welcome to Washington today on cpan radio for Wednesday September 11th 2024 house Speaker Mike Johnson cancels a scheduled vote on a bill that would fund the federal government for 6 months beyond the October 30th deadline preventing a government shutdown and require proof of US citizenship to register to vote apparently because it appeared the vote would fail due to overwhelming Democratic opposition and enough Republicans planning to vote no we'll talk with the hills Congressional reporter Michael Schnell about where things stand former president Donald Trump the Republican Presidential nominee criticizes ABC News and the moderators of last night's presidential debate with vice president Kamala Harris the Democratic nominee calling them the most dishonest news organization solemn ceremonies on the anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks at Ground Zero in New York City at the Pentagon and in Shanksville Pennsylvania defense secretary Lloyd Austin saying that for many Americans affected by the attacks it can feel as if life has largely returned to normal but not for those who work at the Pentagon he said we don't just work near a memorial we work in a memorial and Secretary of State Anthony blinkin visits Kei Ukraine with the British foreign secretary pledging another $1.5 billion dollar in Aid And discussing allowing Ukraine to use long range weapons to strike deep into Russian territory story from NBC news Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday yank a government funding bill off the house floor hours before an expected vote after a growing number of disgruntled Republicans vowed to tank the measure following Donald Trump's lead Johnson republican from Louisiana had tied a six-month funding bill to the save act which would overhaul voting laws to require people to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote but now Johnson's strategy to avert a shutdown at the end of the month is up in the air the Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Democrat of New York Democrats and some Republicans are pushing for a clean funding bill that would keep the government open until December after the November elections that was from NBC news Speaker Johnson spoke to reporters in the US Capitol Building what are your plans for this vote tonight let me let me just U say this very clearly the American people demand and deserve that we do everything possible to secure the elections that's what we've been saying consistently that's what I have heard from the people across the country in 198 cities across 39 States it's consist distant from coast to coast north to south we're going to continue to work on this the whip is going to do the hard work and build consensus we're going to work through the weekend on that and I want any member of Congress and either party to explain to the American people why we should not ensure that only US citizens are vo in in US elections we're going to work on that issue around the clock because we have an obligation to the people to do it and that's what the fight is that's what's important it's the most pressing issue right now and uh we're going to get this job done Mr to be clear no vote today no vote no no vote today because we're in the consensus building uh business here in congress with small majorities that's what you do that's what I've been doing since I became speaker we're having thoughtful conversations family conversations within the Republican conference and I believe we'll get there so um people have concerns about all sorts of things that's how the process works and sometimes it takes a little more time so you're going to going to continue pursuing this strategy but not today for a vote two obligations right now Congress has a lot of responsibilities but two primary obligations responsibly fund the government and make sure that our elections are free and fair and secure and that's what we're working on and we'll continue we'll keep you [Music] positive house Speaker Mike Johnson speaking to reporters today in the US Capitol building this week a number of House Republicans publicly said they would vote no on the combined Bill Government funding for six more months at current levels and requiring proof of citizenship to vote one of those Republic in spoke to reporters on the US capital steps Monday Beth vany of Texas I am not voting for it um I look at the the continuation I've never voted for a clean CR I look at as a continuation of Nancy pelosa error spending I've been pushing back I think one of the top things that we've seen in our country is uh Rising debt and it's a problem you know when cost of living is so extreme that people are having to decide whether not to put food on the table or gas in their cars it's an issue we have to address it we can't just keep kick in that that that down the road I voted for the save act I'm for the save act but I think it's too little too late even if we were to enact it even if the Senate passes it even if Biden were to sign it tomorrow I don't think it actually would affect this election congresswoman Beth Van Dy republican from Texas speaking to reporters Monday on the US capital steps today right before speaker Johnson officially took the combined continuing resolution funding the government and that save act proof of US citizenship to vote off of today's schedule floor debate congresswoman Jennifer mclen Democrat of Virginia spoke on the house floor against the save act Mr Speaker once again we find ourselves in the position where rather than passing bipartisan appropriation bills House Republicans have once again loaded must-pass legislation with their Maga wish list this time it's the save act which seeks to address non-citizen voting which is already illegal and punishable by up to 5 years in prison despite no evidence of a widespread problem but what the save act really is is the latest Republican effort to restrict access to The Ballot Box with burdensome proof of citizenship requirements but under this bill Americans would not be able to use their driver's license any state provided ID military or tribal ID the only acceptable form of proof of citizen Citizenship will cost money such as a passport that is a pole tax I took my off of office in this body on the Bible in which my father kept the pole tax receipt as that he had to pay as a reminder of how my family had to fight for the sacred right to vote I will not stand for a new pole tax to be put into federal law and I urge my colleagues to vote no on to today's CR thank you and I you back congresswoman Jennifer McCullen Democrat from Virginia on the house floor earlier today house Speaker Mike Johnson a short time later decided not to bring up that bill that put together a six-month Government funding extension and a bill requiring proof of US citizenship to vote joining us now to talk about all this is the hills Congressional reporter Michael Schnell thanks again for being with us so what is the speaker saying about the status of the combined Bill and especially the government funding portion yeah right now that is on hold remember that was supposed to come up for a vote this afternoon that six Monon continuing resolution um paired with the save act which would require proof citizenship to vote in US elections uh and it had faced mounting opposition within the house Republican conference from Hardline conservatives from defense Haws and then also there was some concern among moderate House Republicans yesterday jnan made it clear he still planned to bring this to the floor I had asked him what would you know the visual be like if this were to fail on the floor and he said well sometimes you have to do what you think is important and let the chips fall where they may well it appears now Johnson does does not want to see where those chips are going to fall or he knows that it would not be a good look for them earlier this morning uh speaker Johnson telling reporter that he's going to pull that package from the vote schedule for this afternoon and take the weekend to build consensus so he's going to try to lock down at least he so he says try to lock down some more support for this package over the weekend maybe we'll see another vote on it next week maybe we'll see a new strategy next week but this is you know continuing with this process to fund the government ahead of the setember 30 shut down deadline before he pulled the bill about how many Republicans said publicly they would not vote for this nine around nine and that was just publicly because remember you're hearing from a number of lawmakers behind the scenes saying that they were either undecided that they had made their decision and did not want to release it yet which you know not a great time for Johnson or folks who said that they were leaning no but they still wanted a par it particularly there were even some moderates earlier this week who were saying they were going to withhold their vote on the legislation until speaker Johnson had said that his plan B was and remember he had said there was no plan B that they were not thinking of any other uh other strategies that this was the one they wanted to move forward with so to back your initial question probably nine but there were sure to be more who would have come out of the woodwork when that vote Hit the Floor uh it would have definitely been been a tough vote for speaker Johnson if everyone uh is in attendance and all Democrats voted no Johnson would they only be able to lose four votes of his own at Congressman Jared golden a moderate Democrat from Maine had said that he was going to vote for this package but that's only going to help them with one person that's only going to move the needle a little bit the opposition was still more than Johnson could lose so he ultimately made the decision that today is not the day to hold this vote so we don't know what could come up next week but what is the speaker's view about a possible government shutdown if he has no plan B Donald Trump posted yesterday that he's in favor of shut down the government if that save act or something similar is not attached to a government funding measure yeah those comments from former president Trump not helpful speaker Johnson's made known that he understands the implication of a shutdown that he does not want that because remember it wouldn't be helpful for him in one of his key goals right now which is expanding the House Majority there are a number of moderate Republicans who are concerned about having the threat of a shutdown so close to election day these are folks who are running in the closest races in the most purple districts whereas shutdown could hurt them at The Ballot Box so johnan knows politically electorally however you want to put it that a shutdown would not be helpful at this juncture so close to the election but you mentioned former president Trump who is really the deao leader of the Republican Party he came out yesterday and said that Republicans should not fund the government unless they deal with election Integrity well that's essentially referring to the save Act and the save Act is a non-starter among Democrats in the Senate and in the house so if Jonathan were to follow Trump's request it would almost certainly end in a government shutdown so those comments not hopeful for the speaker we're going to have to see what he comes back with next week if it's the same save act plus six we six month CR if it's a different tweaked conservative Bill if he jumps right to the by Camara bipartisan negotiations we don't know but he has made it abundantly clear that he does not want to shut down the government I'm talking with Michael Chanel from the hill one more question what is the thinking behind a 6mon continuing resolution that's half of the fiscal year a little longer than we've seen CRS in the past right there's two parts to to the map here a uh Republicans are hoping that former president Trump will win the election in November which means that a six month continuing resolution would give him an opportunity to put his mark on the appropriation process now of course that's a massive gamble right now it's the uh Battleground State polls the national surveys show that this race is very close between Trump and vice president kamla Harris but Republicans are willing to roll that that dice hoping that Trump wins and that he will be able to impact appropriation the second thing is is one thing that Republicans really abhor is what's called an end of the year Omnibus it's basically a very large sweeping package of government funding it compiles all 12 Appropriations bills it's typically crafted by leadership released a few days maybe even hours before a vote Congress votes on that and that is funding for the next fiscal year Republicans hate Omnibus they do not like to fund the government through Omnibus bills so they're hoping that by avoiding that crunch time December uh funding deadline which is usually when it comes down to they're hoping that a six month CR gives Congress enough time to hash out funding ahead of that March 28 deadline and would allow them to prevent an Omnibus now whether or not it's successful we'll have to see but uh Republicans are really hoping that they can keep this as a longer term funding bill though I will note this is the component that's that's sparking concern among Republicans defend talks we heard from chairman Mike Rogers the chairman of the house armed services committee and some other defend talks that they have heard concerned and they are concerned about the impact the six-month CR could have on Pentagon funding that it could wouldn't be adequate enough that's the key concern among that part of the Republican conference so you know we'll have to see what happens with the six month request but it's been a key demand among Carline conservative Michael Chanel is a congressional reporter for the hill her stories are at the hill.com and on Twitter at Michael Schell spell Michael with a Y thank you very much thanks for having me and the Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Democrat from New York came to the senate floor late afternoon to talk about the concept of that six Monon CR he said that that is a nonstarter with the Senate Democrats because they do not want a potential president Trump to put a stamp on the Appropriations process and make no mistake there's no better opportunity for Republicans to Ram these cruel policies down American throats than a government funding fight early next march a six-month CR particularly one that fails to fund important programs some of which I've outlined a few minutes ago is therefore not the answer for avoiding a shutdown later this month speaker Johnson ought not bother with merely delaying his vote he should scrap it scrap his plan and start over speaker Johnson scrap your plan don't just delay the vote find a better one that can pass in a bipartisan way leader jeffri the president and I will gladly and readily work with the speaker to keep the government open just as we worked with him earlier this year on funding levels that honored our agreement from the Deb sealing debate I hope I pray speaker Johnson will soon acknowledge the inevitable we need a bipartisan plan to keep the government open the Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on the senate floor the ISS issues of US citizenship and voting which at the moment is part of that package with the six-month Government funding measure in the house came up today during a house administration Committee hearing titled American confidence in elections looking ahead to the 2024 general election testifying were six secretaries of State here is the chair of the committee Congressman Bri Brian style Republican of Wisconson questioning Ohio Secretary of State Frank lose Republican and Michigan Secretary of State josn Benson a Democrat Mr lose um you uh removed 500 non-citizens from the voting roles uh in reading your remarks and in conversations with you uh you went through took your state um motor vehicle uh database you cross referenced that from the DHS save database uh and were're able to determine that there were 500 noncitizens on your voter roles is that accurate that's accurate Mr chairman and so as we look to to other states uh Mr Fones you said you removed a number of ineligible voters uh Miss Benson you referenced that you removed I think 800,000 ineligible voters over the course of the past five years um did you do the same work uh that Mr lose did where you checked your vehicle database and cross referenced the DHS save database I I'll start with you secretary Benson thank you uh we we actually do a number of things to ensure and review the eligibility of our citizens we do a number of audits actually uh we use the save system uh when people are actually registering uh and getting their license but we can't use it to actually go back and look at people who are already registered um because the way that the system is set up but what we do do so so we could would you utilize it if we if we set it up and get may I respond to the auditing we are already doing which is makes that unnecessary we actually go back and every single person how do you confirm whether or not an individual is citizen without without doing a back check to the save database everyone who goes into our system when they get a license or ID has to show some sort of document doation in that documentation their citizenship is essentially verified whether essentially verified but why not check it against the save database uh we do at that time we but you do you don't retroactively do it in in we are able to do it retroactively based on the database not so in my legislation we actually give States back the access to be able to utilize that Mr lose you were able to do that how were you able to do that we're able to do that based on the agreement that we've reached with DHS to use the save database but there's a hole in using motor vehicle data exclusively because there are some people that don't get a motor vehicle operator's license or don't get a state ID and that's where we're able to fill that hole by also querying the save database which is foolishly they charge us a dollar or something a query to do that I'll I'll note our legislation and in the save act gives States free access to the database and per Mr secretary Fontes his comment with with funding what we're working on is making sure that states have that access unimpeded by cost and giving States access to the US information as to whether or not an individual is a citizen I'd encourage all of you uh to continue to work uh with the federal government to get access as Mr as secretary lose did uh and I'd encourage the house and the Senate to pass uh and ultimately be signed into law the save act uh which would give States full access uh into that database Congressman Brian style republican from Wisconsin chair of the house administration committee questioning Witnesses Frank lose Ohio Secretary of State Republican and JN Benson Michigan secretary State Democrat other Witnesses at the hearing were the secretaries of state from Florida Arizona New Mexico and Wyoming a reuter's article about this hearing reads top election officials from two US states warned a congressional panel on Wednesday that confidence in elections has been eroded by ideological efforts to discredit the system that have spawned unrelenting threats against election workers the two Secretary of State referen in that article New Mexico and Michigan you can find the video of this hearing in its entirety at c-span.org or video library from the New York daily news an estimated 65 million viewers tuned in to watch the debate between former president Trump and vice president Harris preliminary overnight television ratings revealed Wednesday the estimate based on results in the nation's major TV markets is 28% bigger than the number of viewers who saw Trump face off against President Biden in June the debate hosted by ABC Drew an overnight rating of 32.8 and a 70% share of all viewers across eight networks doesn't include C-SPAN was covered on C-Span radio and C-SPAN television we simal cast ABC news but we do not have ratings Donald Trump was interviewed today on Fox News Channel when asked how he thought the debate went he spent the first two minutes of his answer talking about the moderators and the host Network well I looked at the poll numbers I listened to Harold Ford I don't know what he was watching uh because I think he wasn't watching the debate that I was in yesterday I think we did great uh it was 3 to1 it was a rigged deal as as I assumed it would be because when you looked at the uh the fact that they were correcting everything and not correcting with her and we knew it when it was 100% good coverage for her over the last month or last year I looked at it and only bad coverage of me no matter what the the Press is so dishonest in this country it's amazing now I didn't mind because frankly I knew I was pretty sure that's what they would do CNN was much more honorable the debate we had with Biden was a much more honorably run debate but this was incredible I mean everything so many things I said were debunked totally debunked like Charlottesville like uh I could I have a list of seven different things and she could say anything she wanted everything every time I spoke and my stuff was right they'd uh correct you I I thought it was terrible from the standpoint of ABC they're the most dishonest in my opinion the most dishonest news organization and that's saying a lot because they're all essentially really dishonest but I thought I did a great job it was three onone and I thought I did a great job now I we sent you the polls but every single poll last night had me winning like 90 to 10 we had uh uh C-SPAN at one point was at 80 to 20 and I don't know how it finished that was late last night so I have no idea but it was at 8 80 to 20 I told that to Brett Bear and we sent him a lot of polls and we sent you a lot of polls this morning and every single poll had us winning by a lot despite the fact that it was an unfair debate obviously and it was uh it was a three onone and I that's okay I've had worse odds in my life I've had it before but never so obvious a lot of people are very angry about it you know you have corrupt news organizations you have a lot of bad people it's amazing in that business in your business former president Donald Trump Republican Presidential nominee this morning on the Fox News Channel he was also asked whether he would take part in a second debate against vice president kamalo Harris he said I'd be less inclined to because we had a great night we won the debate we had a terrible terrible Network later on on his truth social online platform he wrote in the world the boxing or UFC when a fighter gets beaten or knocked down they get up and scream I demand a rematch demand a rematch well it's no different with the debate she was beaten badly last night every poll has us winning in one case 92 to8 so why would I do a rematch that post from Donald Trump kamla Harris with husband second gentleman Doug mhof stopped by a debate watch party in Philadelphia late Tuesday night after the debate tonight I think highlighted for the American people what's at stake I started the debate by talking about it and it became apparent I think throughout those Dead about an hour and a half that look this is very much two different Visions for our country ours which is a vision for the future and his which is about the past and taking us backward and as I said on the debate stage we are not going back we are not going back and so we know what we're fighting for we know what we stand for and that's why we know what we're fighting for we're fighting for the Dignity of all people we're fighting for the Dignity of work we are fighting for middle class families we are fighting to uplift people understanding the true measure of the strength of a leader is not based on who you be down it's based on who you lift up that's what we stand for and so we've got some work to do because listen I I think that we think today was a good day and it it kind of was but we have 56 days to go and guys we're still the underdogs in this race it's tight we have got to win Pennsylvania and we are going to win Pennsylvania and it is because of you it is because of you who have signed up who have volunteered you are organizing you're helping us to email and text and knock on doors and talk to your neighbors and your friends and here's the thing about the spirit of our campaign it is people driven it is about the people it is about uplifting our country this is a campaign born out of love of country we love our country we believe in who we are we believe in the American people this is a campaign about bringing folks together knowing the vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us Vice president Kam Harris the Democratic Presidential nominee Tuesday night after the presidential debate with Donald Trump attending a watch party in the city of Philadelphia where the debate took place kamla Harris HQ on X writing today our newest ad just dropped and attaches a video of the entire presidential debate 1 hour and 40 minutes this Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Eastern C-SPAN will show an encore presentation of Tuesday's ABC News presidential debate between vice president kamla Harris and former president Donald Trump that's Saturday September 14th 6:30 p.m. Eastern story from axus since Taylor Swift endorsed camela Harris for president Tuesday night more than 306,000 people have visited vote.gov using the voter registration link Swift shared alongside it according to NPR recent polling in Tennessee suggests Swift's opinion could have a small but significant impact on how some of her fans vote an April poll from the beacon Center libertarian political Think Tank found 37% of registered Tennessee voters considered themselves Taylor Swift fans within that group of swifties 12% said that if Taylor Swift endorsed a candidate for president or US Senate it would make them more likely to vote for that candidate that is a small sliver of the electorate and it isn't expected to sway the results in Tennessee where polls show former president Trump is a commanding lead the beacon Center poll could be more impactful in close swing states where results often come down to the wire that was from axus and from the Delaware News Journal state senator Sarah McBride a Democrat will face Republican John whan III for Delaware seat in Congress in November's election if elected McBride would be the first transgender person elected to federal office and the youngest elected official Delaware has sent to Washington since Joe Biden won a senate seat in 1972 statistically McBride is the favorite November registered Democrats out number of Republican voters in Delaware by nearly 150,000 that was from the Delaware News Journal Sarah McBride spoke to her supporters at a victory party Tuesday night tonight we celebrate our victory in the primary we all know that our work is far from over and we know what is at stake in this election we know what is on the line with the Maga extremists who are on our ballot here in November in Delaware we know what happens if Donald Trump wins and Republicans get the full control of Congress they will not hesitate one second to pass their project 2025 agenda instead instead of protecting and enhancing Social Security and Medicare they will gut them instead of improving public schools and expanding access to child care they will defund them instead of protecting access to reproductive Health Care they will ban it our rights and our freedoms our dignity and our democracy are on the line in this election but so too is the promise of tomorrow because we aren't just here because of what's at risk we are also here because of what is possible we are here because we love this state and this country and we know that we can come together to build a government that truly sees and respects all of us we know it's possible to guarantee quality affordable health care for every patient to provide affordable housing and child care for every family we know it's possible to rebuild the middle class with a livable wage strong benefits and thriving unions we know it's possible to protect reproductive freedom and to end the scourge of gun violence once and for all y'all hope and Joy are making a comeback in America in 2024 Sarah McBride Tuesday night after winning the Democratic primary for the only US House seat in Delaware if she wins the general election in November she would become the first openly transgender person elected to congress in an interview with the Associated Press she said the goodness of delawarians who judge a candidate based on ability not identity contributed to her success and she said I'm not running to make history are running to make historic progress for delawarians Wall Street today the Dow up 124 NASDAQ up 369 S&P up 58 inflation continues to loosen its grip on American consumers right CNN with price hikes slowing by the most in three and a half years according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Wednesday the Consumer Price Index a measure of price changes for a commonly purchased basket of goods and services briskly retreated from a 2.9% annual increase in July to 2.5% in August marking the lowest annual increase since February 2021 and landing at a rate that matched the average seen in 2018 that was reporting from CNN Senator John baraso republican from Wyoming talked about the economy and the inflation report today on the senate floor we learned this morning the new numbers have come out on inflation prices are higher today day than they were the day that the uh Biden Harris Administration took over by over 20% I hear about it in Wyoming every weekend heard it about it this past weekend how high prices have become and the crushing effect that that's had on families uh in my state in Wyoming and all around the country this has been going on now for over three years prices have continued to go up and this crisis of high prices has been cumulative the impact on families cumulative and it is regrettably causing very hard choices for families to make shouldn't be this way here's a recent headline from CBS News it said more Americans are having to choose between food and energy bills clearly this is a reflection on the Biden Harris Administration sen John baraso republican from Wyoming today on the senate floor President Joe Biden put out a written statement about the inflation report today's report shows we are making real progress with inflation falling to 25% continuing at the lowest level in more than 3 years story from CBS News the nation's more than 70 million Social Security recipients may want to temper their expectations of how much more they'll be getting in 2025 retirees are looking at an average monthly bump of $48 or an increase of 2.5% according to projections released on Wednesday the 2025 cost of living adjustment or Cola which is based on the rate of inflation is now forecast to come in below last month's 2.57% calculation the senior citizens League an advocacy group of for older Americans said that was from CBS News the Social Security commissioner Martin Ali testified today on Capitol Hill before the Senate budget committee about the long-term solvency of Social Security and in his opening statement he said his agency's budget needs to be increased or customer service he said will suffer Social Security today not 10 years from now but today is struggling to serve more customers than ever with Staffing levels reduced to 50-year lows and I do not believe for a moment that this was the intention of Congress but the cold result is customer service for which Americans have already paid by working their whole lives has now been reduced to crisis level what does that crisis level look like you've heard the calls and you've heard the cries hourong Waits sometimes an hour and a half on the 800 number uh Financial hardships inflicted often times on our elderly and most vulnerable citizens through no fault of their own because of overpayments and the Injustice of underpayments that it takes us too long to catch up to and in far too many states almost a yearlong wait now a year long wait just for the initial disability determination with a record backlog of 1.2 million cases cases members of the committee this is what happens when an agency is forced to serve more and more and more people with fewer and fewer and fewer staff and the American people deserve better in fact they've already paid for better I know your offices have received their calls we see their faces every day and 1,211 now underst staff field offic all across America so you might be heartened to learn that in recent months with your advice consent and and support not withstanding the enormity of the challenge we have taken bold steps to achieve real and measurable progress on some of our toughest problems we have now reduced the weight times on the 800 number by 50% we have eliminated the the clawback cruelty by changing policies so that we no longer intercept 100% of a retirees check in order to recoup the overpayment we have cleared now for the first time in recent memory we have cleared more cases every week for 12 weeks in a row in the initial disability determinations than have been filed on the front end of that process and we have reduced the alj you know the appellant level hearing backlog to a 30-year low but make no mistake about it these recent gains will be shortlived without your immediate attention and support Social Security Administration commissioner Martin Ali before the Senate budget committee the Biden Administration has proposed a Social Security Administration budget for fiscal year 2025 which starts October 1st of $15.4 billion the Senate Appropriations Committee led by democrats proposed $14.7 billion and the house controlled by Republicans want $ 13.7 billion Washington today continues in a moment C-SPAN now is a free mobile app featuring your unfiltered view of what's happening in Washington live and On Demand keep up with the day's biggest events with live streams of floor proceedings and hearings from the US Congress White House events the courts campaigns and more from the world of politics all at your fingertips you can also stay current with the latest episodes of Washington Journal and find scheduling information for c-span's TV networks and C-SPAN radio plus a variety of compelling podcasts c-pam now is available at the Apple Store and Google Play scan the QR code to download it for free today or visit our website c-span.org cpan now cpan now your front row seat to Washington anytime [Music] anywhere welcome back to Washington today available as a podcast on the C-SPAN now mobile app it's free and wherever you find your podcasts from CNN President Joe Biden vice president KL Harris former president Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance are commemorating the 23rd anniversary of the September 11th attacks appearing to put political hostilities on the back burner for a moment as the nation remembers the tragedy all four leaders were in New York on Wednesday for a commemoration event at Ground Zero in Manhattan Trump and Harris just hours past their first in-person meeting at the presidential debate Tuesday night sh hands ahead of solemn commemorative ceremonies after Harris turned toward Trump and both extended a hand nearly 3,000 people were killed when islamist terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners on September 11th 2001 two planes were crashed into each of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan another plane was crashed into the Pentagon and the fourth crashed in a field in rural Pennsylvania after passengers tried to thwart the hijacking that was the article from CNN President Biden and vice president Harris also laid wreaths at Memorial in Shanksville Pennsylvania today and then at the Pentagon and Donald Trump later wreath in Shanksville Minnesota Governor Tim Walls the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee is attending a 911 anniversary event in St Paul at Ground Zero New York City there was the traditional reading of the names of those who died SE David ayama and my grandfather Edward Joseph Papa Grandpa Eddie although I never got a chance to meet you we share many of the same interest not only do we share the same name but I also love to play golf I also love the mess and playing baseball just like you did people always tell me we share we share the same smile and happy energy I wish I could have met you and I hope you're all making you proud and my dad Steven Francis schlag I love him and miss him as ever all the years combin they melt into a dream life is good it's 88 and sunny similar ceremonies took place at the Pentagon and in the field in Pennsylvania recitation of the names of each person killed on September 11th 2001 along with moments of Silence when the planes struck the targets that day at the Pentagon ceremony defense secretary Lloyd Austin talked about not letting the memory of the 9/11 attacks Fade with time we have repaired the the damage to this building but we cannot repair the damage to your hearts no words can take away your grief no amount of time can make sense of the worst terrorist attack in American history and I know that for those whose lives were changed Forever on 9/11 it can feel as if more and more Americans are returning to normal life on each new September 11th but not here not at the Pentagon because we remember the men and women of the Department of Defense remember and we always will every September We Gather here near 184 memorial benches but the troops and the Personnel of this department don't need to come to this space to remember 911 you see we don't just work near a memorial we work in a Memorial every day we serve in the only surviving building struck by Al-Qaeda on 911 and every day we carry a powerful sense of purpose and that's why there's a piece of the wreckage from 9911 on display outside my inner office for every visitor and every teammate to see it is a constant reminder that 9/11 isn't a part of our distant history it is entwined in the Department's Mission and it's captured in the stories of those who are here defense secretary Lloyd Austin at the 9/11 attack anniversary ceremony at the Pentagon this morning story from axus the number of New York City fire department members who have died from 9911 related illnesses in the decades since the attack now surpasses the number who died that day the FDNY added the names of 32 individuals who died from health issues stemming from the rescue and Recovery efforts of the World Trade Center to its memorial wall bringing the total number who have died from Ground Zero related illnesses to over 360 on the day the towers were struck 343 FDNY members died that was from axus this is Washington today Associated Press reporting from Ukraine the United States and Britain pledged nearly $1.5 billion dollar in additional Aid to Ukraine on Wednesday during a visit to keev by their top diplomats as Ukrainian officials renewed their pleas to use Western provided missiles against targets deeper into Russia at a news conference Secretary of State Anthony blinkin was asked about the long range weapons thanks very much Michael burb from The Washington Post um Mr secretary Mr foreign secretary um question about attacks uh how and longrange missiles storm Shadows how worried are you at this point about managing escalation with Russia based on your conversations today and does the Ukrainian desire to use attack and storm Shadows long- rage missiles against the Kirch Bridge uh that connects crime to Mainland Russia makes sense to you strategically um and what's your personal view of whether Ukraine needs this long-range capability of striking into Russian territory especially now that as you say Iran has Phil facilitated um uh Russia's ability to strike more deeply into uh Ukraine um first we had a very good discussion today with uh the foreign minister with president ziny with his whole team about um situation on the battlefield uh Ukraine's objectives and uh what it needs to succeed uh going forward uh and among other things we discussed long range fires but a number of other things as well and as I said at the outset um I'm going to take that discussion back uh to Washington uh to uh brief the president on on what I heard I know that uh that David's doing the same and both of our bosses no doubt will discuss this when they meet um later this week actually on Friday uh in Washington um just speaking for the United States um from day one as you've heard me say uh we have uh adjusted and adapted as needs have changed as the battlefield has changed um and I have no doubt that we'll continue to do that as this uh this as this evolves you you referenced uh escalation of course that's one of the factors that we always consider but it's certainly not uh the only factor and um it uh it's not necessarily a dispositive factor um we um have provided as you know extraordinary support to Ukraine over these uh more than two years uh not just training uh not just money but among our most sophisticated weapon systems again tied to what their needs are tied to what can make them most uh most effective and I think the track record is is there uh we're determined to ensure that they have what they need to succeed uh and when it comes to escalation you made the point yourself uh we've seen Russia now uh pursue and indeed escalate its attacks inside Ukraine on civilians on energy infrastructure uh as well as on the Ukrainian military that's defending its country and uh We've now seen this action of Russ Russia acquiring ballistic missiles from Iran which will further Empower their aggression in Ukraine uh so uh if anyone is taking escalatory action it would appear to be Mr Putin uh and Russia um I'll leave uh specific uh uh targets and and questions for the uh the the experts and of course I don't have personal views I have professional views uh in my capacity as Secretary of State and um I'll be uh sharing what we've learned on this trip with the president in the coming days Secretary of State Anthony blinkin at a news conference in keev Ukraine with the British foreign secretary and Ukrainian foreign minister they also had meetings earlier with Ukrainian President Vladimir zalinski story from the hill.com top housee Republicans this week called on President Biden to reverse a policy that prevents Ukraine from using americanmade weapons to strike deep inside of Russia arguing that restrictions have hampered ke's quote ability to defeat Russia's war of aggression and have given the kremlin's forces a sanctuary from which can attack Ukraine with impunity and in Washington the house continued working on bills that the house select committee on the Chinese Communist party has called China week bills to quote protect Americans against the military economic ideological and technological threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party one bill passed today would restrict Chinese Nationals from buying us Farmland Congressman Mike flood republican from Nebraska voted yes according to the USDA as of 2022 foreign individuals held an interest in over 43 million Acres of us Eggland for context 43 million acres is larger than the State of Florida and greater than the total land area of 29 US states between December of 21 and December of 22 privately held foreign a land increased by more than 3 million acres and now accounts for 3.4% of all privately held agricultural lands in the US this is a real problem and it's growing our nation's land is linked to our national security our food supply and energy resources the rising trend of foreign ownership is highly concerning the USDA is responsible for collecting data and reporting to Congress on foreign owned Agland but that's it in its own words the USDA does not have a role in reviewing the purchase or sale of Agland in our country Additionally the USDA has failed to penalize improper filing of Agland transactions by Foreign Nationals further emphasizing its lack of sufficient enforcement Authority in this area let me be clear foreign a land ownership is a national security issue and it should be treated as such over the last several years we've all experienced firsthand the detrimental impact food and energy supply chain disruptions can have on our communities therefore it's simply common sense that we passed this bill to expand cifas and better address this ongoing threat Congressman Mike flood republican from Nebraska today on the house floor Congressman Mark Tano Democrat from California spoke in opposition to the bill HR 9456 would expand the kind of transactions that the secretary of agriculture is required to report to the committee on foreign foreign investment in the US or otherwise known as cfus including any Farmland transaction by for forign Persons Of China North Korea Russia or Iran this broad definition of foreign persons would Encompass all legal immigrants and refugees from these countries and require the secretary to report on their agricultural land transactions this opens the door to treating immigrants as National Security threats solely because of their country country of origin and harms Asian-American communities across the board I just want to account that my own family my father's family uh uh was affected by the alien land laws that were prevalent on the west coast of the United States my grandfather isal Tano immigrated to this country through uh the port of Tacoma and uh he married uh my American Born grandmother uh he was not able to purchase land in his own name uh and and uh in and in fact to in the in the mid-30s purchased 5 acres of land through my grandmother's name uh and because she was an American citizen uh but it but for the fact that uh uh my uncle was returning in uniform from the 442nd Infantry notified the family that there was a lean against the property and they couldn't pay it in time because they were in interment camps it's a terrible chapter in our history that this country uh passed uh Alien land laws that uh affected so many of the families that my family uh knows Congressman Mark Tano Democrat from California on the house floor the house passed this bill by vote of 269 to 149 another bill passed by the house today requires any pandemic related agreement of the World Health Organization W must be considered and ratified by the US Senate as a treaty passed with a 2/3 majority vote to be legally binding on the United States House passed that bill 219 to 199 two of the more than half dozen bills brought up in the house this week regarding China thanks for listening to Washington today subscribe to cpan free evening newsletter word for word and you'll get the stories making headlines in Washington sent to your inbox every day sign up at c-span.org connect have a good night a [Music]