just go undercover, you went undercover as a drug addict. it was two years ago, but you continue to blog about it. tell us why you did that? why did you go undercover?

>> that was two years ago. yesterday was the anniversary of that story. i went undercover because i wanted to see what was happening and hours streets regarding our homeless population who are often suffering from mental illness. really, what services are they seeing from the city? it basically started with pure curiosity. our people getting the services they need? i dressed up, i put on my grungy asked clothes and went to these sites where you pick up harm reduction supplies. i was anticipating something different. i was shocked by what i saw. kristen: let's assure that photo you tweeted. walk us through what these were,

how did you get them, did you have to ask for them? >> it was interesting. i was in line with everyone else, a lot of people were in absolutely terrible shape. i mean, they were very unhealthy. just in bad physical and mental health shape. i was in line, i waited in line, i was nervous and i was shaking and they were very nice, the people who worked there. they said, what are you looking for? i shrugged and said, i will tell you about appear the first one took a large bag. she is piling everything into a bag. she then asked what my needs were, didn't ask me if i was sick, didn't ask me except what size needles to why use?

i didn't know, i shrugged, she said she would take a guess and she gave a variety pack. what i learned was there was no request, no asking if i needed something else. do i need medical care? do i need mental health care? what i like to pursue recovery? nothing. it was just pure, here is this stuff coming next in line, move along. kristen: it sounds like you are most surprised by that. is this a rebuke of the harm reduction approach that has been pursued here in this city? what are the consequences, as you see? >> it is only part of the solution. i am not against harm reduction supplies. it is important to give out clean needles and bandages, but

we are only doing this tiny portion of what we need to be doing. harm reduction, absolutely. but, we are not giving the other aspect, which is healthy -- helping people lead healthy lives. we are not doing that part, so i was surprised because i did think we were a compassionate city and we have wonderful professionals here. where are they? they are not there. they get the supplies, but they are not helping you live your life. kristen: i am sure you have seen those who simply do not understand harm reduction and i hear what you're saying, but there are others who say you may have a political agenda, or you made this off -- made this up. or that was just one slice of

the picture, maybe there were times been there were recovery services. how much of that? >> look at the numbers of how people are referred to recovery. it is a tiny handful. look at that against how many people have died from od. 350 people have lost their lives. this is not political, this is human lives. you cannot spend it. i have no interest in doing it. i have an interest in getting them what they need. i am a san franciscan, i have friends and family here, i do not want anybody to suffer. you go down to tenderloin, the mission district, you see nothing but suffering. this is wrong. this is something that needs to stop. kristen: erica samberg, thank

you for your time. up next, we talk to a congressman who is part of a delegation recently visiting taiwan. ♪good vibes by moa l.m. munoz & ryan t. short♪ ♪♪

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kristen: u.s.-china relations remain tense over the future of taiwan as another high-profile u.s. official visits today. eric holcomb met with the taiwanese president to discuss economic cooperation. nancy pelosi visited earlier this month, followed by a delegation that included john garamendi whose district includes sacramento. he joins us live to discuss it. thank you for joining us. >> good to be with you. kristen: hello see visited, then you went. why all of these trips?

why now? >> all of these trips are standard procedure. last year, there were 72 members of congress that visited. this year, there have been several already. this is normal. taiwan is one of our biggest trading partners and is a critical, critical element in the defense of the entire pacific area. it is a very robust democracy. yes, we ought to have visited for all kinds of reasons. the governor of indiana visited, california is extraordinarily important. taiwan is a major element in california's economy. kristen: in addition to the economic ties, taiwan is certainly a big chip maker, is there a message to china? >> absolutely.

keep in mind, hong kong, there was a one country, two systems until beijing said no. they simply crushed democracy, crushed several -- civil liberties. they could surely do the same in taiwan, which has become a robust, dynamic economy as well as a democracy. so yes, there is a reason to be there. there is a reason to give taiwan the opportunity to carry out what has been the china-taiwan policy, which means it is up to the taiwanese to win and how they become, once again, integrated into the chinese system. kristen: i understand you're saying there have always been visits, but this is high-profile.

speaker pelosi, china's response has been stepped up military drills. that is a clear escalation. how do you answer to critics who say these trips may be worsening tensions, whatever the intentions are, increasing the likelihood of armed conflict? >> these trips have made it clear that the united states is continuing the seven year policy, the 50 year policy of maintaining a relationship with taiwan, it relationship that is recognizing taiwan as part of china, but it is going to set its own pace. its own standards. as to if and when it integrates back to china. we need to make it clear, it is not just these diplomatic missions, in our discussions with the president of taiwan, she made it clear it was

significantly altering her military. she needs weapons to carry out a strategy that would be very -- to what ukraine has been able to do as russia has been able to swallow ukraine. pretty much like swallowing a porcupine. that is exactly what the taiwanese intend to do, make it difficult for china to take any military action to gain control of taiwan. kristen: has president biden talk to about the trip you took? >> no. he has not. i don't believe he talked to senator markey. that was not mentioned. the president also is of the opinion that taiwan sets its own standard. when and if it becomes ready to

rejoin, and it will do so, but write down the taiwanese -- right now, the taiwanese to not want to be gobbled up the same way hong kong was. it is all nice and ok until beijing says no. and then it's repression. kristen: some observers think xi jinping may be using this to slip last -- solidify support for himself. do you think this is posturing? do you think there is anything imminent? >> it is certainly posturing. it certainly plays into the meeting taking place here later this -- well, earlier this fall. here's what we believe that is happening, china is attempting

to set a new normal. they will cross the median line. they will send their ships around. they will set up what would be an inability for taiwan to even function as a country. we do not want that to happen. we do not want to new normal. the old normal was bad enough for taiwan, so we want to push back. that is what we are doing here. we also want to make sure taiwan has the appropriate equipment to defend themselves. kristen: congressman, thank you

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us today on this interactive show, getting answers. we are here every weekend -- weekday at 3:00. tonight, breaking news. the rescues in dallas. the historic flooding. 17 million americans under flood watches and alerts as we come on the air tonight. the devastating images from texas just outsid dallas, one area reporting 15 inches of rain in 12 hours. in dallas-fort worth, more than nine inches. the most rain in 24 hours in nearly a century. drivers pulled from their vehicles. first responders swimming along i-30, trying to reach stranded drivers and families. and the images from utah, rescuers there searching for that missing hiker caught in the flooding at zion national park. flood watches in effect tonight across several states. chief meteorologist ginger zee timing this ouenerusnded after this disturbing video

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