tentative trade agreement with mexico and canada. we hear from lisa blunt rochester of delaware and senator john hogan of north dakota. host: the body of president george h. w. bush lies in state at the capital with people expected to pay their respects today to the 41st president. his body will remain until tomorrow and it will be flown to houston for another service and laid to rest at the bush presidential library. this is "washington journal" for december 4. congress is expected to pass a farm bill with much of the cost going to the snap food assistance program currently referred to as food stamps. the republicans and president wanted to require -- increase the requirements of some on that bill. in our first hour, we want to get your thoughts on the drive to improve requirements for some under the snap program and should it be part of those who receive's net benefit. if you support this concept of increasing work requirements, that is left out of the final bill, but if you support that effort, 202-748-8000. if you oppose that, 202-748-8001 . for those of you who may receive snap benefit and want to give your own perspective on this topic and this concept floated by the president and republicans, 202-748-8002 is the number to call. you can post on our social media sites. a poll available at facebook.com/cspan. you can make your thoughts known on twitter. that @cspanwj. brian lowry and kate irby wrote a piece from the clutching his service talking about this concept of work requirements for those under snap. a farm bill will reauthorize the nearly $9 million in food and agriculture programs for another five years. that includes the supplemental nutrition program which helps low income families pay for food. out of the plan, which aims to expand work requirements for snap and officiate, the gop wanted work rules to apply to able-bodied adults up to age 59 and people with young, dependent children. leaving that i would mean more support from house democrats, but alienate republicans. house republicans lacked cloud to push for those requirements after democratic victories in the house elections and it was senator pat roberts who was vague about the specific provisions in the compromise. when asked of the bill would be close to the senate plan, pat roberts replied "i would say, yes." the debate on that bill was expected today and still in float because of the activities for the funeral services this week to read for the idea of increasing work requirements for some under snap, we want to get your thoughts. 202-748-8000 if you support that concept. 202-748-8001 if you oppose it. and for those snap recipients, 202-748-8002. as of the fiscal year 2018, those who are eligible for snap need to meet these requirements, gross monthly income has to be at or below 130% of the poverty line. households with elderly or disabled members must not meet this limit. that is some of the eligibility requirements. assets below $2250 for households without an elderly or disabled member and that rises to $3500 for those with an elderly or disabled member. it was on our newsmakers program that the agriculture secretary center purdue appeared on the program to discuss the administration's requirements and the need to revise waiver system sprint [video clip] farm would love to have a bill. i think the issues being discussed are important issues. when we look at the unemployment .ate of the united states more jobs than people applying for jobs and labors within the state that allow people to stay on. people who are able to work, to be able to stay on a generous and compassionate food stamp program indefinitely worried i think the american people do not understand that. we always live by the principal, we want to help people help themselves. i think the president has been insistent. we want the ability to manage these waivers in a fair way without having to grant them in a carte blanche type of way. enforcethe ability to what has been on the books since the welfare reform of 1996. we cannot do that with the waiver process as it is. i can tell you if i am a governor with no skin in the game, i will do everything i can to maximize federal payments in my state. host: matt bailey and juliet linderman of the associated press reports democrats and many send it -- senate republicans oppose the requirements. the legislation said a federal, agriculture and food policy for five years. onwas in a statement thursday, this was published november 29 that committee leaders from both parties said they reached an agreement in principle and were working to finalize the language and cost. this idea of work requirements and increasing requirements for some under the program, this is ruth in south carolina supports this concept. go ahead. think they should have to work and i think they should have to turn in their children's report card. if they sit at the house not doing anything any day, they need to be applying themselves and putting in as many hours as they plan on working. ant: you would want to see increase on ours already required? caller: yes. can get it --s and the ones on it are not going to work. are need to make sure they putting themselves forward, they also need to make sure they are doing what they need to do by keeping up with the kids on it. ist: romney's next -- ronny next in texas, opposes this concept. aller: i think this is just republican and trump ploy to get as many people off of food stamps that legally deserve it and everything as they can because they are mean-spirited through the they have guidelines in place already where they have to work a certain amount of hours anyway and a lot of these people are barely getting by with the food stamps and everything. it is just a republican ploy to hurt as many minorities, which are probably -- a lot of the people who probably get food stamps are minorities. host: what is wrong for increasing requirements on some people? what is wrong with it, specifically? caller: overall, they would need to take it on a case-by-case basis. i have a feeling what they are trying to do is sweep it with a broad brush and include everybody and the ones that would be hurt would be the ones that would not need to be hurt. they have requirements already. i have a feeling the trump administration already clamped down somewhat on the ones that .on't need to be on it i think it is a ploy for the white house to hurt as many people as they can, as usual. host: we set aside a line for those who receive snap benefits to give their thoughts. this is chris in pennsylvania. good morning. caller: how are you doing? host: fine, thanks. caller: i am a recipient of the snap. something i did not hear mentioned was how i went and actually got it. i was incarcerated for driving because i violated an order not to drive. i got a driving on a dui suspension. i was told i could go and apply for this. upon applying for it, i did receive it. i got $198 every month for the next three months. one of the things i don't think anybody talks about is with how connected this is to the drug epidemic. i cannot tell you, there is people waiting outside of these places and people literally sell their cars. i have seen mothers that get $600, $700 a month for their kids and the going rate is a 60-40 split and people are getting them and selling them. idea of increasing work requirements to some on the program, what do you think of that? and do you have requirements put on you? caller: i do not. i can tell you, i have a three month limit. after the three months, i literally just have to reapply and say i am not working and i can tell you, before my incarceration, i am employed 6 people. three of them were on it and just on it because it was free food. they would go to while while and they could buy anything as long as it was not hot. i am not saying everybody, from what i see, and i see a lot of work, butit, they can it is basically getting something for free. i cannot speak for the people who need it. , people get it because they can and it is so easy. host: as far of -- as the work requirement, is that something you approve of? caller: i cannot actually oppose it or support it because, in my it still hasn't increased -- go ahead and increase the work requirement, it is not going to matter. i am working right now and basically i am going to get it every single month for the next three months and all i have to do to continue to get it is say i am not working. host: what hear from -- let us hear from william. this is william in pennsylvania, also a snap recipient. hello. nne englandto evo burnie, maryland. caller: hello, how are you today? host: i am fine, thank you, go ahead. caller: i support the increased work requirements for food stamp recipients and i will tell you exactly why. i have seen too many people in the supermarkets with four and five shopping carts with nothing but food and most of it is sugary food and i have seen women, i am serious, with 4, 5, -- and pregnant already an operating officer at they are getting food stamps. some of these minority people who do not intend to graduate high school, do anything and the bottom line is this. most of the women getting this food stamp situation, they are supporting men who do not work and do not plan to work. host: what does that mean for the idea of increasing work requirements? what do you think about that? caller: i think they should be able to go to work and not work volunteer. do something, give something back rather than getting free food and watching tv and getting fat/ host: we will go to georgia, opposing this concept. go ahead. caller: good morning, c-span. i oppose the increase in work requirement. first of all, the money they are going to work is not worth anything. every time they get an increase in income, they get a decrease in food stamps. christ christian, jesus country, a country that takes care of the poor, these folks are calling in putting down these people down on their luck. if they think anyone chooses to be poor or hungry, they need to go to a psychiatrist because that is not true and there is no god in you. host: if someone can increase their workability, why not do so? caller: then give them a chance to get up on their feet. house in thee a very first month this lady went to work, they cut her rent. dealse has to try and pay and read, but -- rent, but she just started working. they don't give them a chance to get on their feet. out trying are not to beg. good christians should be out to help them. host: james for the heritage foundation wrote a piece taking a look at the food stamp bill being negotiated and talks about the things that should be fixed and the idea of work requirements saying as for addressing food stamps, the house added a provision to capable of working what have been required to work or prepare to get a job as a condition of continuing in the program. unemployment remains at the lowest point in nearly 50 years. yet while unemployment is at 3.7%, the share of americans on food stamps hovers at 13%. requirements help our welfare system achieve its goal of reducing poverty especially amongst children. most americans know this instinctively prayed 92% support work requirements within the welfare system. more members of the committee seem to have lost sight of this fact. inexplicableost failure is resistance in the committee to repeal the federal clean water rule. she makes arguments for increasing requirements for those on the program. you can support that concept and call us at 202-748-8000. you can oppose that, 202-748-8001. if you are a snap recipient and want to give your perspective, it is 202-748-8002. newport news, a snap recipient, this is mark. hello. caller: hi, there. i am on snap and social security disability. if we work at all, we lose our state medicare -- medicaid, excuse me. is an argument against increasing those requirements, then? if ir: just consider worked, i lose my medical. what would you do? i would lose my health care. host: what is the argument you would make to legislators even considering this concept of increasing requirements? caller: if you work at all, you should not be penalized by losing your health care. host: another snap recipient, keith in north dakota. hello. caller: the same thing he just said. i used to work at crap jobs for southeast human service center digging used to have us ditches and whatnot. they raise oury, rent, lower our food stamps. for some reason, i don't know what happened with my legs, they ended up crippled and i can't work at all and i still don't get much in food stamps at all. i pay a good portion of my rent out of my social security disability check. it is miserable. .t is not fun living on this i would rather be normal, healthy, and not working. we have all these foreigners coming over here and they are filling up their carts one after another. host: you cannot work, what would you say to those who have the ability to work under this program and possibly increasing requirements for them? ts off it.t their but host: in dayton, ohio, you are next up. go ahead, please. mike in minnesota. good morning. caller: good morning. securityocial disability and i get a military disability. i would love to work. exercises to stay a little bit in shape. i have applied for many jobs and when they find out -- my balance is horrible because i had a brain injury in 2014. people calling in and saying everybody able to work should be kicked off, some of them don't understand the situation of people like myself. i have had brain seizures and other things connected with -- i had an accident in 2014. that is why i am on disability and i hate it. i would rather be working. that is the kind of person i am, i worked all my life. i really hate not working. host: overall, should there be work requirements on the program? caller: there should be for some that are able to pray like this last gentleman, i understand what he is going through. i could tell by the tone of his voice that he hates being on disability. host: would increasing those hours for those eligible would be something you support as well? caller: some of them. there are people that abuse the system and that goes with any kind of government program. host: that is mike in minnesota giving his thoughts for those snap recipients who want to share your thoughts, a special line set aside for you, 202-748-8002. a viewer on twitter says most snap recipients are rural, white --ducated folks controlled no fair shake for john q public. race toould not be a the bottom. when it comes to this idea of support or oppose, he chooses neither saying i want an overhaul of the system addressing underlying issues to make it more like physical vice a crutch that people cannot get off. our twitter feed is @cspanwj. this is where the debate goes when it comes to the food stamp program to be settled by the end of the year. those debates -- actual votes may be put into play because of the funeral activity this week .or george h. w. bush we will continue with your calls on this work requirement. this is from maryland. philip, you are next. caller: everybody hollers about .hoto ids at election time personally, i have had some rental houses and they need ids with their picture because it is drugs is a major thing. when that card gets redone, the seafood places, they are lined up with -- to pay seafood. i had them with one card that did not have money on it and then they have another card. first we need id, you need ids because they trade them for drugs. in maryland, they get cash money for a certain amount of that is cash money. while why is lined up with everybody getting a little cash. host: increasing the work requirements, what do you think about increasing the work requirement specifically? caller: they don't have to work, i would like to see them get up and if they have five kids under the age of school, bring them out and they have to sign a book and be dressed. not in pajamas or slippers, just sign a book. host: in arizona, opposes this concept. hello. caller: i want to say merry christmas, america. was 19 living in 70's, mya in the husband deserted me and i went to the food stamp office. it was really easy, you just filled out a form and stood in front of a desk. i was in a line and there were some exit can people in front of me and black people in front of me. -- mexican people in front of me and black people in front of me. the mexican people without smiling and the black people got a handful of food stamps and went out smiling. i got up and the lady said, you are white and you can work and they put me on a van and took me to a sweatshop. wasas so funny, pedro, i thinking about this last night. in my generation, i grew up and did not know anything about food stamps or welfare or never saw a homeless person where i lived. all we knew is that we worked and take care of ourselves and our own. ,ost: we will go to evelyn baltimore, maryland, a snap recipient. caller: hello. i have been listening to everyone and it seems like everybody is trying to put food stamps on black people. it is a lot of caucasians that get food stamps. i am on disability. they give me food stamps, $15. i agree that people that are able to work should have to do some type of work or volunteer to get their food stamps. one guy called in and said all he has to do is go and say he is not working. that is not true. in maryland, you have to show your income. that is why i only get $15. they have social security numbers. if they are working, they will not get food stamps. i don't know why people are putting out this misinformation. baltimore arek in the requirements and how aggressive are those who -- how strict in baltimore are the requirements and how aggressive are those looking at that? caller: if you have a part-time job and when you go up and fill up the -- fill out the forms, you have to have your pay stubs and everything. nobody can go in and say, i am not working and they receive food stamps. that is not true. at least not in maryland. host: if you would not mind sharing, $15 you receive his monthly? caller: monthly, $15. host: do you have other members of your family? caller: that is just for me. $15. host: when it comes to the idea of the snap program overall, you think areo necessary or how does it become more efficient? caller: it is a lot of people 40 and the age of 25 and they are not working. if you see them, they look ok. i feel as though they should have work requirements or even volunteer. do something because an able-bodied person should not getting food stamps for nothing. host: diana in st. petersburg, florida, also a snap recipient, hello. caller: i am a senior citizen low income avery month and i believe all senior citizens that cannot work should receive snap and the young people should get out and work. i worked all my life and never got this until i became a senior citizen and retired. and i just veteran don't believe -- these young people should get out and work and make their money and not be on it. you need to increase it for senior citizens. host: those eligibility requirements for the snap program, which is part of the larger discussion of the work requirement is that a person has to have a gross monthly income at or below 130% of the poverty line. a net monthly income must be less than or equal to the poverty line. $2250 per below household without an elderly or disabled member increases to 3500 for those with an elderly or disabled member. toate from the house side increase work requirements for a certain sector under the program and to also increase those for working parents as well. that did not make the final version of the bills being considered when it comes to the house and senate and the ultimate vote they will take as part of the passage of the farm bill. we are asking about increases for work requirements and to give your perspective. you have heard many recipients this morning giving their thoughts. a representative gave their perspective, saying about his own personal experience. was possible because of my parent's hard work and also because the american people established programs like snap so my family could be sustained during a temporary time of significant need. for families mike -- like mine and others, snape has served as a critical social safety net -- snap has served as a critical social safety net. this is karen in new york, supports this idea of increasing requirements for work. tell us why. caller: good morning. i support the act for the simple fact that when you have a lot of theg folks on the system, system is created to help you, as it was said, for a temporary situation, not for you to live on for years and years. i feel when it is time to recertify, they should dig a little deeper and find if this individual is capable of working, is able-bodied to work, then the system should be temporary. it should not be a permanent situation because when you do that, you are enabling the young generation to get up and go to work. if you are able to work, you need to work. use the system to help you, not to totally rely on it. it should not be used for that. it say to yous that members of congress should not make -- could not make those increases part of the final package? morer: they need to do research. they need to be more diligent when they evaluate the individuals and not be so lazy they do not want to evaluate. a lot of times they push it to get out of the way. it is not beneficial and not teaching our generation anything . there needs to be a temporary situation, which means there is a deadline. you have until this point to change your situation if you are able. if they are not able, that is understanding. if they are able to change their situation, they need to give them that push to get them out to try. host: that is karen in new york. stephen in new york opposes this concept. tell us why. caller: good morning, america. i think it is the question that concerns me. who exactly are we saying should work? the majority of these people on the programs are not young, able-bodied people. elderly,rting physically disabled, mentally ill, returning soldiers suffering from ptsd, women with hungry children. it is almost no money for us to be concerned about. republicans just gave away $1 trillion to the rich, but we have a problem with $30 or $40 a month going to starving people. nobody is calling ranting and waving, all the money they collected from all of us and gave away to the rich. we are concerned about a few dollars helping starving people who cannot work. elderly people cannot work. host: those increases would come to those who would be required to work or who can. they are targeted to them. what do you think? caller: specifically targeted to who can work? who cann this program work? starving elderly, physically disabled. even if you think a returning soldier suffering from ptsd on a good day could work, what about all their bad days and they cannot work? host: would you put requirements on anybody under the program? caller: i don't think you quality -- people who qualify can work.programs these are desperately poor people. what elderly person who can qualify for this program can get out and go work? host: we will hear from cynthia in georgia next. cynthia also opposes this concept. go ahead. caller: good morning. my concern is the impact of increasing your work requirements because their income will go up and their benefits are going to reduce. i think there needs to be a connection of having their work requirements -- what we need to talk about his education. they are increasing work of a low-paying job. this is someone already in a low skilled job and we will now ask them to work more, so it is almost like they will be in a rat race. we have a low unemployment rate, but a lot of people who are underemployed. they are working in jobs they cannot necessarily even feed their families. i can speak for myself. with lots ofgree work experience unable to find a job simply because of age. when we talk about increasing work requirements on people who would be able to work, you do not want that person continuously to work. increasing work requirements, looking at how we can give them training, how people can get off of these benefits and how increasing work will not help them at all. host: that is cynthia in georgia to giving her thoughts on increasing requirements -- tell us why you would support that, oppose that, maybe a snap recipient will give phone lines, too. body ofesterday to george h. w. bush lies in state at the rotunda. he will lie in state for today. funeral services planned for tomorrow. people filtering in yesterday and through the night to view the body of the president. you is part of the scene could see if you were able to come to the capital. several stories taking a look at the president, different perspectives. this is peter baker and cheryl stolberg about the 41st president after events of today saying it was after the funeral that will take place tomorrow, mr. bush's body will be flown back to houston for a service at st. martin's episcopal church. the former president be taken by a special train named locomotive 4141 painted the same blue shade echo of the one, an funeral trains used for previous presidents. laid to rest next to his wife, barbara bush, his wife of 73 years who died in april and their daughter who died of leukemia in 1953 at the age of 3 . the washington post looks at the funeral services that take place and the role the current president will play. the bush family contacted the white house this past summer to say president trump would be welcomed at the funeral scheduled wednesday at washington national cathedral and to assure him the focus would be on bush's life, rather than their disagreements. that is the front page if you go to the jump to the story saying -- one person close to the funeral planning says the bush family's overtures to the president were at least partly pragmatic. president trump has the final say over important funeral details, including providing air force one to carry the former president's remains. while president trump will not deliver a eulogy, he will be seated in the front row along with former president barack obama, built -- trump white house accommodated the family member'' request for the state funeral and permitting the bush family to stay at the guesthouse across the street from the white house. victoria in virginia, you are next up. go ahead. veteranmy husband is a and we get food stamps. not much. host: as far as increasing requirements for those who can, under the program. what do you think of that? caller: i am unable to work because i have to take care of them and my husband. i am not capable to go out and do a job and take care of my husband at the same time. host: marianne in north carolina. good morning. caller: good morning. yes, hello? host: you are on, go ahead. caller: my opinion is in reference to the increase work requirement, i definitely agree with that. the people making these decisions about the ebt card and government assistance are not going about it the right way. they need to make every citizen in this country be a registered voter. if you need government assistance, you need to be registered. you need to show you voted. that is number one. then they work on the other problems. host: let me go back to the first point when you said you agreed with the increase work requirements, why is that? caller: because they need to get up and go to work. a lot of the collars tried to tell you and they were cut off -- they try to give their opinion on why they need to increase the requirements for it it is too easy for people to get an ebt card and they are not registered voters. they don't do anything to help themselves. they need to be registered to vote and required to vote in a lot of -- every election. host: let's hear from michael in tennessee, a snap recipient. caller: i receive food stamps, but my opinion is -- here in tennessee, if you are single and don't have any kids, we already have work requirements. the problem is, when you do, you only make seven dollars or eight dollars an hour. they need to raise the minimum wage so when people work, they don't have to get food stamps. host: what specifically do you have to do as far as work is concerned? theyr: i am disabled, but sent a letter saying if you are single and don't have any kids, you have to work. host: did they give you an amount of hours or anything like that? caller: i don't remember all it was about, i remember receiving the letter. i did not pay that much attention because i am blind. for many years, but when i did work, i had to get kid.stamps because i had a if you are working and make minimum wage, you don't make enough. host: how much does tennessee provide in dollars? orler: not very much, $30 $40 after they took out what i made. , the companiesg that hire you get a benefit from snap because they have to raise the minimum wage. the companies that hire you get that benefit because they do not have to pay you as much as they should. you should be making $10 or $15 an hour to pay your rent and raise your kids. host: but here from greg in alabama who opposes this concept. caller: i oppose the program because i have seen so many people go in the stores and they do not by what they are supposed to be buying and they are able to work. -- i don't want to take anything from the government. you look at the cars they drive and you know them, they drive a fancy new car and you go by the house and they live in a giant home. increasedare saying requirements for those able to do so under the program? sir.r: yes, make them get out and get a job. if you are able to sweep a floor, you can get a job as a janitor somewhere. host: two other people who give their thoughts on the increase of work requirement on our program yesterday. they were part of a discussion taking a look at a report they compiled looking at the working class and what can be done to improve their state. one of the issues that came up is the snap program and the work requirements. we think people have a responsibility to earn the help they get. we both worked a lot on welfare reform to make sure people had the opportunity to work and they go to work. there are already work requirements in the snap program and we would like to see more pressure on the program itself to help those people get jobs. often states in the federal government put out work requirements that are -- not to actually help people find work. our goal is to help as many people find as much work as possible because it is better for them and our system doesn't work without it. you see communities falling apart because work is the glue that holds us together. >> reshaping the program to get job training? >> training, we want to make sure -- but get really wacky, reformse version of the -- people quit over it. everybody agreed that the programs -- snap program, other programs should do more to help people get jobs. they see us handing out food stamps and they agree they should do more to get jobs. getting a if you are benefit and you are able to work, you should be working. host: more of that interview if you go to our website, c-span.org, we have archived all of our interviews. you can also take a look at other programs. you tothat available to read things going on in washington concerning -- as democrats are set to take the house in january. the president beginning to court democrats saying the charm offensive was on display monday when he hosted senator joe manchin at the white house for a meeting that the two men spent days trying to schedule. over a lunch of chicken, green beans, mash potatoes he preached bipartisanship. presidentggested the take a look at a comprehensive immigration bill the senate passed in 2014 as an area of potential cooperation with democrats even though president legislation.the while in office, the president said -- requested meetings directly with the incoming house to bety leader expected -- nancy pelosi and the senate minority leader for a meeting. that was supposed to take place this weekend was pushed off because of the events surrounding george h. w. bush's funeral this week. the state of new york , any single person can walk into a social service department and pick up an application. when they do so, they have a choice of three benefits. cash assistance, snap benefits, and medical benefits. as long as that person does not ask for cash assistance, they will receive food stamps and with noinsurance strings attached. host: no work requirement is part of that? caller: no work requirement as long as they do not ask for a cash allowance. host: what do you think of this idea of a cash requirement? caller: i think they should start right there with any single individual that wants to receive snap benefits is required to go on a work project or required to do some type of work search to show they are trying to find employment instead of just being able to try to ride the system. host: you label yourself as a snap recipient? caller: right, i am legally blind and on disability. i have several people tell me and it is the talk of the town, go over, apply, ask for food stamps and medical assistance and you will not have to do anything to receive those benefits. host: what details do you have to give the state of new york as far as how much income you make and the like? ago, a a few years person could go into the department of social services because i was asked to do this for somebody. they could go into the social services department, state they were homeless and as long as they could get three people to give them a written letter or disclose their phone number for the social services to call to find out that this person was homeless, they could receive those benefits. host: that is chock in new york, this -- chuck in new york, this is andrew in chicago. on our support line. waser: the previous caller hitting on -- the earlier caller from tennessee was really hitting on something. my sister in texas -- are you hearing me? host: you are on, go ahead. caller: my sister in texas is able-bodied and she is 57 years old. she worked for 10 years at marshalls and it has taken her 10 years to earn $11 an hour. when she pays her rent, there is not a lot of money for food. she is on snap in texas. she wants it as a bridge in her life, not on something to depend on. i support it 100%. if you are able-bodied and can go out and work, you should still be. if you are making $11 an hour, you should have a bridge to help if you are single. i try to help my sister from illinois when i can. the system does need a little overhauling. when i left the military -- i retired from the military. i managed a grocery store and then i managed and all the food store. -- aldi food store. i would see a lot of abuse. there are bad apples in the snap program. i think it should conform to the wic program. it has to eliminate the great things people talk to at the holidays. the lobster, shrimp, crab legs, these kind of things, you do not need. i cannot afford those things. chicago.t is andrew in this taking a look at the vice president under barack obama being asked about political aspirations from cnn saying it was earning a stop for his book tour in montana on monday that the former president discussed 2020 prospects saying he believe he is -- believes he is the "most qualified person to be president." "i will be straight with you as i can, i think i am the most qualified person in the president to be president. the issues we face today are the issues that have been in my wheelhouse that i worked on my whole life. no one should run for the job unless they believe they would be qualified to doing the job. theissues relating to plight of the middle class and foreign policy are things i have, even my critics would acknowledge -- i may not be right, but i know a great deal about." d.c., hi.ington, onler: hi, my mother is various forms of public assistance because of declining medical health and there are complicated reasons why i cannot any longer financially support her. i hear her plight all the time she has to jump through to earn her benefits are absolutely astounding. we have it exactly wrong in this country. we give untold amounts of money to the military, untold amounts of money in tax breaks and giveaways and subsidies for the wealthy. we have given plenty of giveaways to attract amazon to a glorified office park in northern virginia. we need to spend on believable amounts of money on the poor and .hought -- downtrodden that is what we need to do and that is what this country is about. host: if you go to the charlotte observer website, the website saying north carolina held special elections to fill vacant congressional seats for it if the state board of elections and ethics enforcement calls for an election for the ninth congressional district, it will be the first time in north carolina history fraud has caused voters to go to the polls a second time to decide the same congressional race. fraud caused rematches in the .tate he said this will be the first time for a congressional boardon be 9 member state declined to certify the results of the election to fill the seat of robert pittenger, republican of north carolina. he was defeated in the primary by mark harris and went on to beat dan mccreary. the elections board voted 7-2 to "claims ofing due to irregularities and fraudulent activities related to absentee mail ballots." -- if you go to the pages of the storye, there is another taking a look at the issue and 9 race.about the nc you can go to the charlotte observer for an update on that. in illinois on our oppose line, hello. oppose the work requirement. i retired from working in social services after 28 years. it would take too much manpower. many people have work barriers. they could be a felon and cannot get a job. they could have a handicap that is not enough to get them disability, but very difficult for them to get a job. the gentleman earlier that spoke about the corporate welfare is absolutely right, this is a drop in the bucket, you have to look at it as a government giveaway program and that is what we are doing. you should not stand on a streetcorner and hand them out. in illinois, they use a card. products, selling grocery stores and stuff, they need to absolutely 100% id. people meaning -- the food stamp card has to match you. that will stop people from selling a card if they get id to see you are the person that phones that card. we don't want people going hungry, but we do not owe them a prime rib dinner. you can take a food stamp card, you cannot get cleaning products or diapers or pet food. host: we will have to leave it. let's go to william in pennsylvania. a snap recipient, hi. caller: can you hear me? i was the third caller and got disconnected. to receive any type of benefit from the welfare office, you have to fill out an application for medical and it is not food stamps anymore. food stamps have been gone for a decade. if you are asking for medical and food stamps, there is no work requirement. if you are asking for cash, you have to go to job training for 40 hours a week. the main problem up here is the the snap cardpt and they let people sell it for 50%. if you sell $100, they will give you $50 cash and most of these people are drug addicts and that is a problem. i don't know what the solution is pretty maybe monthly because i know you have to recertify. monthly you would have to save your receipts to prove you spent the money from the store. maybe that would be a solution. i am on disability. my wife makes $380 a week. 331 dollars. if she works five hours a week, five weeks out of the month, they subtract from my disability check. it is hard. it is hard to live on -- we get 200 something dollars a month -- 200 something -- $200 something a month and we have a family of three. i feel terrible, but i think their solutions -- i am not sure the government wants to do them. host: thank you for calling in and giving your perspective. the washington post highlights 2 stories. cia director gina haspel is said to brief key senators as it is related to the death of jamarcus oji. jamal khashoggi. the pentagon will send a backlog of green cardholders to training, suspending a policy adopted by the trump administration that required more stringent background checks for immigrants wanting to serve the policy called for green cardholders to submit to and complete a full background check and respond to any concerns before they go to boot camp in addition to requirements for green card applicants, biometric screening and the change that -- put thousands of people in limbo as they are screening language and jobs in the military -- that is in the post story through to the last call on this topic of increasing requirements under the food stamp program from kansas city, missouri, a snap recipient, this is a very -- avery. caller: i think one of the difficulties we have in state and federal government is they tend to put blanket walls across things. snap is dependent on the state you are in and i have been listening to various different states and they found -- sound fairly close to read in missouri, it is close. if you go and you can prove you getindigent, you can go and medicaid benefits and food stamp i am disabled. it took me so many years to get my disability because of my low , and earlier on in life the stain of the economy for numerous years prior to me , my was on a disability unable to get social security, i just got ssi, which is $750 a month. they give me $145 a month in food stamps. that.difficult to live on i'm one of these people that have good days, a lot of bad days. but i can understand what these saying.ople arei'm one of these every time i get an increase -- we didn't get one last year -- but when social security increases, they take away the food stamps, or a portion of it. if we get a 3% increase in our disability, we lose 2% of that in our food stamps. host: saying. every time i get an that is avei giving the perspective along with others this morning when it comes to the snap program. only a larger part of the farm bill which is set to be debated in the house and senate before coming to a pot of conclusion. thatll look at aspects of bill for the remainder of our program today. joining us next to talk through the details are catherine boudreau of politico, and agricultural reporter. we will talk about the efforts to pass this legislation. later, we hear from the national association of state department, barbara glenn, talking about the farm bill, and the trade agreement signed by the u.s., mexico, and canada. ceremony was held for the arrival of george h.w. 's casket at the u.s. capitol. mitch mcconnell spoke about the president's first address to the , ason as president in 1989 well as his military and political career. >> 30 years ago on the west front of this capital, george herbert walker brush addressed -- bush addressed the nation for the first time as our president. , we meet on democracies front porch, good place to talk as neighbors and as friends. a humble servant who loved his fellow citizens, and of a principled leader who knew america not only guards our own future, but also safeguards democracy for the world. today, this hero has returned to the capital a final time. not on the front porch of our hereracy, this time, but in his hallowed cathedral. beneath paintings that tell the story of our land and our and flanked by statues of his fellow champions whom he joined in making that story possible. just a teenager when he volunteered for military service and became the navy's youngest aviator. he was only 20 on that september day in 1944 when his plane was hit on a bombing run. through the fire and smoke, george bush stayed steady at the controls. only once he accomplished his mission did he parachute out over the pacific, a steady hand staying the course. that is what george bush gave us for decades. congressman,ator, ambassador to the united nations , envoy to china, cia director, eight years as vice president, and our commander-in-chief. through the cold war and the soviet union's collapse, he kept us on course. when the rule of defending in the persian gulf, he kept us on course, with his even temperament and hard-one george herbert walker bush steer in this country as straight as he steered that airplane. high ands flying challenged us to fly higher still, and he did it with modesty and kindness that would have been surprising for someone 1/10 as accomplished and tough as he was. continuing our discussion on the farm bill. joining us is catherine boudreau, and agricultural reporter for politico. good morning. talk about the larger pieces of the farm bill, what is the ultimate purpose? guest: the farm bill is a massive piece of legislation, touches a lot of parts of the economy. course, thef supplemental program is a large part of the bill. that is formerly known as food stamps. a lot of crop subsidies, crop insurance, conservation initiatives to help them improve the land, soil, water quality. rural development, agricultural trade,h, also credit and investment in those programs. host: what is the price tag? guest: about $860 billion over a decade. host: how does that compare to previous farm bill's? guest: the goal of the house and senate are cultural lawmakers is to keep in budget neutral. it will cost no more than the current law is projected to cost over a decade. the last farm bill they did, they did cut spending. the goal over time is to drop the price tag. host: is there a deadline for this bill and what happens if the deadline is not met? guest: it already expired in the new fiscal year but the logic is a lot of the programs in the mandatoryare actually spending. that means they continue regardless of this congress. there are some programs left in the lurch, less expensive. lawmakers told reporters that they needed to do it before the end of the year because then there are some other fiscal cliffs in the new year. they want to do it by the end of the summer. and: where do republicans democrats in the house and senate stand on agreeing to aspects of the bill? guest: leaders of the house and senate agricultural committee reached an agreement last week in principle. impression is it will resemble mostly the senate bill. terriblyl, it is not a different bill from the current law. right now, they are in a good place, it will probably pass in the senate when it is brought to the floor maybe next week. the house passed, it was on strictly partisan lines, only republicans voted for it. now that the final version is expected to resemble the senate, which does not make changes to the supplemental nutrition assistance program, i think the house will pick up enough democrats to pass legislation although they will lose some of the conservative right part of the conservative party. want to ask questions, we have set aside the phone lines, (202) 748-8000 four republicans. .emocrats, (202) 748-8001 independent, (202) 748-8002. the agreementto on this bill, how much was a hurdle in a snap program, particularly debating the work requirements? guest: four months the house and senate were in negotiating the difference between their bills. the food stamp program was a major hurdle. the problem on the senate side is just politics. they didn't think they would have the votes to pass something that looked like the house bill, and democrats are flat-out opposed to what the house is trying to do. essentially, they wanted to impose stricter work requirements between five and 7 million people and wanted to do some tightening of eligibility criteria to qualify for the food stamp program. billions ofto pour dollars into state education and training programs. there was concern about the feasibility of states to stand up those programs in a decent amount of time. the house wanted to do it by 2021. the congressional budget office said that probably would be infeasible, maybe over a decade to create enough slots for people newly eligible for these work and training programs. host: this is something the president wanted added. is he ok leaving it out? guest: that is what i'm hearing, the president is expected to sign it, even though he has been tweeting up a storm -- maybe not a storm -- but he has tweeted several times about how he likes the house bill, work requirements. i should be clear, there are already general work requirements to be eligible for the food stamp program. host: you talk about crop subsidies. explain how that works. guest: there are two buckets of crop subsidies. the first are these two programs that make direct payments to farmers when the price of commodities or the average revenue drops below a certain threshold. i would say those cost anywhere $5 billion and $10 billion. also a crop insurance program. taxpayers subsidize a portion of farmers premiums. about 60% and pay farmers pay about 40% of their premium, so that when there is a natural disaster or they have a significant drop in revenue, they will receive an indemnity from the government. politics ofbout the crop subsidies, what are those? guest: the biggest political football right now regarding crop subsidies is limiting them to welfare farmers. senator chuck grassley, for instance, from iowa, was trying to rein in the number of managers that farms can have. there are limits on non-family farms, how many managers they can have qualified for subsidies . there is a $900,000 adjusted gross income test. if you are making about that, you cannot receive subsidies. the senate bill would have limited the number of managers farmers have that qualify for subsidies, and also reduce from 900,000 to 700,000 agi. host: eastern and central time (202) 748-8000. mountain and pacific, (202) 748-8001. if you work in the agriculture industry, (202) 748-8002. is it fair most of these go to family or industrial farms? in this0% of the farms country our family farms. no question they are getting bigger. bigger farms is he more land. that is the nature of the industry. i should be clear that most of the farms in this country are run by families. host: let's start with bill in washington, d.c. works in the agricultural industry. caller: good morning. i wanted to ask if she had any information on the potential foot and mouth disease exhibition thing that was supposed to be in the farm bill. guest: great question. the house and senate bill included money for this new livestock vaccine. my understanding is usually when something is in both pieces of legislation before they go to conference, it typically ends up in the final deal. i am assuming they will allocate -- i'm not sure the exact amount of money at this point -- but they will allocate some money for this vaccine. disease is wars him for the industry because it can spread rapidly. host: maura in massachusetts. go ahead. ifler: i would like to ask the bill that is going to be voted on still includes the $800 million cut in medicare? actually not aware of an $800 million cut to medicare. i'm not sure that is included in the bill. host: the other aspect you talk about in the bill besides crop subsidies, environmental policy. how important is environmental policy when it comes to this bill? guest: conservation is about $500 billion a year that we spend on that. comparatively, the snap program is $70 billion a year. it is a fundamental part of the farm bill. what the house is trying to do was kind of controversial, which merge theically conservation stewardship program into an environmental quality incentive program. both help farmers pay for conservation practices, practices that will improve soil quality, water quality. but there was a difference of opinion on whether they should be phased out altogether. my understanding is both will be intact but it is unclear how much money each will receive. the house bill would have cut conservation by about 800 million over a decade. the senate version would have kept funding flat. where that ends up is still an open question. we will have to learn more when they release the bill publicly, i think, early next week. host: what is the justification of cutting the conference a -- conservation side? guest: i think house republicans thought there was efficiency's they could put into the conservation programs. there are a number of conservation initiatives. they are probably trying to reduce overlap or make some --efficiencies. that is their argument. host: chuck is our next guest. good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. i would like to make an observation and see what the person thinks about this. passed something about children. i was on a farm at that time. it was $2500 a year. this programput on for children. those farms went out of business because we used to get laborers from philadelphia and camden, and they would bring people in in family units, largely poor black people. two things happened that i saw that were still perpetuating. the increase of family units from now, 70%-plus of families,ily black and also created a void for farmworkers. now the illegals come in. there is a cycle that that created in my mind. i don't know if they look at this when they create these bills. host: thank you. he is talking about a labor issue in this country. of course, we have a significant labor shortage on farms. the agriculture industry is hoping that congress can potentially address this in an immigration package. i don't think that will happen this year. address bill does not much agricultural labor or the workforce. the department-- of labor, for instance. the farm bill covers agencies like usta, fda. twitter,iewer asks on talking about the subsidies that farmers get, adding they wouldn't be needed if tariffs didn't destroy the farmers. can you talk about the impact on farmers? guest: there has been significant drops in sales of soybeans to china. that is one of the larger impacts but it's been felt across all commodities. pork, dairy, this has been taking a toll on their bottom line. the trump administration has allocated up to $12 billion in trade assistance. part of that is direct payments to farmers. they launch the first round of direct payments earlier this year. they might do a second round. maybe next week. to blunt the damage to farmers. also, usta is doing commodity purchases, buying up excess commodities, setting them to nutrition programs, food banks. and then there is promotion of products overseas to increase exports. the president signed an initial agreement with mexico and canada at the g20. what does this mean for farmers in the short-term? guest: the biggest gain is for the dairy industry, and those will be seen over time. largelyan that, it is status quo. there were pretty open markets between the three north american countries. the markets were open. agricultural producers are just happy there is potentially subject ability. president trump has said if congress does not pass it, he will withdraw. that remains to be seen if that takes place. of course, congress will be able to take it up until next year. the biggest gain for the agricultural industry is in dairy but it definitely will not be enough to blunt the impact of what the industry has felt due to the tariffs. host: does canada win out over mexico in the steel, with trade, farm issues? -- this deal, with trade, farm issues? guest: the u.s. did get some wins in terms of market access, four usb for producers, for instance. a win in that it rejected a proposal from the trump administration to make it easier for the fruit and vegetable industry, for instance --florida -- peppers complaining about the difficulty of competing with cheaper labor in mexico. it undercuts their market. the trump administration was not able to secure the provision that would've made it easier for these regional industries in the a countervailing case against mexico to challenge some of these practices. host: catherine boudreau is joining us on the farm bill. bill is an washington, d.c. caller: good morning, two points i want to discuss on this. first of all, i believe the food stamp program is the largest part of the agriculture bill. when this was going through , the houserlier passed some draconian restrictions and requirements for people to receive food stamps. things like you have to have a job, looking for a job. for a lot of places in the u.s., there are no jobs. or do have to be getting some education. food onho cannot put the table don't have money to go and get education. , the senate said we don't want these restrictions. it would cut $19 billion from the food stamp program if you put these restrictions in. so they said, no, we don't want that. but the house, who acted on it earlier, said we do want this. it would effectively take the food off the table of 2 million people, mostly women and children. right around christmas time. that gives you an idea of how compassionate these people are. is, do youestion think the senate will balk if the house once again tries to billion cutse $19 in the food stamp program with these restrictions? is, do youquestion think people in the united know, generally, that this farm bill would cut $19 billion in the food stamp program and take food off the table for over 2 million americans, especially women and children? guest: to the first question, based on the congressional i believe it was --ut $9 billion in benefits snap benefits that would be cut, not necessarily 19 billion. they would reinvest a large portion of that money into these education and training programs. that would be at the state level. states would have to set these education training programs up. of course, the major concern is, of democrats, we are taking benefits away from potential he families with children. two thirds of people receiving snap benefits are families with children. the elderly, people with disabilities. secondly, i think the question was, do people know that is who makes up the majority of recipients? that is a good question. i think maybe there are some misconceptions about people who receive food stamps, misconceptions that they are not working. said about 43% of households on snap are receiving an income, meaning they are working. it just means they are not earning enough to disqualify them for food stamps. there is this controversial waiver process. the house republican agriculture secretary sonny purdue has talked about this a lot. states can wave the work requirements for this population known as able-bodied adults without dependents. that is a terrible acronym that bawd.ll a basically, they can only receives that benefits for three months during a three-your period unless they are working, except a job that comes their way, do these education and training programs. can wave that is high in the region or the state. only seven states have waivers statewide. something like 36 have partial waivers. can wave that is high in the region or the state. only sevenbasically, this is bee unemployment rate was very high during the great recession. house republicans, the agriculture secretary have argued this has not really come down. the use of the waivers probably -- they argue they are being abused, actually. with unemployment low right nationwide, you compare the number of people on snap prerecession and after. about 26 million people enrolled in food stamps before the recession. now there are about 40 million. that has come down from a peak of 47 million in 2012. again, house republicans argue it is not coming down fast isugh when on a plumbing lower than before the recession and there is job growth. but at the same time, this is a complicated story. wages are stagnated. was a big recruitment effort during the bush administration, obama administration to enroll people who were maybe eligible and did not know. host: we have a viewer on twitter asking why our pharmacists and food assistance combined? guest: great question. this has been ailing for a long time, i think, important to getting the bill passed. you have to have this coalition of urban members and rural members that will come together to pass the bill. if you are living in a city, maybe not have farmers in your district that find this legislation important. the foodare about stamp program, for example. farm of promotion of this bill will probably be the promotion of urban agriculture. of course, the farmers and ranchers in the more rural districts, they want the legislation passed. the lawmakers that represent them want to get it done. it takesdistricts a more modernf members of congress to get it done. host: robert is in baltimore. go ahead. caller: i wonder if you could step back and give us a 10,000 foot view on the modern farm policy. as an expert, i know you usually get down in the weeds. i'd like you to step back and give us a sense of the historical need that farm policy has served, how that may have changed to today. historically, the imperative of government may be beyond foreign policy, securing borders, national defense, was preventing us from starving. i wonder if that need has changed over the decades. we have a bigger obesity problem than we do a starvation problem, notwithstanding the need for snap programs. there is always the need for politicians to garner votes and .aintain power certainly, that is part of the motivation for foreign policy, as evidenced by the by dollars for dead bilateral support your after year. if you could step back and give us a higher scale historical picture, that would be great. guest: farm policy started during the dust bowl in the 1930's. of course, there was a need to help farmers, in the event of natural disasters, to make sure we could grow food for the country and not starve. over time, it has certainly evolved a lot. we went from direct payment system, farmers would get money regardless if they planted their crop or not. sometimes they got paid not to plant. that changed a lot over the years. time, it has certainly evolved a lot. now policymakers and the agricultural industry tend to more advocate for a market oriented policy where there is only money going to farmers and ranchers in the nature of a natural disaster. is the cropelopment insurance program. the idea is farmers have skin in the game, putting money into a , as a partnership with taxpayers. event of a natural disaster or loss of revenue each year. certainly, it's been evolving. maybe not during my lifetime or event of a natural disaster or loss of revenue each year. look later in my lifetime there will be a question of do we just have a crop insurance program, doing a more direct farm programs that pay farmers when prices and revenue drop, and they don't need to put money into the programs themselves? that is a debate to be had. and because farms are getting bigger, it is shifting to, at what point, at what size should farms be cut off from receiving subsidies from the government? that didn't get very far this time around in the farm bill but i think maybe in future years. the reason that debate did not is becauseis cycle commodity prices have been on the decline the last five years, farm income has dropped quite a bit. i still think lawmakers had appetite to have this conversation about how to limit subsidies. call from orange, new jersey. sterling, go ahead. caller: thank you for taking my call, salute to the gentleman from d.c. or making a good point. first, obesity is not linked directly to -- obesity is linked to poverty. a lot of people on snap are obese but that is because they are eating processed food. the farm bill should really address what happened historically and what is happening currently to black farmers, like in mississippi, where they were sold bad seats on purpose so they would lose their crops and then their land. there were farmers down there that lost over a million dollars in crops this year. secondly, we had a previous segment talking about how to reduce snap, and then we follow up with a farm bill segment, where we are literally giving welfare to farmers currently because of bad foreign-policy decisions. the farm bill may be needed, but it definitely needs to be more thoughtful and inclusive to all the things that have happened to all farmers, not just those that we care about. has, over thea years, had enormous settlements with black farmers, native american farmers, women, who were being discriminated against. in usda pays a lot of money operating loans, ownership loans. that was certainly a pattern of discrimination. in past farm bill's, congress has had to allocate money for the settlements. this time around, that seems to be -- not necessarily behind is notut the congress allocating any money for settlements in this farm bill. to your point about where the government spends its money to , i thinkp recipients that jack's division certainly was not lost on people watching the process. the house farm bill would have made it easier for farms to receive greater subsidies at the same time there were trying to cut benefits for food stamp recipients. a family of three that is on food stamps, that means they earn about $27,000 a year. farms participating in the subsidy programs, a lot of them are large farms. there is a debate to be had about what is the right amount to send to each farmer. what is the proper place for this tax money. i think this will be an ongoing conversation in farm bill's to come. host: when did we expect votes in the house and senate? guest: next week. both still have to release their legislation publicly. that was supposed to happen this because it is delayed of the passing of george h.w. bush, the ceremonies that congress is having to honor him. he is lying in state until wednesday. everything has been pushed back due next week. i think it will be a fast-moving process because they should have the votes they need. will be a fast-moving process because they should have the votes they need. host: catherine boudreau reports on agriculture, joining us for a discussion on the farm bill. thank you. another perspective on the farm bill from the national association of state departments of agriculture ceo barbara glenn, talking about policy, the bill, and a trade agreement recently signed. and later we talk with members of the house and senate agriculture committees on votes on the final version of the bill. yesterday, a ceremony was held for the arrival of george h.w. bush's casket at the capital. here is mike pence speaking about his life and career before coming -- becoming president. >> born into a tradition of public service, george herbert walker bush began his own life of service when he was still in high school. after the japanese attacked pearl harbor in december of 1941, he wanted to do his part, so he listed in the u.s. navy on his 18th birthday. on receiving his wings, he became the nation's youngest aviator and was sent to the south pacific where his story almost ended. raidmber 1944 on a bombing , his aircraft was hit, his engine caught fire, but he still managed to hit his target before bailing out and being rescued by american forces after some four hours at sea. all told he flew 58 combat missions. for his bravery under fire he earned the distinguished flying cross, which would've been enough water for any american life, but george herbert walker bush was just getting started. home, he sticks his claim to a booming postwar america by making a name for himself in the oil business. for four years, he walked the sauce as a congressman from houston. president nixon took notice of the young texan and asked him to be our ambassador to the united nations. he let our party during a total two is time for the presidency. after earning the respect of another president, he did the work of a diplomat as the first u.s. envoy to china. and let the cia. for eight years, george herbert walker bush served as the vice president of the united states. was referring to become vice president, he once joked about the job, saying there was "nothing substitute to do but all." records, during those years, he set the standard. as a sound counselor and loyal advisor to an outsider who came to washington, d.c. to shake things up, cut taxes, rebuild the military, and together they did just that. this is barbara glenn, the ceo of the national association of state departments of agriculture, joining us to talk about agriculture policy and the farm bill. guest: good morning. host: tell us about your organization, specifically your role? guest: i'm the ceo of the national association of state departments of agriculture. our mission is to create consensus around sound agricultural policy. we do that between the state department of adding, federal government, and stakeholders. our members are the commissioners, secretaries, and state department of agriculture in all 50 states and four territories. in that role, they are the chief act negotiator, co-regulator with the government, agricultural ambassador. they work on the spectrum from farmers to consumers. host: policy decisions. this farm bill being debated in congress, is this sound policy? guest: we need a farm bill. we have to get this past next week. here is the story about agriculture. and our affiliated industries, we provide economic viability. $1 trillion to the u.s. gdp. 21 million jobs. agriculture is very important to the u.s. economy. all of us eat. we all enjoy the sustainability and affordability of food that is our choice. we need a farm bill. right now, ag is struggling. farm income is down, usda recently said farm income may be down 12% this year. need that line is we farm bill, we are looking forward to its passage. our members are very keen on getting this past. guest: is that drop in income because of trade policy? yes, butme of it is, it is a con cooperation of different effects coming into this year. trade stability has not been helpful. host: talk about the impact specifically on farmers, harris put into place by the trumpet ministration? the farming community is the never one sector impacted by trade. -- our top legislative priority this year is to pass the usmca. that is a win for agriculture. the administration is to be given compliments for getting us to that point but we have to get it over the line. that is just one. we need new free-trade agreements. trade is a huge aspect of the viability for the american farmer. conversation on the farm bill and agricultural policy continues. eastern and central time zones, (202) 748-8000. mountain and pacific time zones, (202) 748-8001. if you work in the agriculture industry and want to give your thinking on the topic, (202) 748-8002 p and you can post thoughts and comments on twitter. portions are previous guest talked about in the farm bill was subsidies for farms. can you make the case for why farmers need that kind of thing from the federal government? i'm sure you have heard they don't. guest: yes, we have heard the dialogue. more than ever, directors know to have a viable agriculture in their state, they need the commodity title, crop insurance. these are provisions that enhance the sustainability and economic viability. it is a huge title in the farm bill. we actually don't advocate and work on it specifically because as commissioners that is not the area where we feel we can impact directly, but it provide certainty. we need that certainty in these times of low revenue and hard times for the economic downturn. do all farmers across the board need that type of insurance? guest: in general, it's important to say there needs to be equitable provisions across the farm industry to support those that grow our food. yes, it is something that we watch. we are hopeful the status of it in the current bill will pass. host: is there a concern it will not? guest: no, not in our mind. your former guests and we hope to see the conference report approved. ,e know there is a will political will, and certainly enthusiasm to support agriculture by the administration. host: outside of that aspect of the farm bill, when it comes to a commissioners perspective, what is the most important feature you are looking at? guest: one of the ones that we see in the forward leaning and the new and modernized farm bill is the area of animal health and disease preparedness. we have been working on that on both sides of the aisle with the house and senate. we are pleased the committees are looking for a mandatory baseline funding for the program. that is the funding that supports animal health. our state departments of ag are the first stop when there is an animal health outbreak or a disease situation. we work very closely with the u.s. department of ag. this whole package will help states react to these animal health issues. host: for instance? guest: we had an avian influenza outbreak in the past 18 months, two years. it was devastating. the losses to our poultry farmerswas huge, turkey . our commissioner secretaries and directors were working closely with industry, stakeholders, congress, usda to try to staff that out. that type of economic impact is huge and not just on the loss of the birds and to the farmer directly. it ripples to the entire food chain. under thet passes bill, how would animal health change, just because the money involved, the process? guest: the package includes improved ability to respond when we identify a disease outbreak. it improves our ability to identify, improves our ability to mitigate and prevent these from coming. it has a provision for the vaccine bank of which is needed for protection of the animal, agriculture in the u.s. it is a three-pronged approach. holistic way, it includes a state block program which will help the states react. we are looking forward to having that in the final bill them and we expected to be there. host: our first call is in maryland. you are on with our guest. go ahead. nicholas in maryland. hello? renee is in san jose, california. caller: thank you for taking my call. i will mention the pharmaceutical industry for this one purpose, it is global, and it makes a lot of money. i just want to know how that pharmaceutical -- month santos produces a termination seed that farmers have to buy when they are in drought areas. so there is a water supply issue . is there anything being done about the overhead on the pharmaceutical trap that our farmers are being put into? does that have anything to do with the bill? guest: thank you for your call, you have a very broad question there. there are a lot of avenues. i can tell you agricultural relies on the innovation and discovery of new technologies. in that regard, we have advanced precision agriculture, for example. usinge drones that we are to understand our fields and understand our livestock herds. there is a lot of technology that is addressed, including the entire phase of agricultural biotechnology, which we have enjoyed the benefits of the mid-1990's. literally, all commodity crops grown in the u.s. today are treated seeds that are the results of the benefits from modern agricultural biotechnology. , the as a whole relationship between industry and the tech providers of those tools, and the farmers has been very positive. it is the reason u.s. agriculture is so successful, the reason we've been able to increase our exports. it's a reason we have a safe and affordable food supply. in addition, is the reason everyone else wants our product. thank you for the question. host: johnny in woodbridge, virginia. you are on, go ahead. caller: i would like to ask a question, please. i am 85 years old. since i wasretired 65. i have tried to get help from social security in woodbridge, virginia, and it is a no go. stampsget $16 in food and that does not even last half a day. i don't understand how some people with two or three children can get $900? the county.rk for i retired from prince william county. $949 social security, $300 retirement from the county. i don't understand, i cannot get any help. i cannot stop water leaks in the roof, so they have to kick us out. i just don't understand how some people can just be so lucky. whatever. me. i don't understand. host: that is john in woodbridge. guest: thank you for your call, thank you for sharing your story. i hear you. nafta has supported a unified farm bill since day one. that includes the agricultural safety net but it also includes the snap program, the food stamp program, which is the largest program in the farm bill. we are standing with you for low income americans to my folks like yourself. we know these programs are critical for you. i guess i would offer that you need to call your local u.s. department of agriculture. has thehe secretary highest priority on customer service. i'm sure they will want to serve you and answer your questions about your particular benefits. we know how important they are, you are one example. thank you for your call. host: does your organization advocate for the initial increase of those requirements under the snap program? guest: we were silent on that. we really focus on the priorities that commissioners can affect in their individual states. from our state perspective. certainly, we understand what is trying to be done, the house wanted to increase those work requirements. it looks like we will go with the senate version next week in the conference report. continue to work in partnership with the federal government on whatever action is taken and finalized in the bill. host: our next call from michigan. rico, you are on. you work in agriculture. wondering if you could speak about any changes in the industrial hemp industry? is it going to be rescheduled ,rom a schedule one narcotic will there be crop subsidies, products,ort hemp will we be able to do banking in the hemp industry? guest: thank you for your question. spot a newt a hot value-added production for agriculture that i think will provide a future for new products, new profit for farmers. thanks for asking about it. , the current bill one has provisions for research in education around industrial hemp. we are hopeful with the next bill -- and it does improve -- include advanced programs for industrial hemp. nasa has also introduced a mcconnellrted by changing its classification, along for more freedom for industrial hemp to become an agronomic crop that farmers can rely on, and consumers. there are many valuable product that could be beneficial for us. thank you for the call. it is an emerging crop in it is coming. host: how do you think we got to the place where we are seeing these being added to the farm bill? is a cropustrial hemp that has been used for fiber production and other benefits for consumers, way back to the romans, i think. , as weust a matter of look across the span of plant genetics, available cropping systems, hemp is on the way back. there is a lot of interest in our states, many of our members are dealing with how to wrestle with these programs and provide an opportunity for farmers to participate in research. we look forward to commercializing. areasyou spoke about the trade agreement with mexico and canada. how does china factor in when it comes to foreign policy? guest: we are concerned about trade stability. by the resultsed of the meeting that president had onnd president xi the fringes of the g20 meeting. it looks like there is the formation of a 90-day period where we will not increase our tariffs. that is a good sign. secondly, there was statements about increasing exports of agricultural products, purchases from china. the devil is in the detail, we don't have the details, but that was a positive move on the trade front with china, who is one of our top trading partners. virginia --ton arlington, virginia. jessica, go ahead. caller: just wanted to ask the question about the impact of farming on our food in our environment. that, i want to get into i want to say my heart goes out to all the farmers out there. nationally, it, is kind of known that farming, with all of its wonderful benefits to us as society, unfortunately, also impacts our water quality. are residual impacts on the food that we eat from pesticides, herbicides. we have also had tremendous problem with chicken farms throughout the chesapeake bay region, their impact on water. i was wondering if barbara could speak a little bit too what is being done broadly with some of these issues? guest: thank you for the question. i want to start by saying farmers are the first environmentalists. if you will allow me to say that. there is definitely a very close relationship between our farming practices and environmental quality. which, together, provide us a sustainable, affordable food. environmental quality is a top priority for agriculture, farmers. we recognize we need resiliency in our farming programs, so we can address some of these issues that you mentioned. we are talking about water quality, availability, soil erosion, past and disease outbreak. occurringcontinuously and happening to farmers. it is no news to farmers. we had this on our radar. it is associated with the changing elements of the weather. we work closely with the usda and through the conservation title as well. is supportive of voluntary and incentive-based programs. farmers are good stewards to the land. i can assure you, in every state, they are working with our state department of agriculture, implementing programs on farms that will allow them to recover those nutrients, so they are not running off into the water. maintain that water quality. they are also very attentive to plant, soil health. these are areas where the voluntary incentive-based programs, as farmers about those, they see benefits for their farming operations. they know there are benefits for consumers in the long run. good question. definitely tied together. agriculture, environmental quality, they are basically sisters. all of that is a high priority together. host: what is the organization's position on climate change? guest: we understand there are changing weather patterns, the climate is changing, undoubtedly. we are trying to figure out how we can enhance the resiliency so the adaptability that farmers and growers can take part into a sure their animals are well cared for a plant health is good. those three areas i mentioned a minute ago in the recent climate assessment were deemed to be areas where productivity will go down if we don't fix that water availability, soil erosion, pest and disease outbreak. adopting programs continuously to react to the changing weather. , we do this between the states, federal government, industry counterparts. are thepartments of ag first line of defense when there is a plant outbreak, disease, animal outbreak. we take this very seriously, we have robust programs and involvement of farmers to react to the climate. host: when the trump administration takes its position on climate change and rejects it, what is the reaction from you, from those that you represent? guest: nasda supports the scientific basis for supporting hunting like this. we are very strong on looking at the data, having the best quality data to review. don't look at climate change in a political sense. we know farmers are dealing with it, boots on the ground every day. we are looking at whether changes from that standpoint. we work aggressively with the usda -- they are a priority in this administration -- to enhance that environmental quality. host: langhorne, pennsylvania. go ahead. caller: i would like to know why the agricultural department insists on growing natural food and not crops that are sprayed with gmo's? we know this is poisonous. buy organicve to foods when we cannot get natural foods? orm, thanather eat a wir food sprayed by chemicals. i know that you are against the use of gmo's. guest: great question. really appreciate you raising this. you to know, i want state department of agriculture support all methods of agricultural production. whether it is conventional production, biotechnology- derived production, all other forms, organic, regenerative agriculture, etc.. the reason we support all methods is families and farmers are engaged in these methods and consumers are interested in the products. we support all methods. collar inom the virginia, is not about either or. in today's world we have the availability of choice. we can choose those foods from the different methods of production. with respect to the safety and health of the different methods, they are all safe and healthy, they are not distinct and different in that regard. sometimes there are reasons that a consumer may want to eat a worm out of an apple, there you go. or you may want and organic apple. we respect that. there is a farmer and farming family behind a product that is serving you. so this is important to the viability in our states of agriculture. host: one more call from sam in new york. sam in new york. good morning. caller: how are you? host: fine, thank you. for taking myyou call. please be patient with me. i want to tell you something about something not related to your subject. that will be the last call for the segment. as for the house and senate version of the farm bill, when do you expect to see those? guest: we hope the conference reports come out next week and then there is a vote right after. early next week. how much activity have you had talking with key members? what is a good question to ask them as far as the conference report and what you are wanting to see from that? done: the work has been and the relationships have been built. nasda has been working with all. based on those relationships, we are excited. we had seven priorities. we are excited about the outcomes we might see in that final bill. we know what is in there and what is not. it is a matter of letting them do their job. host: barbara glenn is with the national association of state departments of agriculture. at --rves as their ceo and nasda.org is their website. the body of president george h w bush live in the u.s. capital. people visiting him starting yesterday. those visitors expected to commit -- continue through today before ceremonies take place tomorrow and he is laid to rest in houston. those are shots are filtering through and looking at the body of the 41st president. he will show you those pictures. -- we will show you those pictures. during the course of our conversation, we will talk with members of congress about aspects of the farm bill and taking a look at their perspective. they will join us throughout the final hour of our program. speaking of the final -- president come it was the speaker of the house, paul ryan, who spoke in a certain money about the 41st president yesterday and his role as a leader in the first gulf war -- who spoke a ceremony about the 41st president yesterday and his role as a leader in the first gulf war. [video clip] >> no one better harmonized the joy of life and duty of life. there is an image of him as commander-in-chief during the gulf war, waiting to a sea of troops during a visit during thanksgiving. there are the images we have of him as a devoted husband. a twinkle in his eye the barber always brought out. -- barbara always brought out. this one i will never forget. there was this image of him as a loving father reaching out to hold his son's hand at the national cathedral after 9/11. there is this letter he wrote his children on the last day of 1990 as he wrestled with the decision over operation desert storm. he begins by recounting the family christmas and he apologized if he seemed distracted. i tried not to be, he writes. for about a page, he elaborates on his struggle over sending young americans into harm's way. writes,new letter, he "every human life is precious." in the original copy, he adds a note wishing his family a new year. in consequential times, george demonstratedr bush the finest qualities of our nation and of humankind. a great leader and a good man. resolve.soul of firm isshowed us that how we live .s important as what we achieve of honor.as a hymn his legacy is grace perfected. glory.ory will belong to god bless the 41st president of the united states. washington journal continues. the first guest in this final hour of this program today as we talk about congress and their debate of the farm bill's representative lisa rug arduous is a representative from delaware. -- is a representative from delaware. ast is a timeline as far what we can expect what comes the debate of this bill? guest: i want to offer my condolences to the bush family and to our country for the great service of our president. in terms of the farm bill, i guess i would start by sharing that this was my first term in congress, and getting on the agriculture committee was intentional. delaware represents many of agriculture, from biotech to our family farmers. the agriculture committee is bipartisan. i wanted to be on a committee where something was going to get done, particularly the farm bill. we have gone through the past two years of preparing for this form bill -- farm bill and it has been a pretty good process. until we got to a point where we r, then title fou nutrition portion of the bill, and it focused on the s.t.e.m. -- on the snap program. there has been a conference committee where the leadership of both the house and senate have come together to actually put both bills together in a conference report. right now, we're at the point where the conference report anduage is rigid -- written it is at the congressional budget office to get the final touches to what it will be. we hope that next week, next week we will see an actual farm bill conference report that we will be able to review and approve. host: when it comes to be snap portion of that, was your concern about an increase in job requirements or work in jobs? guest: i want to speak from the perspective of my past career. i served as decorative -- deputy secretary of health services in delaware and deputy secretary of labor. jobs are vital three and i think democrats and republicans would agree to that. -- are vital. i think democrats and republicans would agree to that. the majority of people who are on s.n.a.p. do work. a creation of a new infrastructure that was going to put additional requirements that was on tested -- untested and underfunded. we have over 7 million jobs that need to be filled. the people are prepared and have the right skill set is a priority for all of us. unfortunately, the impact that this provision in the house side would have had was basically to actually throw people off of the s.n.a.p. program. that would create an even deeper cycle of poverty and difficulty for american families. that was a big concern for us. it was underfunded and untested. from the house side, what are you most concerned about? aside from the provisions of s.n.a.p. of goodhere was a lot work done. i went up and down the state. i talked to farmers, supermarket owners, s.n.a.p. recipients. i talked to a whole host of people. there were things people want to see. for example, crop insurance. that is a thing we have come together in terms of supporting crop insurance and increasing crop insurance. another thing we heard is that , inland-grant institutions delaware we have the university of delaware, and they do incredible work in the field of agriculture and train people so they can go into these fields. making sure that we have the support of that was a good thing that is in the farm bill. another provision that i'm excited about, and on your previous calls you had people talking about the environmental aspect of farming. there is a program under conservation titled -- and it is andt environmental quality incentives to get farmers to be able to provide best practices. ae of the things we have small provision that my senators, chris coons and senator tom harper, we worked together on for the poultry industry. mentioned, this is important in terms of our health, our environment, and our general well-being. we are pleased with most of the provisions in the farm bill. host: how do you think they will be reconciled with the senate bill? guest: it looks promising. on all of those issues, there seems to be general consensus. we hope to see that language in the coming days. oft: when it comes to issues farming, when it comes to trade policy, we saw an initial agreement signed between mexico, canada, and the united states. we saw the president talking with china on issues of trade. what do you think about those and the larger trade policy what comes to the farming community? guest: one of the reasons why it is so important that we get this farm bill done is because our farmers have been struggling over the past couple of years. the trade issues, the trade wars and tariffs, are things that -- these are good, hard-working families, many who just want to be able to produce and contribute. it has caused a lot of angst and fear. the.e had opportunity to live in china for many years. -- i have had the opportunity to live in china for many years. i understand the complexity. there has to be a clear-cut plan. how long are we talking about tariffs? i think it is a positive that conversations are happening, but i think that the devil is in the details. what exactly are we going to be -- see come out of these conversations and how will it impact our farmers not just today but as we move forward in the upcoming year? democrats take control of the house in january, what you expect to see when it comes the committee itself? well be the driving force of the committee under democratic rule -- what will be the driving force of the committee under democratic rule? guest: because of concerns farmers have, i introduced a piece of legislation that would provide trade assistance to farmers. it is one thing when jobs are outsourced. it is another when we do things ourselves in terms of our trade policy that have a negative impact on our farmers. expects of what we can to see into a new term, collin peterson, our ranking member now and you will potentially be the chairman of the committee, has a rich wealth of experience. he knows the communities. he knows the issues. he is a problem solver. what you can expect to see is a ,eturn to that bipartisan problem-solving, come together on the issues that affect the american people. i'm excited for the committee, for our country. i think his leadership is what we need at a time like this. what before we let you go, are your concerns as they currently stand about the possibility of the federal government shutting down? -- people sent us here to get things done. they want to see us get to work. likeeseen circumstances the passing of a president we understand. effect, but wen have a responsibility and a job to do. our goal is to do that job. we will be here. makingoking forward to sure we fund our government and do the right thing. presented lisa blunt rochester serves the state of delaware and is a member of the representative lisa blunt rochester serves the state of delaware and is a member of the agricultural committee. we will continue our discussion as congress looks at this farm bill. talked that aspects of it when it comes to the s.t.e.m. program, when it comes to subsidy. we want to get your thinking on the debate as well and what congress should be looking at. (202) 748-8000 for the eastern and central time zones. it is (202) 748-8001 in the mountain and specific time zones. in the agriculture industry and you want to give your thoughts on the debate and what should be included, it is (202) 748-8002. you heard our guest mention collin peterson. he featuredhe featured in an inh npr news this morning saying that the full text of the bill has not been released by the u.s. representative collin peterson said monday that the new bill will look a lot like the one that expired in september. the final farm bill awaits a budget analysis. congress is expected to vote on it as its lame-duck session comes to a close. we have had problems tried to button this up, peterson says. he told reporters, frankly, it is a miracle we got it done. this miracle -- this story adding that the farm bill is updated every five years and authorizes federal funding for food assistance programs, crop insurance, and conservation programs. the last farm bill was passed in 2014. the house and senate have different versions of the new bill and have agreed to settle those differences. news.s from npr we welcome you to call (202) 748-8000 for the eastern and central time zones. the mountain and pacific time zones, (202) 748-8001 if you -- (202) 748-8001. if you work in the industry, (202) 748-8002. david starts us off from indiana. is, don't question you think it is time we cut or ended farm subsidies for corn? i think they are too high. i think that industry is doing fine and we should and those subsidies. host: what leads you to believe the industry is doing fine? caller: can you repeat that? host: what leads you to believe the corn industry is doing fine and does not need a subsidy? high fructose corn syrup is in practically every product in america. all of those corporations are making money hand over fist. that leaves the to believe that subsidizing corn is something we should look into insofar as reducing the subsidies. host: would you reduce subsidies overall or just for the corn industry? my information is limited to the corn industry. indiana, peru, indiana. -- caller: i have a response about what is being put in our foods, like these additives for , like the tropical oils of south america, which is coconut and palm oils. they're putting it in milk for preservation so it will not go sour. it is a plastic. they are using this oil for fuel in europe, for their cars. it is a detrimental effect on the health. it attacks the heart. it makes the system go rogue. we are having problems with health issues and asthma attacks. this ought to be looked into. start looking around you. the previous guest you had on your program this morning showed the redness of their face and the sickness across this whole country in this world by what we are adding to our foods. we better check in on this, folks. indianaat is john in calling in about his concerns over additives in foods, or at least certain types of foods. beth in alabama. about: i have a concern the health of farm workers and american food consumers. authoritarian government, by large quantities -- authoritarian government buys large quantities of our soybeans. europe does not buy american agriculture because they avoid certain chemicals. i am tired of big business running us into a sick future. i would like to have people stand up for what they know is right. stop poisoning americans. i grow my vegetables in the backyard, and that is it for me. host: the heartland institute in a post on the farm bill writes about aspects of it, saying a repeatedly disappointed those who believe in free markets, reduce dependency on government, and independence. it does not just ignore these principles, it flouts them. many health legislators thought work requirements, but the negotiated farm bill withrow out these improvements. -- would throw out these improvements. difficult to understand how those lawmakers could bring themselves to support this bill. it would make the out-of-control subsidy system worse. it would likely trigger more subsidies, not fewer of them. it would expand the loophole allowing subsidies to go to people who are not farmers. that is the heartland institute. you can find more of that post at blog. heartland.org. next, orlando florida. caller: i am a florida citrus grower. i wanted to make a comment. i vote conservatively. was impressed with lisa blunt rochester, the democrat from rochester. if she represents what is going to take place in new congress, i feel heartened. the second, i will like to make -- to those who talk about the second comment i would like to make is, to those who talk about food safety, american farmers reduce the safest world -- food in the world. our life expectancy has gone up as we have incorporated our practices. problems with food safety have not been involved with conventional production. organic farming has some issues. we believe in incorporating organic and conventional farming. i'm speaking as. -- four farmers everywhere -- i'm speaking for farmers everywhere. american food is the safest on the planet. host: what to be revisited of say that cause you comfort -- what did the representative say that caused you comfort? caller: she was positive about them taking care to protect the american agriculture and farmers. i could see her attitude was positive. there has been a lot of angst when we hear political sides of arguments on our news channels, but when she spoke agriculturally of her committee, i felt encouraged that things are going to be more balanced in this next coming legislature. idea of crop insurance or federal backstops from the federal government, do you think that is a necessary thing and why? caller: i think from a disaster point of view, farmers need help. as far as inclement weather and weather events, they need insurance. they need some backing. subsidies forhat sugar aren't -- are warranted. i would say that the american farmers the insurance just like you do. they take great risks. they do not make a lot of profit. they are stewards of our land and they were the first environmentalists. it is difficult to blame them for some of the things that we hear on the news. they are careful. they follow the registered labels of these products that we are using. our food safety, look it up, is the greatest in the world. it is getting better. host: you are seeing some cooler days there in florida. how is it affecting the centrist industry? caller: we like a little bit of cool weather. it helps insure the crop and sweeten the oranges. on behalf of florida citrus those who purges for a citrus products, we have the --est guest purchase purchase citrus products, we have the finest citrus in the world. it is very sweet. we have that thinner peel. elsewhere, citrus is grown on heavier soils. , on heavy soils. once the crop starts to ripen, they are capable of holding summit he nutrients because of their richness. if it rains again, the fruit will re-green. in florida, it continues to ripen. you have probably heard the saying that good wine is made from grapes that have to suffer. that is what happens without florida citrus. we apply the new trees we need through the best practice -- the nutrients we need through the best practices. we can control exactly the nutrients our trees get and it produces the finest citrus in the world. host: that is carl from florida. in massachusetts, sandra. ,aller: i would like to know when we grow the marijuana, who is going to subsidize them? when they do get subsidized, will they take their profits or will the government take their profits and put it toward feeding our people? food that should be going into their mouths instead of subsidizing pot. in new hampshire. caller: thanks for taking my call. thank you to the farmer who called from florida to give his information. i just wanted to say that my main concern with genetically modified organisms is not so much its effect on people. it is its effect on the ecosystem. my concern is that it is going to create a monoculture. know thateople do not a lot of plans out there and the crops that fetus are all essentially -- that feed us are all essentially the same plant. they are clones of one another. whenever a bacteria or virus comes along that is able to destroy that planned -- plant , we might be looking at trouble, which is when we are going to need that insurance. that is my main concern. joining us asben congress debates the farm bill. you can make your comments and continue to make them during the course of this hour. it is (202) 748-8001 for the mountain and pacific time zones. (202) 748-8000 for the eastern and central time zones. if you work in the agriculture industry, as you heard our citrus farmer talked to us before, (202) 748-8002. you can also post thoughts at @cspanwj. joining us now is senator tina smith from minnesota, a member of the agriculture, nutrition, and for a street committee. street -- forestry committee. guest: i'm expecting we will see it at any moment. we are working out the final details of making sure the eyes are dotted and peas are crossed are's are dotted and t's crossed. it is good news. build on is som needed for people in farm country -- farm bill done is so needed for people in farm country. sideositives of the senate are that it includes the basic safety net programs that american agriculture accounts on. strong conservation programs. some of the as provisions that i helped write are in this bill, including expansions of broadband in rural america and supporting new as beginning farmers as proposals that i worked on that includes having april health liaison health liaison. health care and health care cost is something we hear over and over as being a key issue. can you explain why things like broadband or health would fit under a farm bill? it touches almost every part of life in america, and certainly in minnesota. rural broadband is more like a utility. if you're not connected, you cannot compete. farmers appreciate this so much. it is a good thing that we have these provisions included in the farm bill. we are authorizing them to go forward in the long-term. host: when it comes to crop insurance and subsidies, some anybodyms made is that -- is concerns about who gets them. can you spell out what it takes to get a subsidy for farmers? programs thatre help -- these crop insurance programs are strategies that even out the ebbs and flows of supply and weather and other contingencies that affect farmers. important to make sure we have strong agriculture for the long-term. i am a big supporter of the sugar program, which helps minnesota sugarbeet farmers. that program does not cost anything. it just helps to smooth out the ebbs and flows of supply and demand. host: can any form or apply for this, including ones whose farms might be doing well? guest: anybody can apply, but it is like any kind of insurance. host: one of the aspects under debate was that of the s.n.a.p. program. what was your thinking about the increased work requirements being soft by the ministration -- thought -- sought by the administration? that: it is assistance mostly goes to children, seniors, and people with disabilities. of people whoity receive assistance are in working families. there are already work requirements for nutrition assistance. i am all for making sure the people have a pathway to get good jobs so they can support their families, but i do not think we should put up additional barriers for people getting s.n.a.p. as a way of accomplishing that. does not make any sense. i am happy that the bill we are to see in the coming days is similar to the senate's nutrition assistance program, which was a bipartisan bill, supported by both democrats and republicans. host: would you say that there are overall changes to s.n.a.p. needed? guest: there are tweaks we can make. i'm open to those. i do not think we need to layer on additional requirements for s.n.a.p. host: when it comes the issue of ,he tariff and trade issues when it comes the farming program, a law to decisions made overseas recently, how does this play out for farmers and home? host: i am it for -- guest: i am encouraged that we are pulling a new agreement together. we need to look at the details and make sure it works. canada and mexico are two the largest trading partners for minnesota. we also need to remember that the aluminum and still tariffs are still in place and that means there are retaliatory tariffs still in place for agricultural products like pork going to mexico. all of those issues need to be resolved. china, minnesota soybeans have traditionally been sold into china. i think it is important that we hold china accountable for their unfair trade practices. we need to get to a deal with china. host: when it comes to the future debate, what is the timetable? guest: for the trade deals, we will almost certainly not take those of before the end of this beforeck section -- up the end of this lame-duck session. host: with the farm bill, is that within the next couple of weeks? guest: i am very hopeful that we will be able to take it up and get it done. it will first go to the house and we are hopeful that the house will pick it up next week. then it will go to the senate. we need to get that done before the holidays. we have been asking legislators where they are as far as a shutdown. guest: there is no reason that we should have a government shutdown. the only person i hear talking about one is the president. the rest of us are determined not to get to that point. for only you confident a lot in $.6 billion for border issues? allotting $1.6 billion for border issues? guest: that is a robust plan for border security. we authorized $1.3 billion in the last session and that money has not been spent. we need to spend the money wisely that we have already allocated to border security and then move forward. host: senator tina smith is a democrat answers minnesota. and serves minnesota. we will continue on on the debate over the farm bill as congress takes a look at these issues. you heard two legislators target -- about it so far. -- talk about it so far. you can let your thoughts be known at (202) 748-8000 for the eastern and central time zones. (202) 748-8001 for the mountain and pacific time zones. for those of you who work in farming and agriculture, (202) 748-8002. this is the front page of the gazette out of eastern iowa. will probably resume buying american soybeans around january 1 because it has found iny limited supplies retaliation for tariffs. determined ifbe china would remove its tariff on imports of american soybeans as part of me choose between president donald trump and the chinese president that was truced -- as part of a between president donald trump and the chinese president that was reached. farmers well got monday to a rally in soybean prices in the wake of that meeting between president trump and the chinese president, adding that it is not clear if the additional tariffs grainmpact green trade -- trade. jerry in california. caller: for my understanding, farmers have to buy seeds every year because the seeds have been genetically modified so they will not reproduce. i think would save farmers a lot of money if they would stop genetically modifying seeds so that farmers can grow crops. --t: from wisconsin, any to anita. caller: thank you for taking my call. --m calling from a very state. i'm concerned about the way our u.s. -- usda and secretary of agriculture and president trump are trying to crowd the oversupply of milk -- solve the oversupply of milk. what is their solution? tighten your belt and maintain a positive attitude. i think we can have a better plan. canadian system of dairy, a prime management plan which is working for them. i think it could work for us. why are we trying to get around ,he canadian management plan which does not take any subsidies from the government and seems to be working? in wisconsin anita talking about dairy concerns. you can make thoughts and others at (202) 748-8000 for the eastern and central time zones. for the mountain and pacific time zones, (202) 748-8001. for those of you in the farming industry, (202) 748-8002. the houston chronicle headline from this morning, their front george h.w.d to bush lying in state here the u.s. capitol, where he will remain today. --go to the capital capitol now. people have started filing in yesterday and continuing through the night to observe the casket. this will take place throughout the day. tomorrow, a ceremony planned at the national cathedral here washington, d.c. the body then flown back to houston for another ceremony in houston and then george h.w. , 41st president of the united states, will be laid to rest of the bush presidential library -- at the bush presidential library. patty from wisconsin. caller: i am in the middle of the dairy state also. we have family members who are struggling. my concern is, we have people serving all over the world. this overabundance -- starving all over the world. if we have this abundance, let's find a way to give this food to people who are starving what -- rather than building warships shipsre military -- more and more military. massachusetts, we would hear from joseph -- will hear from joseph. on the steeloncern and aluminum tariffs in canada, the president has to understand producing steel for infrastructure and bridges and scaffolding's, on plumbing, it is not just transmissions for cars coming in. it is going to affect a lot of people on prices. it is not going to be punishing canada. it is going to punishing the purchasers. it is going to punish how much more money we will have to pay for infrastructure, especially steel for bridges. host: we are talking that the farm bill. do you have comments on that? caller: i think we should drop -- he should drop what he is doing on terrace with canada on steel and aluminum. he is our -- on tariffs with canada on steel and aluminum. host: you can give your thoughts @cspanwj. if you go to need a joint headline in flint michigan -- flint, michigan -- if you go to , their headline in flint, michigan -- city officials have excavated and replaced lead and iron pipelined year ahead of time. the city is still star and by the aftermath of the contaminated water crisis and -- stunned by the aftermath of the contaminated water crisis and distrust of government. pipesforts to replace connected to 7700 homes throughout november. the project began in 2016. the was anticipated to be finished in late 2019. program aspheld the being the fastest to replace pipes. a similar program took 12 years. one city councilman noted that it does include homes. more that you can find at more that you can find at detroitnews.com. this is ed in bethesda, maryland. caller: i have been an organic farmer for 20 years. i wanted to make a distinction between -- on the issue of food safety. -- the agree with my fellow from florida, the citrus farmer, that the united states produces the safest food from disease or contamination standpoints. there is another aspect to safety, which is the contamination of food with agricultural chemical residues, whether they are herbicides and pesticides and fungicides, which accumulate in the human body over time, contribute to cancer and other diseases. we need to remove these toxic chemicals from our food so that it is not only safe from a bacterial contamination issue, but it is free from these toxic materials. host: a viewer off of twitter farmerll be dairy except subsidies if china had accept subsidies if china had not impose tariffs? the salt lake tribune takes a look at utah's cannabis compromise. medical cannabis became law, state lawmakers acted to supplant it with a tightly controlled plan for controlling treatment. ,uring monday's special session governor gary herbert announced that supporters and opponents of proposition two had reach consensus around a legislative solution. broke in both chambers down on party lines, democrats arguing that the legislature should not override voters. virginia is next, where denise is. caller: i am concerned about the chemicals that they are using on some of the farms. we are killing off our honeybees. without our honeybees, we could starve as a nation. there are three chemicals. makes gas and another was a product of agent orange that they use in vietnam. one not know what the third -- i do not know what its use was before it got to be a chemical to help get rid of bugs on plants. you have to think about it. that is in every part of the plant. as the plant. rates in the farm -- as the into theeriorates farm, a goes into the soil. we are eating that. you talk about the lead damage to the people in flint. it is an absolute disgrace that moore has not been done there -- more has not been done there. host: matt in colorado. caller: thanks for having me on. i am a proud libertarian. ishink a portion of what going on with agriculture that we need to focus on is with trump's immigration policies. we are seeing a stunted flow of immigrants which help keep food costs down through their lower cost of labor. this is going to impact the poor and the brunt of immigration policy begins to hit the food costs in this country. food is not a luxury item and this is going to hit the poor. we need to get to a sensible place on tariffs on agriculture. we need to get back to sensible like theon policy program that existed in the 50's and 60's. host: we showed you the houston chronicle on president george h.w. bush. this is canada's national post. the headline above the picture, last of the greatest generation to serve. a picture of the president lying in state. because he played from the home front, bush was the best man ever to be president. that is some of the issues there. capitrennan is that the ol along with others. the ceremonies take place tomorrow. two ceremonies, one in national cathedral, which president trump and monty a trump are expected to attend, and one in -- melania trump are expected to attend, and one in houston, texas. many filing through and observing this morning, starting yesterday and throughout the day. joe in west virginia is next. i think the congress and the public are out of touch with what farming really is. farming mostly now is commercial businesses that thrive on subsidies. these are big corporations. i think c-span needs to try to educate the public on what farming is now. the organic farmer who was just on and the lady who was talking about the death of the bee colonies is right. you cannot grow vegetables now in a garden like you used to. you have to do a lot of extra -- downt to keep them the pasts. a lot of the plants have been so genetically modified that they will only grow with certain chemicals. the gentleman talked about the farmers. they cannot save seeds from their own crops because, if they police can come and drag them into court because monsanto seed may have spread into their field and if they save their seed, they are in violation of monsanto's patents. i think the congress and the public need to understand the types of food we are eating, what is in those foods, what is in the soil after those plans dk -- decay. we need to look at what is happening in our food world. host: that is joe in west virginia giving comment on this debate that is set to take place with members of congress over the food bill -- farm bill. joining us from the senate side is senator john hoeven of north dakota, aim member of the agriculture -- a member of the agriculture committee. when it comes to the final project your site is working on, how satisfied are you? guest: it is a good farm bill and we will get it done. we build on the existing farm bill. we build on its strengths and improved it and try to add flexibility. it is a good product. host: when it comes to strengths and flexibility, give examples of that within the current bill. guest: number one, risk management. number two is crop insurance. we keep crop insurance in tact as we have it. then we have the safety net, which is our risk coverage. i think we made improvements in both of those areas and more flexibility for farmers. research is important. trade promotion and other areas as well. those are some the priorities. host: when it comes to crop insurance, the previous caller says that subsidies potentially go to commercial farmers, not necessarily for the homegrown farmer. what would you make of that? guest: our farmers and ranchers produce the highest quality, lowest cost food supply in the world that every american benefits from every day. 60 million people have jobs in agriculture and we have a favorable balance of trade. there are a lot of and is -- industry sectors we would like to have do as well. host: how much is family and how much our commercial farms? our forms are family farms, but they are dance. they use technology. it is a business. -- advance. these technology. it is a business. host: for you ok with these additional benefits on s.n.a.p. not being in the bill? guest: we need a good work requirement. nice to be flexible. it needs to get people self-sufficiency. where we ended up with this is we did the best we could to get a compromise. usda is going to help states implement the work requirement in a way to make sure it makes sense and states are not getting around in. -- it. host: what can be done to help states make sure that more people meet requirements? states can configure statistics on a county by county basis that may eliminate the work requirement. tanned.not the and there are exemptions were people who cannot vote -- work. ,here are reasonable exemptions but the underlying work requirement needs to be properly enforced. host: we have had people calling concerned about the safety of food. what does the farm bill due to satisfy their concerns? food safety programs, we have incredible safeguards on our food supply. people should become triple that their food supply is not only tasty and nutritious, but safe. host: what are the improvements made in this bill versus others? guest: in terms of food safety, i think we have got those agencies in place within the department of agriculture and the fda. i oversee fda's funding. we are always working to improve them because the science continues to advance. entities are good at ensuring food safety. host: the portions of the bill that deal with environmental concerns, can you spell this out for us? do they do well as far as far as being environmentally friendlier whate larger aspect of they grow and where they grow? guest: our farmers and ranchers are good stewards of the land. they live there. it is their home. who has a bigger interest in clean water than our farmers and ranchers? title needs toon be farmer friendly. we have to make sure we are helping our farmers and ranchers in terms of all they do in food production, fuel, and all the things they do for our country. many people mentioned trade and tariff concerns. what protections are needed? guest: we need trade. nobody produces food, fiber, and fuel better than we do in america. we need to be able to export markets around the world. that benefits other people and countries as well. we need access to open trade, to free trade, to fair trade. host: tariffs in place on trade, are you concerned about those? do you see removals anytime soon? guest: the administration is trying to open these markets and get fair trade. the chinese, they do not play by the rules. they are taking our technology and violating our patents. to knock downis those tariffs and barriers and make sure it is fair trade. host: talk about the schedule. when do we expect to see final passage? guest: we are targeting to get the bill to the floor in the house this week. that is not going to happen now. our incredible condolences and sympathies and respect for president bush and all of the bush family. that is the focus this week. we will start in the house next week and aim to have the bill passed before christmas. host: even as we head to the holidays, what is your level of concern about a shutdown? guest: we have 75% of the government-funded. we need to fund the border wall. most of the other items have been. we should be able to get that done. people need to work together. with the are satisfied $1.6 billion on the table? guest: i believe it should be the $5 billion. host: that a senator john hoeven , a republican from north dakota. a couple minutes left in our program. if you want to comment as congress talks and debates over this farm bill, it is (202) 748-8000 for the eastern and central time zone's. in the mountain and pacific time zones, it is (202) 748-8001. for those of you who work in farming and agriculture, it is (202) 748-8002. minnesota. it is hard following a politician. you are looking dapper. you always look dapper. stamps.food i am trying to make three or four comments. somebody earlier called in and said that in new york state, you just go in and they give you tons of money. not in minnesota. i get $16 a month. just like a gentleman that called from another state who was 85 years old. it is very similar. there is a broad tier of food stamps. a lot of people get $16 to $21 a month. it is a minor amount of money, but it helps you get by. that is where i am. i earn the kind of money that he was talking about, the thousand dollars he said. they check everything. they make you prove, in minnesota, that that is the amount of money you get and they hold you to it. it is black and white and they are not giving money away. i get $16 a month. that adds up to something. host: that is tom in minnesota giving his perspective. we will hear from john in maryland. senatori thought the was evasive of your question between family versus commercial farming. i think the overwhelming numbers of farms by acreage are run by large corporate farms using nonorganic farming methods. he does not address the -- all the various funding cuts that the republican congress has in things like meat inspections, slaughterhouse inspections relying on voluntary industry reporting and industry specific inspection and taking the regulators out of the inspection process. that is my comment. the bill itself, what changes would you like to be seeing? caller: i would like to see them inspectors, add particularly for slaughterhouses. i would like to see them limit large companies can get in subsidies. , throughike to see tax policy,ation or reducing the amount of money -- reduce reliance on things like round up, specific seed, etc. host: that is john in maryland giving comments on the debate of the farm bill by congress. many people bringing different aspects. the couple of pieces of international news. this is senator lindsey graham, republican from south carolina. he writes that last week the senate voted to advance a resolution ending support for saudi arabia's military campaign in yemen. 63 senators felt they could not remain silent. thisdless of whether resolution passes, it is important for congress to signal that there is no excuse for recent saudi behavior. it is wrong to suggest that maintaining u.s. alliances is a mutually exclusive choice between power and principal. america's power and principles depends on an international system in which men cannot act on violent whims. the senator also adding that saying so brings me no joy. forpported the saudi regime years and i agree that saudi arabia remains a strategic ally. it is not too much to ask an ally to not abuse civilized norms. the killing of a journalist is nothing if not uncivilized. that is lindsey graham writing in the wall street journal. story in the new york times of jerusalem, saying that for the third time this year, the israeli police have recommended that the israeli and prime minister be indicted. he is not giving up easily. it is far from clear what will happen next. ngs -- the state hangs on factors including the legality of his remaining on office -- in office and the will of the voters. christina in mountaintop, pennsylvania. wonder what they have done to the humane slaughter act and how the farm animals are treated in the factory farms. government tohe evidence how the factory farms are influencing the environment and the human health. 9 billion animals are andghtered in the u.s. people eat like more than a million animals every hour. christina in pennsylvania. she will be the last call of this program. we have another program coming at you tomorrow at the u.s. capitol. bush ist george h.w. lying in state, as part of the procedure, many participating

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