Transcripts For CSPAN Washington Journal 07252020 20240712

If your answer is yes, you are ready to see pro sports again, your number is going to be 202 7488000. If your answer is no, it is too early to have pro sports again in the United States, we want to hear from you at 202 7488001. Keep in mind, you can always text us your answer at 202 we are always reading on social media, on twitter at cspanwj and facebook at facebook. Com cspan. Once again, pro sports are beginning and all professional leagues across the United States, with different leagues doing Different Things around the nation. We will start the show by telling you exactly what the pro leagues are doing, and this comes from our friends at the red and black. Major League Baseball started july 23 with a Washington Nationals losing 41 to the new york yankees. Game following a 60 regular season, the mlb will conduct an extended playoff for the 2020 season. The nfl has started making its plans for the upcoming season, with players in the league eliminating the 2020 preseason, instead of the original plan to play two games. Training camps have also been reduced, and they will play with a reduced number of fans in the stands. The Atlanta Falcons are preparing for between 10000 and 20,000 spectators with a requirement for face coverings. The wnba started its season on july 25, with the Seattle Storm and the new york liberty tipping off their first game. Resuming their season on july 30. Teams are currently competing in tampa, florida i mean orlando, florida, with scrimmage games that started on the 22nd. The National Womens Soccer League is nearing the end of their challenge cup, taking place in utah, and major league soccer, which has been playing since july 16. The National Hockey league will return on august 1 with this game between the new york rangers and the carolina hurricanes. All the different legs around the country are doing different leagues around the country are doing Different Things, so it will be interesting to look at pro sports and when they will be coming back. Lets see what the president said about this issue. , callingrt with greg from midlothian, virginia. Good morning. Caller good morning. I think they should start. I am really a big baseball fan, but i wish they would leave the politics out of it. If i want politics i will get it from somewhere else, but i want sports and i want it clean and pure and to get that stuff out. Host thank you. Thank you. Greg, if you could would you attend a game, or are you satisfied watching it on television . The game,would attend as long as they are practicing the protocols and that kind of thing and keep the people there distant. I would attend the game. Host do you think pro sports tould require fans wear a mask inside the Atlanta Falcons are doing . Caller if the data says we still have a problem with it, yes. With the data. Just base it on that. Callingts go to rick, from boise, idaho, and rick says its too early. Caller good morning. My only question is the amount of testing thats going to be required of the athletes. And i wonder if this is somehow affecting the rest of the test,ys ability to get a you know, when its needed. Are we getting all these tests over to the sports teams when theres people in my town that need testing . , are you saying that perhaps you think the needed tests for other americans are going to professional athletes to ensure they can be safe to play these games . Caller thats my question. I wonder if thats true. Host so with the League Starting up anyway, do you plan to watch or support them in any way during the season . Caller well, i have to admit, i watch some of the baseball games watched some of the baseball games last night. Rew up on baseball, so host i have to ask, who is your team . Caller im sorry, i didnt hear you. Host which team do you root for . Caller thats a complicated question. I grew up on the yankees. I am from upstate new york, but living in boise i tend to favor id i love watching the cubs. The focus of a story in the Chicago Tribune right now, i will read a little bit of that story for you. As major League Baseball opens its unprecedented 2020 season this week, the plan to bring back americas pastime midpandemic hinges on rigorous covid19 testing of thousands of players and staff, being routinely checked for the new coronavirus. But some medical experts are questioning the ethics of dedicating mass testing to professional sports amid a National Shortage of tests and laboratory resources, which has driven up wait times for results and made it more difficult for the general public to get tested. With the challenges we are facing as a nation, it seems hard to justify any capacity for Something Like sports, said a social professor of epidemiology at Emory University Rollins School of Public Health. Some doctors note the revival of baseball could give a Mental Health boost to fans, who have faced months of social isolation and severe economic the pandemic. From professional sports are also a Major Economic engine. The question is whether those things are worth the potential Public Health risk, said the acting chair of Laboratory Medicine at the university of Washington School of medicine. Testingh meticulous protocols, some scientists worry that mlbs opening measures might not be able to fend off outbreaks of the highly contagious virus, which has more than 4 Million People and killed over , according towide the u. S. Centers for Disease Control and prevention. Illinois has reported more than positiveed 68,000 cases so far and more than 7000 deaths. Withdent trump spoke reporters about canceling large portions of the Republican National convention while baseball and other stores were being restarted. Heres what he said. [video clip] some people will take away the lesson that youre pushing too far, too fast. [inaudible] the opening of major league is [inaudible] an example, we were discussing it a little while ago, you are going to be in an empty stadium. Randy levine asked me to throw out the first pitch, and i think im doing at august 15 at yankee stadium. I ask, how is the crowd going to be . Dont have a crowd. There is no such thing. It is going to be interesting. He is not used to that. He walks in at some games, the place goes crazy. He was just born with it, you know . Some people were born with it. But ive never seen a pitcher throw a ball with so many bats who were broken as mario mariano. How do you do that it is called parents. Theink we have to also examples. Major League Baseball is setting an example by playing to empty stadiums, and so are other sports. Allow a certain number in. I see golf will soon be allowing people to come in in percentages , and all of a sudden, we want to get back to normal. The key is to get back to normal because no one wants to see this, but i think it is good that baseballs opening, it looks like football is opening, it looks like sports are opening. It is a tremendous thing country,ically for our and we are all with it. We are going to see some beautiful, young little leaguers future with a great ahead of them. They are already practicing on the front lawn of the white house, and we are going to go out and say hello to them, and it will be really great. How about one more. Host lets see what our social media followers are saying about whether they want to see pro sports again during the pandemic. One tweet says depends on the sport. Yes. All, basketball in a bubble, yes. Football, no. , yes. Football is a Health Hazard but i love football the most. Another, bring back pro sports but make fans stay at home for now. If you mean for just the tory sports with fans filling the stadium, the answer is no. If this is about simply playing the game, the answer is yes. I chose yes. Only allow seasonticket holders to attend with an stand concessions. You all stay safe. Another says temperatures should be taken in addition to random covid tests. We want to know what you think. Do you think pro sports should start back during the pandemic . If your answer is yes, 202 7488000. If your answer is no, 202 7488001. Ands take a couple calls talk to kevin, who is calling from west palm beach, florida. Kevin says no. Good morning. Caller good morning. I believe its far too early to start the proceeds and again. Again. Season i would like to see it start up again, but it is far too early, far too dangerous for the players and the spectators. Host kevin, theres a lot of people who will say pro sports brings in a lot of money to these towns and these states with concessions, the tax base. What do you say to cities and towns who say, we need that money coming back in . Caller my opinion is i believe that it is far too early. I wish i had a solution for you. Im sorry. Host everybody has their favorite sport to watch on television. What do you watch on television, and will you watch it anyway . Caller pro football. Host when they start the pro football season in another month or so, do you plan to watch . Caller yes. Host lets go to herald, calling from topeka, kansas. Harold says it is time to start sports. Good morning, harold. Jesse. Good morning, i want to have sports start back up. I am a big football fan. But i am living in a city that might get all changed up. I am the chiefs fan. We know the Washington Redskins have had their name changed, so they are now the Washington Football Team until they have a name that they like. I have a solution for it. No matter what we name these teams in the future, someone in the future is going to not like that. So what we do, we use a number system. For example, the chiefs are going to play the raiders. The raiders, they have a brandnew stadium in las vegas. Lasmaybe the people of vegas dont want to be known as raiders. Maybe we should change that name too. Use all numbers. Noiders are problems with that. Trouble witht into Number Systems like that. Yes, i do want to start seeing the names again, but all the stuff thats going on is going to make it no fun. You took about spoke about the money that they are going to make when it starts back up. And fan is going to go out spend money on new gear when a year later, he is not going to be able to wear that gear . T lets talk from billy youre from billy in oklahoma. Good morning. Caller [cheers and applause] ndescernible] they say the test is not very reliable. People intesting small towns. [indiscernible] do you think they should have sports that are noncontact, like tennis, golf sports like that are ok, but nonContact Sports . Yes. R everything that is nonContact Sports. We are putting our football basketballdanger, players. Anything that is a noncontact sport, and they need to get tested more. In small towns, we are not getting tested [indiscernible] transportationve to 50 miles away, when i talked to them at the hospital they told me the test was not very reliable. Tot billy, what do you say cities and towns who say they need these sports to continue bringing in money to balance their budget . Toler well, they will have balance that without that for a while. I think lives are more important than the money. [indiscernible] all of us in the small towns they need to get more testing out everywhere. I am 100 handicapped. I cannot go 50 miles. [indiscernible] we need more testing. A lot more testing, then see how the other sports are doing. Maybe they could open other sports, but contact football i played football it will be very difficult. [indiscernible] host the hill have a story had ahis month story earlier this month about the Financial Impact of not having pro sports. I want to read a little bit to you from that article. Ementpn announc may found that the loss of sports would cost at least 12 billion in revenue and hundreds of thousands of jobs more a football doesnt come back this fall. Mlb team owners could lose nearly 4 billion in names arent played if games arent to rob according manfred. And while the leagues are already losing revenue from tickets and stadium sales, there is still tv revenue to be made. Game is regular season worth nearly 24 Million Dollars in revenue from tv nights, espn reported. That is a look at what professional leagues could lose if they dont play games this fall. We want to know what you think, so lets go back to ray, calling from glendale, arizona. Ray says play ball. Good morning. Morning, jesse. It is ok to open it up if it is safe to do so. I enjoy watching ball, especially with no one screaming get in the hole after every shot. It is kind of nice. I dont mind watching with no fans. It is kind of a nice change of pace. Theyre trying, with paper cutouts in the stands and piping in crowd noise and everything. Watchingd of a hoot that, you know . Host ray, if you are from glendale, that is where the Arizona Cardinals have their i am correct. If you had the chance, would you go into the stadium with a mask and doing your social distancing . Would you go to a cardinals game . Caller sure, if it wasnt safe. If it was safe. [inaudible] i worked there. I worked there for a few days, loading up all the hot dog stands and whatnot before the games. Spring i was working down where the diamondbacks play, and the arena where the , whereay suns play they do the concerts and stuff. That job is long gone until they come up with the vaccine. People can hunker down, but people got to make money and it seems like we had our whole way of life stolen from us, you know . Do you plan to watch many pro sports on television if they are on . Do you plan to be there watching it on tv . Espn all was glued to day yesterday watching baseball. I was happy as a pig and a slot slop as a paid in a trough ton a slop see that. You can do those things and still say pretty safe. Football, hockey i dont know. Extensive testing, make sure i just worry about the players safety. If they want to go out and compete, god bless him. Me to myich brings t next question. If you were a pro player that did not feel comfortable in participating in Contact Sports, do you think you should lose your salary for the season . Caller [indiscernible] if they are not rooting for you, they are rooting for. So many guys with the big heads in that. They want to sit out, they can afford to sit out. But no, they should not get paid. Host lets go to ralph, calling from knoxville, tennessee. Ralph, good morning. Guy, i think he called before last, we better get a hold on the coronavirus first. All this other stuff will come. And the almighty dollar can put you in the grave. What it is sports good is sports if you are six wheat under six feet under . I have caught myself sitting and the only sport i like is soccer, watching soccer. Starved, but i also love to be alive. I think opening schools is premature. We have florida, texas and california. For some reason, we dont have a leader we should be at a point where we can open back up, but we are not thanks to our leadership. No, it is way too early. Get a hold on the virus first and then go from there. Thank you. To greg, calling from bismarck, north dakota. Greg says no, too early. Good morning. Good morning. Yeah, i would say they just needed to delay it a little bit because of some of the rise we have going on. I would also like to respond to the first caller you had, he said keep the politics out of it. If people are so worried about why doesnt make a show for people to give their political views to the professional athletes and leave it out of the games . I worry about the peoples lives, the players and stuff, and i think they just need to hold off a little bit longer until things kind of level out a little bit. Host do you think team owners should be in the position of forcing players to play by saying they are going to hold off their salaries if they dont come out and play during the pandemic . Caller i think there are no different than anybody else. Nos their job they are different than anybody else. Its their job and if you dont you haveo their job, to make a choice. Host most of the sports leagues will not have fans in the stands, but they will all be on television. Do you plan to watch much this year . Caller if they leave the politics out of it. I will be honest with you i was sitting there watching the cherry pit spitting contest . [laughter] face it. There is not much on nowadays. I would be glad to watch it if it is there, but i just want people to be careful. Host lets go to paul, calling from bars lake, minnesota. Good morning. Caller good morning. I think they should come back, provided that they have adequate testing for the players to make and thathey are safe, at some days they socially distance, they look at the fans coming in, but they could do that by socially distancing rather than having people crammed in seats together. Most stadiums have 60,000 seats or more. The could easily separate seating so that people could be spread out. In phases,that though. Lets start with getting the players on the field, provided that it is safe. I think its a good distraction for the country, and there was a reason fdr did not cancel baseball in world war ii. This is somewhat similar to that. I think of a player doesnt want to play, it is in their contract i agree with the previous callers that said they shouldnt be paid. Theive got a name for washington football club, suggested name i think it is nobrainer that they keep their because they have great colors, but they were called the feds. They might run into a little problem there, because s. L. Team a u. S. Called the washington federals, so they might run into an issue there. You, we haveon for a color earlier said why should we be using all the corroded earlierwe had a caller who said why should we be using all the covid tests on pro athletes when the rest of the nation is running into shortages . Other i think the citizens should be getting priority testing too, but we need more testing in general. If the players are going to put their lives on the line out on the field, i think them asking to be tested to make sure that the other players are safe, that to me is important just as well. I think they should both get testing. Host so you think 30 to be more testing for everyone . There needs to be more testing for everyone . Countryi think if the listens to dr. Fauci, we would be much better off. Host Washington Nationals pitcher Sean Doolittle sought down set down with the media and talked about pro sports during the pandemic. Heres what Sean Doolittle had to say. [video clip] it does bring to mind where we are at in our response to this as a country. Like, were trying to bring baseball back during a pandemic that has killed 130,000 people. We are way worse off as a country than where we were in march, when we shut the thing down, and look at where ever to cover look at where other developed countries are in their response to this. Othere not done anything countries have done to bring sports back. Sports are a part of a functioning society, and we are trying to just bring it back even though we have taken none to flatten the curve, whatever you want to say. We did flatten the curve for a little bit, but we did not use that time to do anything productive. We just opened back up for memorial day. Decided we were done with it. There arent sports, its going to be because people are not Wearing Masks, because the response to this has been so politicized. We need help from the general public. If they want to watch baseball, please wear a mask. Social distance. Keep washing your hands. Months, shouldr sports come back . No, theres things we have to do in order to bring this stuff back. Host lets see what our social media followers are saying about whether sports should come back during the pandemic. Heres one text we got that says i believe it is possible to start baseball because of the minimal amount of contact, but baseball, football, hockey and have too much contact involved athletes. E for the again, we need to listen to the medical experts, not trump. Heres another text that says it seems incredible that churches are closed and people are crying that they cannot pay bills or feed their kids, yet they will spam spend money on going to Sports Events or cable to watch. Need to get priorities in order. Wearer text says make them a mask and social distance, like everyone else has to. It is pointless to discuss work, school, etc. If we do not put health first then even more people will be dropping dead. The u. S. Response is a nightmare. Once again, we are talking to you about whether you think pro sports should come back during the pandemic. If you say yes, it is time to play pro sports, we want to hear from you at 202 7488000. Early say no, its too for pro sports, we want to hear from you at 202 7488001. Keep in mind, you can always text us at 202 7488003, and we are always reading on social media, on twitter at cspan wj on twitter at cspanwj and facebook at facebook. Com cspan. Lets go back to our phone lines and talked to maria, calling from norwalk, connecticut. Maria says no, its too early. Caller good morning. I would like to say first of all, we should be concentrating on getting the schools open before we worry about the stupid because our children are not going to be educated. They are already behind in the world and they are just going to get further behind, and this is exactly what the democrats are trying to do. Second of all, the nfl and the nba are two of the most powerful, rich, extremely rich franchises that our country is upset over, and i really over, and i really feel they are a bunch of overpaid, spoiled brats. They are working for china. We cannot express our opinions anymore on twitter without them telling us to shut up and keep our opinions to ourselves. I think it is time to defund the nfl, defund the nba. Teams,et new owners, new sign with the players to find out what they want. They keep saying 1. 6 billion consumers did you know some of those consumers cannot afford from america, and they are taking it over to china, raising their income and lowering hours . Nfl, time to defund the defund the nba. Based around playing with a ball making hundreds of billions and now they are trying to make us follow chinese rules . Host lets go to dan, calling from santa barbara, california. Dan says he has, time to play ball. Hi, i am going to follow up on the last few callers that decided to politicize this has gonebecause sports political, and it has to do with the National Anthem. Bringing back sports yeah, we can do it if it is safe. But in terms of the theticization of sports and National Anthem, heres my idea. It is a radical idea and i think off most people on the left and the right. I think we should get rid of the National Anthem before all sporting events. There is no other events that ,eople go to, like movies concerts, symphonies, whatever, where you have to sit there and stand for the National Anthem, except for sporting events. It has become politicized and it has become, as we remember with jeff flake and john mccain, expose how the nfl turned it into a recruiting event and how our tax dollars basically went to the pentagon to turn nfl games into a recruiting event to get people to sign up to join the military. Of that. F all the National Anthem, the military, the soldiers, the start theand just game. I know that is going to tick off a lot of people who are nationalistic in this country, and a lot of the social justice warriors who want to bring back the Colin Kaepernick take anything dont take a knee do any of that. Dont give the pentagon a chance to use it as a recruiting tool. To our caller from gastonia, north carolina. Good morning. Caller good morning. How are you doing . Side, it isc health unsafe right now. If they want to start sports, everybody should wear a mask. It is all the president s fault but if youout that, told everybody in the first place just wear our mask, maybe they can open up new things. Right now it is just too unsafe. It is already politicized, sports of all. A slavets have mentality thing. If you want to watch it, thats fine, just wear oua mask. Host a caller from the Chicago Tribune a column from the Chicago Tribune that i want to bring to people that tension, written by shannon ryan. This is what it said devastated by Economic Hardship. Resuming sports is a life is back to normal again. But its not. The pandemic hasnt gone away, and outbreaks are surging across the nation. Every option seems to have been safest 1 except the hold off on playing. Unknown about the longterm effects of the coronavirus, even on young, healthy athletes in their prime. Bringing exports is a guessing game, even for our experts. But some things are right in front of our faces. Insisting that sports continue is a logical. We have the evidence. The return is and working. Its time to admit it this break needs to last longer. Lets go back to the phones and talk to our caller in mariette, georgia. Caller good morning, jesse, how are you . Host just fine, go ahead. Caller great. Im not that big of a sports fan, but i feel that it shouldnt be open. I think those players that want to play should be able to play, as long as they use the necessary security, and even the fans who want to show up, [indiscernible] fans, they dont come, and they would have to do and wearl distancing the mask. People are adults, and adults should have to make the choice for themselves and not have someone put that on somebody else. Adults should be able to make their own choices. The players should be able to make their choices if they choose not to, they shouldnt be made to but they shouldnt get paid. It should be up to them to make the decision. I they feel like it is ok know people, especially with football, there are Football Players who get out there and play and they can get hit in the wrong way and die. I dont see anybody rocking aroundhere walking here 500, 600 years old. All of us are going to die someday. Host lets go to jay, calling from boomtown, new jersey. Aysays its too early j says its too early. That last caller it is too early and we are all going to die. That is kind of sad. It is like this article everyone about how many people are going to die if things dont open back up. They are looking at the money in the near term rather than looking at the far term. [indiscernible] we do not know if people can recatch the virus over and over, like the common cold. We dont know what we are going to need to keep vaccinated repeatedly, for the rest of our but we do know, watching what has happened, even though the pro Baseball Players came in the short pre, theyson to work out started having outbreaks with each team. [indiscernible] to forest fire. Trees are the fuel of the fire. People are the fuel for this virus. Precautions ofe social distancing and masks, it is just going to continue to spread. I dont think schools should be i dont think universities should be opening. Its too soon. We have the technology to be distance, wel should take advantage of that. Once we have a vaccine in place and move back to a different normal, that is when we should do it safely. Otherwise, it will be too much of an Economic Hardship for minimum wage owners to land in the hospital for weeks, maybe die after being on a ventilator, and they cant support a College Student who is going to go off to college or an Elementary School kid who is in school, and brings home the infection to their family. If trump wants to open up the schools, maybe all sick kids should go to school with barron trump. Oft i want to remind you another event that starts today. Beginning today, six days of Memorial Services will celebrate the life of late georgia congressman john lewis, starting today with a service in lewis town of troy, alabama. Coverage of the service from Troy University in alabama will begin live today at 11 00 a. M. Eastern time on cspan. On can also watch it cspan. Org and listen to it on the free cspan radio app. Once again, that service will begin at 11 00 a. M. Eastern time here on cspan. Lets go back to our phone lines and talk to teresa, calling from michigan. Teresa says too early. Good morning. Caller good morning. I say no, we cant start. All the scientists are saying we need to shut right down and do it right. Sure, china lied and misled us in the first place, but donald trump lied to the American People for a couple months. Hes done it all wrong. He is trying to get everybody to open up and all hes doing is killing americans. s scientists are telling us we have to shut right down and do it right to begin with. The kids cannot go to school. That is why trump is not doing his rallies, because he is spreading that virus all over america. You got 1000 people dying a day and sanchez, or whatever his he iss, down in florida, misleading his people and donald trump is firing everybody that tells the truth to the American People. What, for herf five inspector generals who are supposed to be keeping an eye on things . Hes lying to the American People. Again, major League Baseball throughout its first but therlier this week, former World Champion Washington Nationals, one of their top players tested positive for coronavirus. Heres the story from the washington post. The site of 21yearold juan soto shuffling in the batters box and staring at the gerritrk yankees j cole, the firebreathing righthander he victimized in the world series last october, stood thursday morning at the top of the list. Whether someone was tuning and with enthusiasm or trepidation, glee or guilt, grinning or bracing, sotos encore tantalized as a moment to savor. Divergenthe becomes a grim reminder. Anticipation melted into dread thursday afternoon at about 2 30 p. M. When nationals general manager right mike rizzo announced that juan soto had tested positive for coronavirus. That is the major news of the day for the nats, rizzo said glumly. So does positive test will remain a massive bummer for fans. A competitive dagger for the nationals and most of all, frightening reinforcement for this sport. It will be a strange season, if there is a complete season at all, and that oddity will be wrapped in the disquiet of lawyers and staff put at risk of a disease the nation disquiet ofe players and staff put at risk of a disease the nation cannot escape. We want to hear from you should professional sports be reopened . If your answer is yes, your number is 202 7488000. If your answer is no, too early, your number is 202 7488001. Remember, you can always text us at 202 7488003. And we are always reading on twitter at cspanwj and facebook at facebook. Com cspan. Lets look at more of our social media followers and see what they are thinking about pro sports during the pandemic. ,eres one tweet that says its about the sport and watching athleticism. No streaming fans screaming fans needed. Aams and staff should be in bubble for their season. Their health should not be sacrificed for entertainment. Another, football alone cannot be fulfilling to me without the crowd and the bands and cheer squads. Whether on tv and or in person, half the fun is the single or purpose of fans being there to enjoy the event and root for their team. Another tweet that says considering how much professional athletes get paid and the fact that all of the owners are billionaires, why run the risk . Its not like they will become homeless. One last text that says games with no fans and bars, close for watching. For watching. Lets talk to john, calling from brooklyn, new york. Good morning. Caller they definitely should open. I was looking forward to it. But it defeats the purpose unless they take the politics out of it. Involve on does not need to be on the back of amount anymore than [indiscernible] needs to be on the back of amount. [indiscernible] caller i am not a hockey fan. I watch all sports, but i dont want hockey. I saw the politics, i turned it off. I am not going to watch it until they take the politics out of anybodys side. It defeats the purpose of getting the country back to normal and on an even keel. Host lets go to joan, calling from silver spring, maryland. Joan says its too early. Caller good morning. I dont think sports should open up. Andrk in the hospital corona is very, very dangerous. Juste seen so many lives right in front of you, they are lost. It is very dangerous. People need to take this thing very serious. Very serious. I have two sisters who came down with the corona. Friend of mine, my teacher, who just died of the corona. I dont understand. I dont understand. Talkingan, weve been professional sports for this hour, but you live in silver spring, one town over from college park, where the university of maryland is. Do you think they should play College Sports at all this year . Caller yes, they should play it, but it is not yet time. It is not time. They should not open it up yet. It is like the kids going back to school. Why should the kids go back to school, they get corona at school and then they come home and i have to take care of them . [indiscernible] callingts go to chris, from austin, texas. Chris says play ball. Good morning. Caller good morning. Obligatedit is an issue on many levels but i think we should definitely get sports back. Im glad to see baseball coming back, especially to bring some normalcy back to the world. I get that the virus is scary and people are scared, but i think sports may be played without fans, its something that needs to happen. Host just like i asked the previous paul or caller who lives right outside of a college town, you live in austin, texas, university of texas. Do you think College Sports should go on as well . Caller i am a San Francisco bay area transplant, so i am a golden state warriors, San Francisco 49ers fan. Texas is a red state, austin is a blue city without the fans, but the people here are so proud of texas and so proud of their football, i think especially for this area, i would love to see it happen. Have been again, we talking professional sports this whole time, but lets take a look at what the ncaa is planning for this fall. Heres a story that comes out of bleacherreport. Com from the president. President mark emirates stated in no Uncertain Terms thursday that College Sports are in of thethis fall because spread of covid19. Top officials pointed to recent trends in the number of cases nationally and sounding the alarm on fall sports. Isay, sadly, the data point in the wrong direction, emmert said per espns heather di nich. If there is to be colored sports in the fall, we need to get a much better handle on the pandemic. Erts comments at comments, after the ncaa released its latest recommendations for health and safety guidelines. The updates include advice on daily selfhelp checks, testing within 72 hours of completion. At the time, the ncaa began discussing a return to play, the number was at 600 cases per million. As of july, despite a twomonth decrees, confirmed cases have risen back to nearly 700 per million residents, far above similar results measured in europe, canada and japan. Once again, we want to know if you think pro sports should come back during the pandemic. Lets see if we can get more calls and before the top of the hour. In beforen calls the top of the hour. Craig is next. I am a 62yearold md and i believe sports should open. I could go to a game in person without hesitation. People are not aware of the mortality from this virus. According to the cdc, we are 35 asymptomatic rate, which is low, 0. 2 and mortality. L at my age of 62, it is a two out of 1000 chance of dying. So i would open up sports, i would open it up to fans. Outdoor sports, i would have no age limit. Personally, i would put like a 40 euros age limit 40yearold age limit [indiscernible] this in the 1967 or 1968 flu pandemics with a mortality. We did not shut things down during the polio pandemic. In 1918, probably a 5 mortality, 50 million dead and 1. 2 billion worldwide population, we didnt stop sports. People can play with masks. Host so you would do 50 occupancy for stadiums . Would you require people to wear masks or do temperature checks on the way in the stadium . Caller i think i would do temperature checks. I think it is reasonable masks, it makes people feel more comfortable. I dont think science actually supports the masks, but i think it would make people more comfortable, so i would use the masks. Countryto live in a where there were no vaccines, but there were viral outbreaks. For 70 years, we would specifically recommend exposure ,f kids to those diseases because if you are between five from9, your risk mortality measles, chickenpox, etc. Was much lower than as an adult. We have had a measles vaccine since 1963. According to the world health organization, there were 142,000 measles deaths around the world in 2018. So the vaccine, even when it has been available for 50 years that it not a guarantee is going to be effective in preventing mortalities. Host lets go to jeffrey, calling from richie, florida. Jeffrey says its too early fort ritchie, florida. Jeffrey says its too early. It is toos, i believe early. I believe they shouldnt start schools back. Playing with this thing is , every fight matters. They should shut it down until they get a handle on it. Plentyeffrey, you have of cities and towns saying they need beast tax revenues to help make it through these tax revenues to make it through this year, which has already seen that major shutdown. What do you say to cities and towns who say, we need this money . The money, you need but to me a life is more important than money. Every life matters. You need to get a handle on this and all the states that are all the states that are surging. It is very crucial. Lets go to mark, calling from union star, kentucky, and mark says play ball. Caller i agree, we should be playing sports. If it is good enough for dr. Fauci, who is basically in charge as a scientist and all that, i would say host are you still there . Caller yeah, im still here. Host what do you say to the people who say we should not be testing repeatedly pro athletes when there are people out in the country who havent gotten there first coronavirus test . Their first coronavirus test . Caller if they are going to play ball and be around each other, they have to be tested. You got millions and millions of dollars invested in these ballplayers. You have to give them safe. That is the bottom line. I havent been tested, it is hard to find a test, but to have a sport you have to have healthy guys and gals. Should be open. If it is good enough for dr. Fauci host , it is good enough for me. , you are in kentucky, where College Sports rule. Goyou think they should ahead as well, or is there a difference between College Sports and pro sports . Can be i think if they tested, go for it. I am a huge u. K. Fan. Keep these kids safe, i am all for it. That is the bottom line, safety for everybody. We would like to thank all of our callers for joining in a great conversation for the first hour. Coming up next, walter olson of the Cato Institute will be here to discuss President Trumps recent surge of federal agents to American Cities in an effort to combat crime. Later on, we will speak to Pew Charitable trusts Marcia Argust act and what it could mean for National Parks in the United States. Back wel be right will be right back. Announcer this week, we look back at our conversation with john lewis from 2012. After you left washington, d. C. , black people and white people could not be seated together on a bus, could not use the same waiting room, could not be seated together at a lunch counter in a restaurant, could not use the same restroom facilities. We were testing a decision of the Supreme Court, trying to make it real. Announcer join us on sunday at 8 00 p. M. Eastern, as we look back at our conversation with representative john lewis. Cspan has unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the Supreme Court and Public Policy events. You can watch all of our programs on television, online or listen on the free radio a pp. And be part of the conversation orough washington journal, through our social media. Created by americas Cable Television companies as a Public Service, and brought to you today by your television provider. Journal washington continues. Host we are back with the Cato Institutes walter olson , here to talk about the recent surge of federal agents to chicago and other American Cities to combat crime. Walter, good morning. Guest good morning. Host for our viewers, tell us about the Cato Institute and where it gets its funding. A libertariant is t think tank located in washington, d. C. And is supported by thousands of individuals around the country who believe in limited government and constitutional government. Any oneot dependent on source of donations, and we do not take any government money at all. Episode,cent pandemic we have not taken any ppp money. Host talk about what is going on with federal Law Enforcement. The federal government has sent federal agents to do different places, one, in portland, oregon to work against protesters. Now there is a new initiative to fight crime in chicago and other cities, called operation legend. What do we need to know about this . Guest thank you for drawing the distinction between those two different programs. In thats need to start way. In portland, the federal government explains what it is doing by saying it needs to protect its own buildings. The federal courthouse has been under siege for weeks and weeks, there have been attempts to set it on fire, with attacks on those protecting it. The rest of the recent announcement, with chicago, albuquerque, and more cities to come, is different. Violence,cted against like the terrible driveby shooting at the chicago funeral the other day. Most of these cities have seen a spike in homicides, street shootings, gang warfare and other crime problems that we have had to some extent all along. So it is two different federal responses. Hasortland, the controversy come because people are policing themselves. According to a lot of us, they have been making mistakes, arresting people without probable cause, not identifying themselves as officers. On the other hand, with the general anticrime program, according to the officials at that explained it this week, based on the Pilot Program in kansas city, they are concentrating on helping the local police with detective work, that paperwork, those things. They say you will not see federal troops doing crowd control. If you see them arresting somebody, that they will be dressed appropriately, so you know they are federal agents. As we go forward, and portland, not to confuse them [indiscernible] about olson when we think federal Law Enforcement, is this the fbi or other agencies . Guest in the crime surge for chicago, for instance, the fbi will be there. There is a difference between the branches. With the general anticrime surge, these are mostly people already in Law Enforcement, like the fbi, like the Drug Enforcement administration. With the Street Police and portland, because the federal government does not have police in that bureau, it has made sense by pulling together employees of other agencies, such as the Border Protection, border patrol, or even the customs service, which you pay duty to if you are bringing an perfume or something. One difference is with the other agencies, you do not have necessarily as much training or expertise in a lot of the questions at that come up in policing. What is thee like constitutional requirement if you take somebody into custody. This is something that fbi people will tend to know. But you may not know if you are without another agency with another agency. Host one complaint we have seen the most coming out of portland federalact that the agents on the street are not identifying themselves as federal agents or the department for which they work. Is that something that we will see more of, or do you see that being a change that will happen . Guest it is one of the big issues, something we have trying toget have been trying get answers on because you cannot always tell five videos on social media. The department of Homeland Security claims that all of their agents, who are typically wearing camouflage, they have said that they are wearing three things a police identifier, w here you can usually see the word police. I am not sure whether it is official. And that they say they are wearing agency patches. I spent day while looking at the photographs. If you blow up the photograph and look closely, usually you can see the agency patches. But imagine if you see people coming down the street at you, looking like they will arrest you. Unlike other officers, you probably will not spot the patches. Names, cany wearing you identify them individual . This is another controversial point. Dhs says they intend not aware wear any names, which you are used to if you are dealing ing alocal police, see badge that says officer gonzales and so on. They say it is to protect them from having their families exposed or their names are circulated by radicals. Theyt is controversial and say that they are wearing identifiers, unique identifiers, which may be a combination of numbers and letters like zt1. Again, for those that are skeptical, this is not the same thing as wearing a name. They may know who misbehaved. But we may not find out who misbehaved. These are questions that congress will be asking about. It is responsible for a lot of the unease people feel about what is going on in portland. Host we will open up our regional lines for this conversation about the administrations anticrime crackdown. If you are in the eastern or central time zones, the number will be 202 7488000. If you are in the mountain or pacific time zones, the number will be 202 7488001. We are really interested in knowing what local Law Enforcement thinks about the federal government sending out federal agents to help with the crime crackdown, so we will open up a special line for Law Enforcement. Law enforcement, your line will be 202 7488002. And we will open up one more line for the people who have been protesting on the streets, what do you think about federal agents being sent out on an anticrime crackdown. If you are a protester, we want to hear from you at 202 7488003. And we areso text us a always on social media on facebook and twitter. Actual,what is the Legal Authority that the federal government is using to send these federal agents out to cities for their anticrime crackdown and the different operation going on in portland . Guest we will start with portland, because the authority to send federal Law Enforcement to protect federal buildings, like the courthouse, goes back as there has been a United States. Onever, it is also drawing other authorities, which are more recent. The creationsince of the department of Homeland Security after 9 11, one of the interesting powers that has come about is cross authorization in which the employees of one agency, like customs, might be authorized to enforce laws that have nothing to do with their specialty. If you likenable, the flexibility of this, or are worried about the possibility that will create a federal the federal, but government has lots of authority we do not usually hear about. There are dozens of agencies whose employees have the right to carry weapons. This has been going on for years with little resistance from congress. And when there is an emergency and if they want to call on these things, not only can they call on those, but also should the president invoke the insurrection act this goes back a long way at this point you have Legal Authority, and it is well established by the Supreme Court, to bring in the military. That has happened a few times in our history, but it would be a major crossing the threshold in order to do that. He has not really talked about that. Host you mentioned the insurrection act. Is there historical president precedent for sending agents to protect federal buildings, like in portland . Examples, there are but the insurrection act, the one that will be remembered by most in the audience would be the rodney king riots in los angeles. Widespread riots and the federal government did send in troops after invoking the insurrection act. Not all that controversial at the time. Law order had broken down. Longgain, it has been a time since we have had experience in those events. Go back to the civil rights era, you will find eisenhower and others faced with resistance to federal orders in a number of southern states, calling in troops as a result. This has been a threat to American History from the rebellion to after the revolution, to the civil war and reconstruction afterwards, but it usually takes a big crisis. One thing we argue about is what is happening in portland and seattle, is it a big enough crisis. Host the attorney general william barr, described the role that federal agents will play in operation legend. We will hear how he describes it. Here is the attorney general. [video clip] the operations we are talking about are the standard, anticrimefighting activities that we have been carrying out around the country for decades. We will be adding federal agents to the taskforces. They are street agents, are investigators and that will be working to solve murders and take down the violent gangs. And they will be working shoulder to shoulder with our state and local colleagues. This is a different kind of operation, obviously, than the tactical teams we use to defend against the mob violence and riots. We will continue to confront mob violence. But the operations we are discussing today are very different. They are classic crimefighting. Host do you agree with him that the operations, operation legend, that these are classic crimefighting . Guest i agree in part, in that it is classic crimefighting and it is not going to raise as many questions about Civil Liberties, if it does exactly what he describes. But even as i would agree that it is not that new, and in fact previous administrations have responded to the crime outbursts by doing similar things, with federal assistance to local police you can trace that back decades under other president s it raises questions that we ought to think about from a different standpoint. In the constitution is clear that the main responsibility for Law Enforcement on the streets is local and state, not the federal government. The federal government has never created a National Police force, nor should we want them to. So to the extent that they get into these areas, they have mostly restricted themselves into a helping role, helping the local police force and bringing them resources, to let them do a better job at solving crimes. The attorney generals talk sticks to that, but the proof will be and how it actually operates. Host i will let the viewers get involved, but first i will go to a question from one of our social media followers. I want to see if you can address this. Ins comes from jim bakersfield who says, if someone is not clearly identified as Law Enforcement, attempts to detain make, why cant i use legal force to defend myself . I q. Dof not recognize this person as Law Enforcement, ca it n it be confused as assault or kidnapping . Guest thank you for the question. A bunch of things can go wrong if police are not identified as police. People have selfdefense rights. You will get people thinking that they are being picked up by general tough guys, who may be taking some side in the political fighting, but do not recognize them as having Legal Authority. At which point you were getting into deeper trouble with violence. Another thing is, even if the person is not trying to defend themselves, they need to know whether it is ok to run, they need to know whether it is ok to disobey an order to stop. If they are unclear about whether or not it is really an officer, they will guess wrong and perhaps that will lead to more bad things. There are so many Different Reasons why going in and planning this operation, we hope of takingchoose a way out the officers. Host what agencies will be participating in operation legend . Is it Homeland Security or treasury agents . What departments are contributing agents to operation legend, and working in portland right now . Guest in operation legend, the general crimefighting one, although there are several agencies involved the description was of it being led by the traditional Law Enforcement arm of the federal government, mainly the fbi. These are agencies within the department of justice that have long been assigned this kind of responsibility. I think therell will be some from other agencies, and that bears watching. In portland, a very different answer. They appear to not have gotten the traditional agencies, but instead have brought in people from the department of Homeland Security, agencies that are farther away in their mission from traditional crimefighting. And a wildcard in the mix is that one of the powers of the Border Control is to exercise various powers, including stopping people within 100 miles of the border. You might have seen stories about how legal definitions include the ocean. Portland, which is far away from the canadian border, nonetheless has a border. So do other california cities. And it is a strange situation, should they decide on invoking those powers. Host lets go to the phone lines to see what some of our callers think. We will start with marie, who is klein from raleigh, north ling from cal raleigh, north carolina. Caller i am retired military. The first thing is the Cato Institute. What does it have to do with Donald Trumps administration and how they carry out operations in cities . How do you connect what happened to mr. Floyd to what driveby shootings that occur in chicago . How do we know that driveby shootings are being carried out by people who live in chicago . How do we know that the people out there in uniform are not militia that used to be in some other state, that have been placed in uniform by the government and are now on the street to attack americans . Unless most of us remember that the president said he was going to go into cities before he became president , so this is something that has been planned or thought about long before you became president how are we as citizens, fellow military officers, people who understand how the government works, supposed to trust what is going on . Thank you. First, the interest of the Cato Institute is it has always been insistent that the u. S. Government follow the constitution. As soon as you get into the Law Enforcement questions, you raise a risk of the government behaving unconstitutionally. That is what interests me about it. I always want to keep in mind that we are a government of laws and which of the government is not above the law and must follow the constitution. Where a lot of questions in there, but we will start with whether we know that there are not militia and others in disguise there. This is america and things wind up in court almost immediately. The department of Homeland Security has already answered questions about that. There has been speculation on social media, i think it is poorly grounded, that maybe there are mercenaries there. The court room filings suggest that is not the case. I have not seen credible evidence whatsoever to the idea that mercenaries are involved. Is, i think that marie getting at something important about the fact that people have political agendas on both sides in turning this into a bigger out of a desire to support or oppose the current administration, or generally in raising rebellion. I think that we need to focus on the legal aspects, because we need to make sure that the law is applied both to the government, which cannot arrest people without probable cause, havenot detain people who a right to be released, but also to know when the policing is right. At some point, they have a right to draw the line against attempts to burn down a federal courthouse. They did not make that up. That is not just something the government says. The truth will be in the middle where they have legitimacy to defend their installations, but they have to hold back from the Civil Liberties violations that have been associated with other countries that have used domestic security force. Host speaking of that, there was a news room that came out on friday here in the hill. I want to read about the court case. A federal judge denied a request from oregons attorney general to stop federal agents from arresting people in portland as daily protests over systematic racism and Police Brutality are in the city. Man found thatas they lacked the standing to prove oregon had on behalf. He failed to prove that there was an interest separate from private citizens and that the state relied on arguments about the risk of oregonians. He shot down the argument about the risks, saying it was not a state specific issue. Oregonians have individual rights of freedom and assembly, conferred by the First Amendment. They can often bring individual lawsuits to vindicate those rights. Oregon has not explained why this case is different, why the speech alleges injures the state in a way that is distinct from enjoyable harms. The ruling came a day after another judge issued a restraining order barring federal officers from using force against legal observers at the demonstration. It seems like, like you said, it is already heading into the courts. Guest there is a lot going on in those opinions, but lets start with the issue in the first one. You notice the judges language about individuals can come here and a super violations of their rights. That is important because i expect that to the extent the courts come up with answers on this, it will be in individual cases where somebody says they arrested me without probable cause, or somebody says the used Excessive Force on me. The courts are well set up to take those two conclusion. What morgan was trying to do gets us into a topic that we are bound to take up, which is federalism and the way that the constitution allocates power between state and federal government. It keeps them separate. Even though the federal government is on top, it keeps them from being able to give orders to each other. So even as the federal government cant order the city of portland to do a lot of things, so it works the other way, too. Portland cannot tell federal troops to stay out. Sometimes, you get people who say, if the mayor wants to stay out, they should stay out, but that is not how it has worked throughout history. At the same time, if they are doing it through litigation, states have a limited chance of succeeding when they are suing the federal government. An win on athey c particular point, but if it is just a matter of you should leave this to ask, courts will say, no, bring us in individual case. We are not going to represent this balance of power tugofwar. Host lets go to ralph from washington, d. C. Good morning. Caller i have been watching this and the major media, and they tend to have a bias. Lockso not show bicycle smashed on peoples heads, they do not talk about the mother that was shot because she said the wrong thing. Riots have been going on for 57 days in portland. The mayor thought they were posturing. I have tears in my eyes because i was exposed to comcast, what a hero am i. It is ridiculous. The media is pumping this. D. C. Ror in washington, black lives matter on the street. That is a political statement. You are supposed to bring domestic peace. It does not matter whether or not you believe the protesters are right or wrong, you are supposed to protect the citizens of the state and city. You are supposed to protect the businesses. And they are not doing that. They are taking sides and they are promoting this stuff. It has to stop. One last point. If they think they are going against trump, and i do not like donald trump, but when you promote anarchy in your own cities and you promote it across the country, and you think that will win you voters, i think they are going down the wrong path. Host go ahead and respond. Guest a lot of different points. I always think it is fair to beingize the media for singleminded or presenting one side and not the other, it is a reminder to go out and follow multiple different news sources. That will behing emphasized by one, not another. But in portland, the National Press is just beginning to get to the story. They are captivated by certain angles, and they are missing other angles. I thought it was amazing when the demonstrators got into the headquarters of the police union and tried to burn down the building. The fire was put out. It seems to explain to me why situation. Ous nobody knows where it is heading. Caution, also for a reason to understand why the federal government is probably united in taking this seriously. Of interest, around thehose courthouse, that will not go forward, pandemic or no pandemic, until they can restore basic order. Host earl blumenauer, who represents portland, was on this show earlier this week. He described what federal agents are doing in that city. [video clip] constituent, who was attacked by the police, an annapolis graduate, a naval veteran, who was with inuvo gear so he could it wasy people actually his very first protest. And he had difficulty squaring with these federal officers were doing with her oath of office. And he was beaten. He was pepper sprayed, they broke his wrist. Thats outrageous. It is unacceptable. And one of the reasons i am working to take action to try to stop this. Host what can be done . Guest we are working to defund these activities and clarify the authority. Canainly, federal officials protect a federal property, but when they moved out into the streets. When they move out to engage in local Law Enforcement. And when they are objecting private citizens in unmarked cars and taking them away, that is crossing the line. And they are there expressly over the objection of our governor, our mayor. This is not helpful at all. And i think is provocative. I think that this is part of Donald Trumps strategy and he will do it in other communities around the country. That is what you did in lafayette park, interfering with the rights of Peaceful Protesters for a photo op. Host walter, what is your response . Lot ofi believe a what you said. Thevideo was shocking of police going after that military guy. And it was appalling when the video surfaced of the two people being taken into custody in what turned out that same night debbie with no probable cause to be with no probable cause. A top federal prosecutors said he wanted to open an investigation, and that is the way things ought to go. And they should be investigating. Doesu these things in it s mission. It does not mean they can arrest people who may be throwing bricks at the courthouse or being mean lasers into the eyes of the defending officers, both of which have been happening, but it does mean that they need to be legally responsible. We need to identify which officers did what. If they made a mistake, why . If they keep making mistakes, what is their training . And why isnt it better . Please are answers that dhs should be made to answer, i think. Host we have a statement that was put out by the fbis portland office, that came out yesterday. I want to read it. Once again, this comes out of the fbi in portland. Our rule is to investigate Violent Crime and hold those accountable for engaging in violent acts or significant destruction of property. Our investigation involves violations of federal law, including arson, the use of improvised explosive devices and the transportation of stolen goods. The portland fbi six to work closely with our local Law Enforcement partners to ensure the community is a safe and people are free to exercise their First Amendment rights in a peaceful manner. The fbi can never initiate an investigation based solely on race, ethnicity, origin or religion. Our focus is not on membership in particular groups, but on individuals that commit activity that poses a threat to national security. The fbi does not and will not police ideology. That is coming from the fbi. Should we hear something similar to that from the department of Homeland Security and other departments out on the streets now . Guest as you read that, i has been doing this for our whole lives. And they know, generally, what to emphasize, where to set the Legal Authority, what to promise not to do. And it is a better statement than we have heard from the department of Homeland Security. And a suggestion that may be if they let the fbi organize it in the first place, they would not have some of the problems that they have now. I would like to hear the same language out of the department of Homeland Security, but remember, we need them to behave professionally if they are going to be there. Those are the questions that remain open. Of thetouches on one things that i think they department of Homeland Security did not do well, which is when the press began asking why are you there, why did you send put out a timeline of everything. And 80 of the different items were, people spraypainted this, a broken window, there was graffiti. Those who were unsympathetic said, they are going in for vandalism . If you kept reading the latest you would get to another attempted arson or officer being injured, but the fbi would not have made these rookie mistakes. They would have gotten their ducks in a row. I am just giving my opinion, but i think that the fbi understands enforcement how an operation should be organized and explained to the public. It isis being brought in, probably not going to hurt. Host we have a question about federalism and states rights. Dont state officials have to ask for federal troops to help them otherwise it wouldnt the president have to declare martial law . Statesthe answer is no, do not have to ask. Thats wellestablished. If you go back over the different times the federal government has done this, remember that there is federal Law Enforcement in ordinary peaceful times around courthouses, fort knox in kentucky, around different installations. We already have federal Law Enforcement in National Parks and forests. This is a special deployment. The courts have been clear over o, they do not, n have to ask permission of the governors. Martial law is different. Martial law refers to a particular type of emergency that nobody has declared in this case, and the federal government does not need to invoke martial law. It leaves open questions of this boundary between the Street Police and what we expect local police to be doing, and what the federal government has been getting into. That is a good thing to argue about because it is outside the federal governments traditional range of authority, but specifically sending in agents to protect buildings is within its authority, whether or not the governor asks. Emmanwe have a manual ualle from washington, d. C. Caller what is happening in oregon is a test of what will happen in the United States in terms of a dictatorship. I do not think it is fair for ,he government to send troops or telling the mayors or governors of states what will happen. It is a test of dictatorship, and if it is not checked it will be worse during the election. Believe that bill inr is not doing his job this is not and the United States. Host go ahead and respond. Guest i think if you are not worried about what could happen in the months ahead, you are not paying enough attention because there are serious dangers that the types of public confrontations seen in portland and seattle might resume. The irony is in recent weeks, they were dying down. Lasts been weeks since the destructive demonstrations in many cities. Most of the cities and they are talking about have not had disruption or destruction to federal property for weeks, if they ever did happen. Part of the question will be does public reaction include people going out, trying to confront the federal agents . Will they be able to find them . Will they besiege federal buildings in order to see whether or not portland comes to their city . Things could be heading in bad directions. I wish we could trust the restraint and good sense of the federal government, but has not always shown that restraint. Everybody tourge inform yourself, do not do anything hasty, and make sure that the government is held ,ccountable to processes of law as this will begin happening soon with portland. Host lets go to henry from michigan. Good morning. Caller good morning. I have three questions. And one of them piggybacks off of the last caller from washington, d. C. Eric prince, the brother of the secretary of education betsy devos, attended a conference or meeting of his peers or colleagues from other countries. Of blackwater. Er were contractors during the iraq war under george w. Bush. So, people are suspicious that President Trump, the then president elect, was grooming impersonal army, which is a personal army, which is happening in portland, that some of those are under the guise of the federal agents in portland. My first question is what have you heard about eric prince these days . My second question is, if federal agents are there to protect federal buildings, then why are they roaming the streets and grabbing people off the streets . Why are they straying away from the property they are supposed to be protecting . And my last question is, is it possible for the governor of the state of oregon to actually call in his state National Guard to protect the Peaceful Protesters from those of federal agents . Thanks for taking my questions. Guest three quick answers. First on the use of contractors, or sometimes called mercenaries, there would be a huge outcry if the federal government actually brought in contractors, or sometimes called mercenaries, in these confrontation situations, like in portland. I have seen no evidence suggester of it, so i we save our outrage for if they actually try to do it. Why are they operating in places not directly in front of the courthouse . There explanation for that is in the case of the two arrests that have been examined in detail, they identified people who in one case they thought committed an act of violence, and in another case was a witness. So they had walked a block or so, and the detained of them. They let them go without charges, meaning they did not have probable cause, but they detained them because it they said they thought they were the criminals. In another case, they questioned them without the attainment because they had seen a crime. Then it turned into a detainment. And the third question, the National Guard. There are ways in which the states and federal government could come into a much more direct showdown, potentially involving violence. It does not have to take us back to fort sumter, but the attorney general or District Attorney in philadelphia has talked about arresting federal troops. You have to go to the National Guard question, and part of the answer is that long ago Congress President canthe have control over the National Guard. And he can put it under president ial control. The undercuts of the effectiveness of that. There are also intermediate things they can do. By and large, the National Guard will not be used against federal agents very effectively. You do have to ask about the department of Homeland Security. Not to get too deeply into the politics, but the fbi has been at odds with the administration, whereas Border Protection has been the agency most enthusiastic about the president. So this may be playing a role. It is not a legal question, but a question that we need to bear in mind about how they behave. Host we want to thank walter olson for being here. Thank you so much. We are going back to our original question of the morning, should pro sports come back during the pandemic . Yes, that number will be 202 7488000. No, 202 7488001. We will be right back. Announcer binge watch book tv this summer. Settle in and watch several hours of your favorite authors. Tonight, books written by former president s, including jimmy carter, george w. Bush, george w. Bush and barack obama. And on saturday, august 8, we will feature books written by former first ladys, including barbara bush, hillary clinton, laura bush and michelle obama. Binge watch book tv all summer on cspan2. Journal continues. Host we once again want to know t whether prok abou sports should be restarting during the middle of a pandemic. If you think it is time to play ball and close ports should get up and going, call 202 7488000. If you say no, it is too early, call 202 7488001. At 202 lways text us 7488003. And you can always reach us on twitter or on facebook. Lets take a look at what social media followers are saying about the issue. I really want to see sports return, but i do not want to lose any athletes to the virus. G returnedeet, racin a few weeks ago. It is the easiest sport to maintain social distancing. Yes, but with no fans. Another that says, only with empty stadiums. I am ready to watch some sports. Tell us what you think about whether pro sports should be restarting during the pandemic. There was a column that i want to bring to you from the philly inquirer. Said this about the returning of sports during the pandemic. Sports might be adults getting paid to play kids games, but they served an Important Role in our society and culture. They are an exit ramp. Watching sports allow us to exhale in a mental way that can be just as important as actual breathing, a release we especially need now. Bring them on, as well as they can be done with safety. That has to be the ultimate deciding factor. In aings begin to spin negative, they would shut back down, or Major Players can use their clout to push them to. These are multibilliondollar corporations and they will spare no expense to use the most cutting age techniques to protect assets. We want to know what you think. Lets go to our phone lines to see what people are thinking. Brad is calling from international falls. He says, no. Caller well, good morning. I got a real problem watching people doing their kneeling. The most important part is i do not think any of them should be bringing their problems to work. Baseball did not cause their problems. Football, basketball, whatever. But those are silly guys who are thinking they should bring their problems to work. Go outside after your job, after you are not playing the game, go out into the streets and help. It the attention that they are doing is so totally wrong. You cannot bring your problems to work and just air them out. So why do you think that they should be able to do that . My most important i hope it starts, that the goes on twitter and facebook, do not bring your problems to work. Thank you. Host pam calling from washington. She says, play ball. Caller good morning. Yes, i agree with the article. We need a place to exhale. Sports gives us a place to iner, to yell, to get it out a positive and healthy manner. Are leaders they when we need true leadership. They are wearing their masks, they are leading and black lives matter, and they are truly leaders and that this country needs. Another thing, it would be great start having a money match. They get 50 million, so it would be nice to see them take 25 million and give it to teachers. We need to see them do money matching with her incomes, which are extremely unbalanced in our society today. Play ball, they are leaders, they are allowing us to exhale and there is an opportunity for them to actually do good with the money that they make. Int lets go to shelley minnesota. Good morning. Are you there . Caller yes. Yeah, i think that the players should stay at and stay safe, because i want to see them in the future. It seems to be spreading amongst other players already and i do not want to lose anybody else, we need to help everybody stay alive. Host lets go to rick in new york. He says no, it is too early. Caller good morning. How are you doing . Host just fine. Caller i do not think they should go back. First of all, the players, they have guaranteed contracts, so they will have a salary. It is telling kids that it is great to go out and socialize, and they may end up sick. We have so many people out of work who cannot make it because of the pandemic, and then there are these guys doing what they want to do to be flamboyant and it is not right in the face of other people that cannot work. Host what about College Sports . Should they set out as well . And with the schools reopening, what about High School Sports . Caller i think that it should not happen, all of it. I spent 23 years in the army and i went all over the world, to all these places where there is illness in people do not realize what is going on. Lets get this under control so we have a safe life again. Ist lets go to paul, who calling from greenfield, indiana. He is ready for sports to come back. Caller good morning. In questions like this it is best to remember the values of our country, which are reliant upon liberty and freedom. I think it is a personal decision for each athlete and for each organization to make their own decision. Certainly, nobody else, no member of the public is being forced to go to any game and people should be able to decide for themselves what to do. Host what will be your personal decision . Would you go back to a game in a stadium . Caller right now i would not, but i would not take the right of other people to do so. Host do you plan to watch sports on television . Are you going to sit out until people feel comfortable and everything is back full force . Caller i will watch the Indiana Pacers on tv, but i could not go to the games in orlando. Host lets go to david, who is calling from west virginia. He says no. Good morning. Caller i cannot believe they are trying to get these up. Some of the schools have already had the kids practicing football, and they have already had cases there. Like theyou think caller just before you, that it a personal choice . Caller you have High School Kids already starting back and it they have already six cases on one of the teams, and they have already shown how it has gone up since they started, so why would you think it would stop . Host lets go to rick, who is in florida. He says it is too early. I have seen many people from florida agreeing with you today, most florida callers have said it is too early. But that is where they are playing in the bubble. Caller right. If you are going to play basketball, baseball or football, great, i will want you on tv. No, if it is a political platform. Your opinion is not important. I do not pay and i do not watch to hear your political views. Play football, play basketball, but shut up, i do not care about your opinion. I do not want all of that junk. If that is what it is going to be about, stayathome. If you were going to play baseball, football, basketball, show your athletic ability, i will want you and i will go to the game. That is not a problem, but enough with the political junk. Host one of the issues people have been talking about is the safety of athletes. And there is a cbssports. Com story that talks about what is going on in the nfl right now. I will read a little bit to you. Being made, but they still have one or two key issues, to have Training Camps begin as a scheduled. Theof the main issues is uncertainty with covid19 protocols, which led to many players locking arms in virtual solidarity to voice angst and threatened no football if their concerns were not addressed. , we want to play as the Witching Hour approaches for veterans to report, they have released figures regarding how many players have tested positive for the coronavirus at some point in the offseason. In their initial release, they a total of 95, that have an adjusted it down to 59. A possible manipulation of the numbers, but they say that is not the case. Instead, the initial headcount of 95 accidentally included more than just the players. The previous number included on known positives across the staff, andluding the it has been updated now to include only players, they clarified in a followup tweet. In a separate press release, the nfl made clear it is unwavering in attempt to keep players a safe. For union has been pushing the safest protocols to keep her players safe. The testing protocols we agreed to our one critical factor that will help us return to work safely and gives us the best chance to plate and finish the season. rookies will begin reporting this week. But are required to undergo covid19 testing before they are allowed to enter 18 facility. We want to know what you think about pro sports restarting during the pandemic. Lets go to brady in detroit, michigan. He is ready to see some sports. Caller good morning. I love cspan. I love you, i love you. I think they should play. I think because it is so much death and craziness going on right now, that we need something to look at that we all love, a majority of us love, sports. And i think more so than anything that they are going to show people how to do it correctly as far as Wearing Masks an getting back into things that we loved. And as far as a speaking on things that matter, that is what is wrong with a lot of us. We do not speak it for things that matter. That is what america is made upon, saying what we feel and what we think. That is the same thing going on about black lives matter. Upt think, if nobody spoke where would we be . I think it is a good idea. Thank you. Host bill in los angeles. He says it is too early. Caller good morning. I think that there should be nothing going on. We are exactly under attack from china, no matter how you look at it. And i think the American People need to stop and host we go to matthew from north dakota and he is ready to see some sports. Fan, but am a huge nhl people should be more vocal, more vocal. Harden said Blue Lives Matter and people freaked out. What is wrong with supporting the cops . To some of our social media followers and see what they are thinking about the return of sports during a pandemic. One says, people should play sports, not be lazy and watch sports. Another from facebook that wants to know why not . They are putting kids and teachers back in school. Says,r Facebook Post that look at how quickly people lose it when circuses are taken away. Just be glad we still have our bread. No. Her Facebook Post says, sports are a distraction. We have to focus on what matters in sports is not it. Says, i will that only watch High School Sports because of young family members. Blm and is catering to i will not watch any professional sporting event. We want to know what you think. Do you think pro sports should hold off during the pandemic or are you ready to see more sports on television and even a person . Let us ask henry calling from columbus, ohio. Henry says it is too early. Caller good morning. I say absolutely not we should not be playing sports right now. My opinion is that, very early on, the best thing was the president said this is a war. Had the administration at that time commandeered all the Resources Available in terms of producing materials and staffing and everything under a wartime footing all these professional sports that do have a lot of Material Resources and cutting edge Resources Available to them, all of that would have to serve the populace of the United States. Not to reopen the country, but prop us up and get us ahead of the pandemic. We did not do that and we may not catch up. Host what do you say to the argument that we have heard during the show . One . , cities and states need the revenue that pro sports would bring in and two, people have the right to go out and work with watch games and play games . I think we lost henry. We will talk to maggie calling from florida. Good morning. Caller good morning. Think our high school and College Children should not be playing, but i do think major League Baseball and football should get back to playing without an audience. Just a tv audience. Host what difference do you see high school and pro sports . Caller they are children and we have to protect them. They do not earn the money professionals do so why risk their lives . Host would you agree to what the professional athletes who say it is not worth it for them to go out and play right now because of the health risk they would face . Caller i think they should play without an audience. Cks and theyg bu should also not be kneeling. Aniko callingo l from mississippi. Caller how are you . Host just fine. Go ahead. Aller i say no the issue has not been resolved and you are supposed to be social distancing. If we open up, it will only make it worse until we find a way to resolve the problem. Host do you think sports should hold off until there is a vaccine or cure . Caller if the players if the pro players want to play, we should do it without an audience and watch it on the internet or tv or something. Lee calling talk to from fayetteville, north carolina. Lee says no. Caller i think they should start back with sports. All of the kids would just sit home and watch sports on tv. They need to be out there doing and i thinke doing sports there are more important things for the kids to do than sit at home watching sports. Host what are the options . What do you think the options are . They could keep protesting, keep painting murals in cities. Host ok. Let us talk to john calling for massachusetts. Good morning. Caller good morning. How are you doing . Host just fine. Go ahead. Caller my thought is if we were having this conversation in march or april, absolutely. We need to get more information, stayathome, but we have waited long enough. It is time for us to get on with the world. Inbe they cannot have fans the stands, but there is another logic in america which is the butterfly effect. It could affect me, could affect you, could affect me. You wear a mask and stay home. We still have freedom. Host what do you think about the people who play Contact Sports like basketball, football, and hockey . You are going to have to come into contact with someone. There is no social distancing possible. Caller absolutely. Just like in the way a lot of people get sent into dangerous situations and have to sign waivers they are ok with the risks i have done that many times going exploring. You do dangerous stuff you have to sign something saying, im not going to sue you. That is the way it is. Host there is a story coming out of the hill this morning that i want to read a little bit about how professional leagues are going to move forward. Here is what the story says. Whatever the reason may be, leagues are good and creative to bring the sports back. Games are played without fans, with some stadiums pumping in ambient sound. Bubble and nba formed a inside the espns wide world of sports at disney, were interactions between players are restricted. Right outside, a pandemic is raging. Florida reported more than 9000 cases on tuesday. Some players have chosen to sit out due to the health risk including ian desmond and bradley beal. Even those playing have concerns. We are trying to bring baseball back during a pandemic. We are worse off as a country than in march when we shut this down. Sports are like the reward of a functional society. We are trying to bring it back even though we are taking steps to flatten the curve. We want to know what you think as we wrap up this segment. If you think it is time to play. Ports, call in 2027488000 if you think the answer is no, call 2027488001 . We talk to drew calling from georgia. Caller good morning. Throughoutondering this pandemic they do not post recovery statistics anymore. You just had a thing sank 59 nfl players have contracted the disease. How many have recovered with no side effects . It is time to get busy. Let us get back to normal, let us get a National Base for some antibodies for people who have contracted it so we can start donating plasma and getting this thing taking care of. It is ridiculous to stay inside, have everybody anticrowd, antisports. The Recovery Period need to be publicized. Host are you ready to go into a stadium and social distance . Caller you know it. It is time we started getting outside. You get conflicting information. Get outside, and the heat is good for it, fresh air, and yet they are telling you to stay inside and avoid the stuff. It is ridiculous. Host we go to rick calling from iowa. Rick says it is too early. Good morning. Caller good morning. I do not know if they should what do they have to do . They will not let them open up gyms in new york. Maybe they should train them. Host there is a lot of minorLeague Baseball in iowa as well as college baseball. Do you think the Minor Leagues and College Sports should go forward for the fall season . Caller no. When the teachers go back to work the players should go back to work. How is that . Everybody should be on the same playing field. Host are you saying we should wait until all businesses and schools are back open to start professional college and High School Sports . Boler if the players are red, they can work at walmart or take temperatures. Everybody should Work Together to. Take care of host this disease. Florida. Lling from caller mind is a simple yes and i think it goes mine is a simple yes and i think it goes across the board for the entire country. It is time to open things up, do what you can do, and get on with your life. Host are you ready to go sit at a baseball game or Football Game or hockey game and watch sports with your mask on social distancing . Caller sure. I would have absolutely no problem. There is another line that should be on your 1800 and that should be the people who do not care. That would get just as many. Host are you saying you are on that would you call on that line . Do you not care . Caller i do care. I care about the country and sports. I think the merchandise they sell is going to suffer greatly. I think kneeling during the anthem is going to create merchandise problems, sales are going to drop. People are interested in that bat, noting the saluting the flag. Items are going to suffer and i would go to the games. Christie us talk to calling from el paso, texas and she says no. Caller good morning. That if theyre start with football, they should play and people should be able to go and watch. They should keep politics out of it. Think if the nba wants to play, they should move to china and play all they want with the people around them. Those are my thoughts. Host we go to carmen calling from pueblo, colorado and carmen says no. Caller we have not linked this problem and until we do, we should not be spreading it. Host all right. As we wrap up this segment i want to remind you of something coming up later today. We are going to start six days of Memorial Service to celebrate late congressman john lewis and it will start at 11 a. M. Today with a service from his hometown of troy, alabama at Troy University. You can watch that today a live at 11 00 a. M. Eastern on cspan, cspan. Org, and always free on the cspan radio app. Coming up, we have pure pewble trust. Haritable trusts Marcia Argust we will be right back. Announcer American History tv on cspan3. Exploring the people and events that tell the american story every weekend. Coming up this weekend, tonight at 8 00 p. M. Eastern, we look back to 2012 and here about the developments about the modern conservative movement. Easternt 4 00 p. M. Police training films from the 1960s. At 6 00 p. M. Eastern a tour of the ellis island immigration easternnd at 7 00 p. M. Historians talk about recent debates over removing historical monuments. Exploring the american story. Watch American History tv this weekend on cspan3. Announcer during the summer months reach out to elected officials with cspans congressional directory. It contains Contact Information to stay in touch with members of congress, federal agencies, and state governors. Order your copy online today at cspanstore. Org. Announcer washington journal continues. Host we are back in going to discuss the outdoors act which was passed this week with Marcia Argust of Pew Charitable trusts. Good morning. Good morning. Host tell us what Pew Charitable trusts is and where you get your funding. Guest Pew Charitable trusts is a nonpartisan, nonprofit. Our funding does not come from membership, but rather an endowment. Host the Great American outdoors act passed the house earlier this week and also passed the senate by a to 25. Isan vote of 73 it provides funding for a backlog of repairs and the National Park system. How bad are repairs needed in the National Park system right now . Guest pretty bad. System ishat our park over 100 years old. About agingng facilities, deteriorating facilities, many park resources are 50, 60, 70 years old and have reached the end of their lifespan and need to be replaced. Add to that increasing visitation at many sites and that has brought additional wear and tear. The park service has received inconsistent funding over the years for maintenance. The agency really has been triaging the repairs it needed result, therea has been a compounding effect. Some repairs they have not been able to do, they get worse, they get more costly, and that is how we end up with a backlog of 12 million. Host how much of that money will we see coming from the Great American outdoors act . Guest the legislation that was passedst this week this week by overwhelming support, assuming it is enacted into law, that would direct up to 6. 6 billion of nontaxpayer funds to address priority repairs. That is going to take a big chunk out of this repair backlog. Politically,ular, was this and do we expect President Trump to sign it . Have we heard from the white house on whether the white house is going to support the bill . Guest there has been several tweets from the president indicating his support. I think all signs are positive he will sign this bill into law and the support in congress was outstanding. Ande quarters of the senate three quarters of the house voted for this bill. You had house leadership, nancy pelosi and kevin mccarthy, both supporting this legislation. Similarly in the senate you have leadership pushing this bill, supporting this bill, mitch mcconnell, chuck schumer. You do not see that type of support often. I think that is testament to the support around the country for investing in our public lands and parks. Host are there winners and losers when it comes to states in this bill . Are there specific states that are going to have money directed toward them or do all 50 states have a park that will be affected . System maintains thousands of buildings, thousands of miles of roads and paths, and it is safe to say pretty much every part has repair needs. Every state could benefit from this. What projects yet will be put forward. Enacted,this bill is within 90 days the park service will present a list to congress that will lay out the projects that would be implemented in the first fiscal year. Host you said earlier our National Parks are seeing people come in even now during the pandemic. Did we see attendance go up or down since the pandemic began back in february . Know you know, i do not if numbers are in yet as far as visitation compared to last year. Parks were shut down for a while. Polls are now is that indicating people are not planning to get on planes, they are not planning to travel internationally as much, and one of the top domestic destinations this year will be National Parks. S. They are thinking about getting in cars, traveling to nearby parks or nearby states. Parks are top of mind. People are talking about connecting with nature and that is a good thing. Host let us let the viewers join in. For this conversation about National Parks, we open up regional lines. If you live in the eastern or time zones, we want to hear from you at 2027488000 . If you are in the mountain or pacific time zones, your number is 2027488001 . We are opening a special line for those of you who have been in a National Park recently. We want to know what you have seen. Where the trails being up kept . How were the bathrooms . We want to know what you are seeing. If you have visited an National Park recently, your number is going to be 2027488002 . At can always text us 2027488003 and we are always reading on social media on twitter and facebook. Marsha, there was concerns expressed in congress about where the money for the Great American outdoors act is coming from. Let us listen a little bit to Representative Rob Bishop then i want you to respond. [video clip] it is poorly drafted. Instance, the royalties do not show up, we do not have that 1 billion to buy land. Do you prorate that money . Do you take it from other sources . Do you put mandatory spending above other mandatory spending like social security. . They do not know because this bill is silent on those questions. Is says the president is supposed to come up with 9 million of projects. Who gets the extra . Is that i slush fund . Questions. Od no idea how much money they have spent. The state portion they are ok but this is talking about a dollar figure. You are going to hear a lot of platitudes, but somebody has got to say how the money is going to be funded. Rcia, how is this going to be funded . Guest i want to give congressman bishop credit for this bill because he worked very closely on the component. He drafted that language. He knows very well what it says. But he hassecret, had concerns with the land and Water Conservation funds for years. That is another important component of the Great American outdoors act. Reasons he of the did not end up voting for the legislation that contains language to restore parks as well. Knows this bill is not mandatory funding. Receipts and royalties from oil and gas money and development that happens on federal land and water. It is not mandatory funding. Host let us let the viewers join the conversation. We start with ed calling from maine. Good morning. Caller good morning. Thank god for cspan. I am addicted. I have a quick question. When these assets are acquired why is maintenance not considered at the time . In some cases it is, but sometimes there are opportunities that come along. There may be a willing seller and that goes into the decisionmaking. Other times they may have no idea what the maintenance needs will be 50 years down the road. It may not deteriorate in the way it does. Is exposedr instance to extreme conditions in the Marine Environment that people do not necessarily take into account. Host were National Parks kept open during the shutdown of the country . I believe that was decided on a casebycase basis. For instance, smaller Historic Sites that were enclosed closedgs, many of those and it is important, if people are planning to head to a National Park, they get on a website and look at that particular park to see what conditions are. Even if the park site is open, popular trails might be closed to deal with social distancing. Host that brings us to a question from a social media follower who says, in many cases people are not aware National Parks are open. What kind of advertising can be done to make people aware they are still open . People have to educate themselves. If people are not aware of parks i am assuming people might be getting outdoors. Vacationant to take a and get in their car and go to a National Park, get on a website and do some research. Website is very good about what sites are open. Rickylet us talk to calling from florida. Good morning. Caller how are you doing . Host just fine. Go ahead. Caller my comment is a lot of our monuments are located at the sparks. Is the federal government going to protect our monuments . See they are destroy federal property left and right. If a put 9 billion into a federal project, arent we just throwing money away . The weight will be ,ecided what projects are done the bill language says it should be used for priority repairs. The park systems take into account whether an asset is ,mperative for the mission whether it is needed to protect cultural and natural resources, and whether it is for visitor safety. All of those are taken into account when the park service considers conditions of the assets and when it determines priorities. Say what is going to happen with monuments. I think a lot of this funding will go to port forward larger infrastructure projects, water routes that are deteriorating, historical sites that need structural rebuild. Those of the projects we are going to see put forward. Host here is a question from a social media follower and i will follow it with a question of my own. Ourays, are National Parks National Treasures and we must preserve them for generations to come. Buildings the repair and painting entrails need mulching. Too much deadwood with the potential for fire. Time to hire teams to work and earn college money. How long do you think the repairs will take once the money is funded and who is doing the repairs . This follower things we should have teens go in. Who are doing these repairs . The park service does for with some organizations student conservation. They can earn money working on trail work, exactly what this person is talking about. It islready happens and costsaving for the park service. As far as the Great American outdoors act, assuming this is enacted, the park service has estimated this act could create 100,000 additional jobs and that is in addition to the 340,000 jobs the tourism already supports. That is one of the reasons it is so important we invest in parks and public land. They are economic engines. We will have to see who does the jobs. In many cases it can be local assuming they meet the requirements of the job. If there are special skills like preservation needed for work, the park service may need to contract out. That is still a benefit to the local community because those workers will still be spending in the community buying groceries, spending on rent. It is still a benefit for all. Host you were just talking about the Economic Impact of this bill and i want to play video from representative steve stivers, a republican, who talked about the economic aspects. [video clip] the district has 120 projects that benefit from the fund from Community Parks to the National Forest to the historic park. Parks land, forests, and give people the opportunity to connect with outdoors and with each other. I represent Small Businesses that depend on a thriving Outdoor Recreation economy. 1. 37district last year billion was spent on Outdoor Recreation. At a time when there is such a backlog in maintenance this support will create 100,000 jobs. During a time when we have 11. 1 Unemployment Congress should take every opportunity to create jobs. This is not just about conservation. Host is this a jobs bill as well as being a bill for the Great Outdoors . Guest absolutely. Investment with a high rate of return. Job creation for park related jobs. The congressman mentioned the recreation economy and, as a whole, what he is talking about is camping and hiking gear, sportsmen, boating gear. 770is contributing billion to our National Economy and supporting 5. 2 million american jobs. We want to make sure we are sustaining those jobs and that is what this bill will do. Host one social media follower has a question and wants to know if you can explain what the difference between a National Park and a National Forest. North carolina has National Forests, but that is no surprise. Is there a difference and do National Forests get any money out of the bill . Guest there are a couple of differences. One, who manages the land. The National Park Service Lands haveks and different uses. You can doand logging in certain forests. In parks, you are not allowed to chop down the trees. Land different types of and different uses. Stand to benefit a lot from this bill. Landsl, parks and public would receive up to 9 billion this is not taxpayer funds to address priority maintenance needs. That makes a lot of sense because our parks are receiving the bulk of visitation of public land. Millioneive over 325 visitors per year. They have a lot of facilities and infrastructure that need repairs. Host let us go back to the phone lines and talk to beulah calling from clarksville, tennessee. Caller good morning. I was calling to say many of the you can tell there are changes to be happening. Am from the Smoky Mountains they can be used educationally for children. My children are using this for english, science, math, social studies, everything the outdoors can do for our children if they are not able to stay in the classroom. Mountains there are some areas that are beautiful and well maintained, but some of the lesserknown areas like chimney top that were affected by the forest fires several years ago. They are not as well kept up now. I just want to close with saying nero is watching rome burn. Mar go ahead and respond, cia. Guest i think she brings up a great point about parks being outdoor schools for kids. Hasnt to add that tennessee every right to be particularly thankful because senator alexander, the senior senator from the state, is really the driver of this legislation. Andegan several years ago he collaborated with the Bipartisan Group of senators which has grown to include senator gardner and portman and mansion and warner and king. In the house there has been a Similar Group of bipartisan people. Mike simpson from idaho and rob bishop who ended up opposing the bill, but Joe Cunningham from South Carolina it has been an incredible journey over the years of bipartisan numbers who have worked in a collaborative way to get this done. Concernedld people be about their health when they are in National Parks . I am going to read a story that came from the associated press. With no confirmed cases of emite appearedos to be safe, but tests of raw sewage have seen coronavirus and dozens are believed to have been infected. No park employee or resident has tested positive and no visitors have reported being sick since they began a phase reopening june 11 after being closed for nearly six months. Working with the National Park service Mariposa County began taking samples of untreated wastewater and sent to a lab or massachusetts. The lab told the county this week based on how much of the virus they counted, it is possible 170 people were infected. Officer who isth overseeing coronavirus testing in the area attributed the emergence of the coronavirus to the many visitors. He said the presence will not lead to policy changes because the park is already following local and state restrictions. Be concerned about our health going to National Parks . Guest i am not an expert on covid and the pandemic. This is going to be a decision that is up to individuals. Just because people might be visiting a large landscape park does not mean they should not be paying attention to what is on the park service website. They should also be aware facilities might be closed. Visitor centers might be closed, certain restrooms, popular trails. Still have to be paying attention to social distancing. Risks. W, there are other maintenance you mentioned yosemite park. They have wastewater systems that are leeching into the surrounding areas. The same thing is happening to yellowstone and mammoth cave in kentucky. Risks and if they are not fixed, that presents a Public Health concern. So,cially in mammoth cave that is another reason we need to move forward on this legislation and get some funds in hand to the parks so they can start repairs. Host with the Great American outdoors act, does all the money go to state and National Parks . We have several media followers who are asking about state parks. I went to the state park yesterday. The park was open, but the buildings were not, and they were not giving tours. The restrooms were open though. Is there any money for state parks or is it all going to National Parks . Guest there are two important components. One is funding for repairs in our National Parks and other agencies with the Forest Service and refuge system. The other component is full funding of the land and Water Conservation fund and that fundingcertainly has that can help state parks. It provides communities resources for playgrounds, trails, bike trails, so that component could certainly be useful for local parks. Host let us go back to the phone lines and talk to rob calling from edgewater, maryland. He has been in a park recently. Which one . Caller the National Seashore park. Host what are the conditions like . Caller i have not been there since february and march before covid took off. The facilities are fine, but the barrier seashore is constantly changing. It needs protection from the happy the dunes, so i am this bill has passed because it is a great place needs to be preserved. In maryland if you want to visit the ocean, many places are commercial and it is all hotels. This is one place i love to go because you can go and it is natural and there are wild dea anand beautiful beautiful deer. Guest i am he brought up assateague. Ahmed. E go to caller i had a question about what the Pew Charitable trusts does more about the project. Is primarily legislative and educational . Do you support local and state nonprofits that are also working on conservation . Any sort of details you can provide i would be interested in listening to. Guest sure. Check out Pew Charitable. Org. Years, we haveve worked to educate people about the backlog issue and what it is. National,rked with state, local partners to educate them as well. We have worked on the legislative process with members of congress and the administration. Dennis t us talk to from michigan. Good morning. Caller hello. I visited the National Lakeshore in michigan and i have the lifetime senior pass. It allows everybody in the car into the entrance so that is very good. I noticed some of the buildings ing. Repair and also paint host go ahead and respond, mar cia. Guest you are very lucky to benefit from the lifetime pass. And goodr pass is 80 for entry into parks that charge fees and good for your life. That is an important part to keep in mind. There are over 400 park units. About one quarter of them charge fees, very reasonable fees, but that is another reason parks are a great place to explore safely. A lot of them do not charge fees. Host when the bill was passed representative of california said there were benefits for minority communities. [video clip] it should be a right for everyone regardless of where they live for the color of their skin. Unfortunately, for too many black, brown, and native communitieste these parks are a privilege. Minority communities across the country lack access to green spaces. Have halfrict we only an acre of park land for every 1000 residents. That is well below the average in Los Angeles County and the nation. Means more Outdoor Recreation opportunities including sports fields and trails. Host there seems to be a lot of different benefits to this bill. Guest absolutely. Funding the land and Water Conservation fund you are enabling exactly what she is talking about providing more resources for communities. Not just urban communities, but Rural Communities to help them put in more playgrounds, soccer fields, trails, and that is really important for kids, families. That is important right now and by doing that you are also providing job opportunities. Host do we know how many jobs and how much money they National Parks and recreation industry puts into the National Economy . Our National Parks 000tems supports over 340, jobs each year. Host do we know how much money it pumps into the economy . Guest as far as the economic output it contributes 40 billion. Much of that goes directly into local communities. Host let us go back to the phone lines and talk to victor who is calling from california. Caller hello . Host you are on air. Caller i heard about the act they are talking about and two days ago it says money for this is coming from the oil and gas royalties. Where did those royalties come from . I heard about this years ago that nobody was getting any oil and gas royalties. I will take the answer off the air. Thank you. The funding this is over five years comes from developmentrom on federal land and water. That is a concept that has been in place for many decades. It is in place so royalties go into the u. S. Treasury. This legislation would take royalties that are not obligated for other purposes and direct them to a deferred maintenance fund. Host there are people who say this bill is just a bandaid and will not solve the problem. I want to read to you from the story from the National Parks traveler. Passing of the Great American 6. 5ors act would queue up billion for National Park services to tackle backlog maintenance work, but will not solve the problem. This is a bandaid. It is fine to get money to solve some problems. Fellow ateat a senior the resources for future said monday. It does not really address the longterm problem which the deficit grows every year and the add to the list of projects that need to be done. Unless you have better ongoing funding for the parks you are still going to run into this problem over time. Do you agree . Guest not at all. What has been happening is bandaid fixes and that is by the deferred maintenance has been escalating. This is going to allow the park service to tackle more complicated projects. Top in mind we are going have to be savvy about this. Rid ofnever going to get the deferred maintenance problems. Happen is thatll they will be able to take care of some of the most critical repairs and combined with annualing funding, appropriations for maintenance, they will stay on top of things. They will also have to do a better job of using new technologies, new materials to keep cost down. The park service is looking into that. I think we will not see deferred maintenance escalating like it has. We will not see those compounding costs. Host let us see if we can get a couple of more calls and. We start with susan calling from california. Good morning. Caller i do not understand. Is this supposed to be on the bill that helps everyone . Soundis, that does not essential to me. I am thinking of people who need jobs and businesses. Everybody is hurting out here in this seems like another project. If it is supposed to be on top of everything they are asking for. Host what do you say that we should not be thinking about National Parks in the middle of a pandemic when people are out of work and sick . Guest i think this is exactly the time to invest in parks and public lands. This is not taxpayer funding and this will create jobs and this will help sustain the Small Businesses in parks and public lands around the nation that are hurting. When we are talking about legislation that is going to help support the 5. 2 million american jobs that depend on parks and public lands, i think that is pretty important. Mayors and the u. S. Chamber of tried, infrastructure and contracting groups are all pushing for this legislation because of the economic benefits. Margaret us talk to calling from aberdeen, washington. Good morning. Caller good morning. Thank you. I had the privilege to live in the olympic National Park that when roosevelt designated it as a National Park. It was ruled by the u. S. Forest service, department of interior, and the indian tribe and i was lucky enough to be able to see the spotted owls and had a cougar in my basement wants. In itll the storms came was usually the u. S. Forest service that came into help clear a path and a lot of neighborly chainsaws. It was a lot of volunteers. I have not been able to visit in the last because of the pandemic but im scheduled to see whatext week and kind of condition the trails are in. The last time i was in everything was beautiful. A lot of it is volunteers that do that. With the lost me cougar in the basement. You will have to tell us what happened with that. Caller she laughed. [laughter] she left. [laughter] i was very fortunate and it was grandfathered in after roosevelt designated it as a park. It is just an incredible place to visit. One, anynd it to any National Park. It really does ease your soul. Host go ahead and respond. Guest that last comment was well said. As far as volunteers, the park service does use volunteers for a lot of things. What happens though is they do not always have fast manage volunteers and a lot of the repairs we are talking about are pretty complicated. It is not the type of thing a volunteer they cannot necessarily do Road Construction or fix the wastewater system. Host i say we can get in one more caller and that is rodney calling from maryland. Caller thank you very much. I am from greenbelt, maryland which was built by the federal government when it was surrounded by 800 acre forests designed to protect the community. I am concerned about a couple of thing and one was that in our loggingat we could do to provide jobs and whatnot. Then she talked about the assateague islands and wanting to help protect that from the ocean erosion. Those are two things that are opposed to each other. Pandemic, only in a but we are in a Climate Emergency and Global Warming is quickly coming on. If you listen to scientists they are telling us we have to preserve our existing forests, and all of the we have greenbelt National Park which is park next to greenbelt or in greenbelt. Nationalome other government owned facilities next to us and they are all under threat. Host go ahead and respond before we run out of time. Guest first about, the protection of erosion and is something we are addressing. I was addressing the difference between National Parks and forest land. That is a clear definition of what some forests allow. I was not making a statement about logging. Host we would like to think Marcia Argust who is the project director for Pew Charitable trusts for being with us and talking about the future of National Parks. Thank you for your time. Guest thank you. Host we would like to thank all of you are viewers, social media followers, and callers for being with us. Join us again tomorrow at 7 00 a. M. And remember to stay safe and wash her hands. Have a great day, everyone. Cspan has unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the Supreme Court and Public Policy events. You can watch all of cspans programming online or listen on our free radio app and be a part of the National Conversation through washington journal or through our social media feeds. By americased Cable Television companies as a Public Service and brought to you today by your television provider. Services in honor of john lewis began this weekend and will continue through next week with memorials planned in d. C. , alabama, and georgia. Cspans coverage begins today with the coverage in troy, alabama. On wednesday, the house voted to remove statues honoring confederate figures from the capital. Bustuld also replace the of the author of the dred scott decision. It will be replaced by a bust of Justice Thurgood marshall. Here is the debate eating up to the boat