host: our guest is congressman gregory meeks. we are talking about foreign policy. we welcome your calls and comments. for republicans, the line is (202) 748-8001. for democrats, the number is (202) 748-8000. for independents, the number is (202) 748-8002. we will get your calls in a minute. what else can the u.s. do? what can congress propose in terms of legislation to strengthen our defenses? guest: i think the president did the right thing because communication is important. let them know we have the ability to do a number of things. we will not talk about them so they have a chance to prepare. i think the president laid it out that there has to be a change in behavior on behalf of putin and the folks around him. otherwise, there will be a price to pay -- and he did that face-to-face, unlike what took place with the last administration, were basically the former president took putin 's word above our own intelligence. this is a different president, different positioning. members of congress to back up and support the president in that mission and stand up with ou

i'm joined by a member of the cbc, congressman gregory meeks.ttee. you were at the event with speaker pelosi. how important is this moment to you? how important is this moment for our country? >> craig, it's historic when you just think about the history of what we are talking about. it took two years after the emancipation and proclamation for slaves to find out they were free. it gives recognition of the country of the horrible past and now to make sure that we celebrate the freedom and emancipation proclamation that it gave and bestowed upon individuals. i hope that it leads to the next step. because the next step is the work that we're doing right now. we have to make sure that we pass the voting rights act to preserve our democracy. i'm reminded and i hope this reminds the country that right after the slaves were emancipated, we had reconstruction. then the voting rights came down on individuals in post reconstruction restricting their built to vote. this is mindful of what happened in the past. it's a celebration. but it should be a remind

gregory meeks, mr. chairman. and again grateful for the courteous consideration of this legislation today. although we may not be in complete agreement. and i urge a strong vote for h.r. 256 to repeal the 2002 authorization for use of military force and hope that we will have a strong bipartisan vote. with that i yield back the balance of my time. thank you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. mccaul: i continue to reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york. mr. meeks: it is my honor to yield one minute to the chairwoman of the committee of financial services, the gentlelady from california, ms. waters. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. ms. waters: s thank you very much. i -- ms. waters: i thank my colleague gregory meeks for the time. i rise in sprong support of congresswoman barbara lee's resolution to repeal the outdated 2002 aumf, which was used to start the iraq war. which killed more than 4,500 am

. >> representative gregory meeks who represents new york's fifth district in new york city in the queensicy issues, particularly ones coming up before his committee and the u.s. house. chairman meeks, good morning. >> good morning. good to be with you. >> the headline here this morning in the washington times about the state of the authorization of use of military force vote to repeal presidential war authorization is delayed, this is the measure that passed in the house last week, a debate that you led on the house floor. why do you think this is an important measure to follow through and get passed by both bodies in the congress? >> well, the responsibility is congress' to make the determination of whether or not we should go to war or not and when you look at the 2002 aumf, its mission has been accomplished. that was in regards to saddam hussein who is now gone and dealing with iraq and what took place at 9/11, you know, something that i voted against, but that has long been gone. so those old aumfs that were put forward and voted on some 20 years ago -- >> we've live on capitol hill

host: representative gregory meeks represents new york's fifth district in the queens area. oins us talk about u.s. foreign policy issues. chairman meeks, good morning. guest: good morning. host: the headline in the "washington times" about the authorization of military force -- this is the measure that passed the house last week, a debate you led on the house floor. why do you think this is an important measure? guest: the responsibility is of congress to make the determination of whether or not we should go to war. when you look back in 2002, the mission has been accomplished. saddam hussein is gone in iraq, what took place on 9/11. that has long been gone. they were put forward and voted on some 20 years ago and are no longer necessary today. as our president wants to go back to war somewhere, they should come to congress and we should vote on it and make that determination. its lifespan has expired. we still have the 2001, which we hope to vote on and repeal and replace. that deals with protecting the united states from t errorist groups and organizations. host: as i reca

joining me for some thoughts on this is democratic congressman gregory meeks, the chairman of the housen affairs committee. chairman, thank you for being here. thank you for joining me on this. what is your -- your score card of biden's first overseas trip so far? clearly incomplete before this meeting with putin, but so far. >> well, i think that it has been very, very good and i think that he has laid the foundation, the appropriate foundation for this retreat that he's about to engage in. you know, when i think about it, different than the prior president, what he wants to do is to make sure that he locks in the countries across the atlantic that share the same values that we have, whether you're talking about the eu, whether you're talking about nato, whether you're talking about the entire european union, that is tremendously important in that regards because one of the things that i think that putin wants to do is to try to make sure that putin would like to divide us. see, that's his game and that's what he knew he could do with the other administration. he would divide us from o

years and i want to say i want to thank the chair of the foreign affairs committee, congressman gregory meekions supported it, americans for prosperity, so this just didn't happen overnight, we have built bipartisan support over the years, and i was very pleased that we got 49 republican votes. i've been working with so many, and i have to remember, walter jones, who passed away a few years ago, he helped me start making this a bipartisan effort. and so here we are now, move oggen to the senate, i've spoked to senator cain, we are cautiously optimistic that we will be able to move this forward oochs. the president has indicated he is ready to sign. it he issued what we call a statement of support, a sap, and we have to keep working and i'm hopeful and confident that sooner or later, hopefully this year, we will get this to president biden's desk for his signature. >> it is your work that is bearing fruit tonight in so many ways. i don't know about your personal situation in your life right now, congressman lee, but you better have somebody who has bought you flowers or at least a cocktail to

gregory meeks, mr. chairman. and again grateful for the courteous consideration of this legislation today. although we may not be in complete agreement. and i urge a strong vote for h.r. 256 to repeal the 2002 authorization for use of military force and hope that we will have a strong bipartisan vote. with that i yield back the balance of my time. thank you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. mccaul: i continue to reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york. mr. meeks: it is my honor to yield one minute to the chairwoman of the committee of financial services, the gentlelady from california, ms. waters. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. ms. waters: s thank you very much. i -- ms. waters: i thank my colleague gregory meeks for the time. i rise in sprong support of congresswoman barbara lee's resolution to repeal the outdated 2002 aumf, which was used to start the iraq war. which killed more than 4,500 am

and gregory meeks join us to talk about president biden's recent meeting with vladimir putin and foreign policy challenges. and thompson on how -- and we talk about the rise in the nations murder and crime rates with jeff asher. watch washington journal live at 7:00 eastern wednesday morning and be sure to join the discussion with phone calls, facebook comments, texts and tweets. coming up wednesday on c-span, the houses back at 10:00 a.m. eastern for general speeches. at noon, members begin work on legislation to protect older workers against age discrimination. 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span two, house armed services committee has the defense secretary testify on the 2022 budget request following by a consideration of judicial nominations in maryland at 2:00 p.m. c-span 3, a meeting at 10:00 to look at ways to curb underage vaping. then another budget hearing with christopher wray. announcer: c-span is your unfiltered view of government. funded by these television companies and more, including buckeye broadband. buckeye broadband supports c-span as a public service among these other tele