Issues of this past week. If you want to talk about any of those topics or have another on your mind, give us a call. Host you can also catch up with us on social media on twitter, facebook, or email us. Host a very good friday morning to you. The top issues of the week of become the top issues of friday morning papers. Here are a few of the headlines from the National Papers around the country. Here is front page of the Washington Times republican budget plans will be a tough sell even within the party. A story about the Iranian Nuclear negotiation Democrats Join ranks against iran nuclear deal. Islamic state claims attack in tunisia that kills 20 tourist. Congress is debating use of military force against isis. The wall street journal talking about that highprofile Federal Reserve meeting this week. Currencies go on wild ride, fueled by fed is the headline there. New york times, two stories on the israeli election this week. One is a political analysis piece on how it could reverberate and impact of potential clinton election. We want to hear from your viewers and what are your top issues of this past week as we begin the spring here on washington journal. Host a couple tweets and comments from facebook and twitter. Kathy says the top issues are israeli election, hillary getting attacked again, being retired, and having to pay both federal and state tax checks. On our Facebook Page facebook. Com Cspan Anthony says same as last week, secure the borders, and carolyn below that, increase in violence and hatred. Civil society is disappearing. A big issue this week on capitol hill the release of the congressional budget plan by house and Senate Republicans. Here is one chart on that budget plan. Spending projections through 2025 is the chart in todays Washington Times. Heres president obamas budget plan that was released earlier this year. By 2025, 6. 17 trillion a Year Spending plan. For the Senate Republicans 5. 03 trillion. Earlier this week, the gop Budget Committee held a press conference and Committee Chairman tom price summarized the gop 2016 spending plan. Here is a bit of what he had to say in that news conference. [video clip] rep. Price it gets to balance within 10 years without raising taxes. We responsibly laid out a plan for a healthy economy, an opportunity economy, one that opens the doors to for people, not subjects them to the dictates of washington, d. C. We strengthened medicare and medicaid instead of allowing them to continue on their pastor insolvency, which apparently is what the president s plan is. We recognize providing for our military men and women in a families, and to respect their service. Our budget spends more on National Defense that the president s, and we do so in a responsible way that lays out a path to address the ongoing concerns of the military so they are better able to plan and prepare and meet current challenges and those in the future. Host that was Republican Leaders talking this week about the budget plans in the house the budget plans in the house and Senate Released this week. We will be talking about it all next week on capitol hill. Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell plans to proceed to debate on that budget resolution beginning next week in the house is also expected to take it up. Sally writes that the budget plans are her top issue of the week. A headline on that on the opinion page of Washington Post. This by robert kagan today. Republicans need to back up their prodefense top with funding. Noting that president obama is proposing an increase in the budget, 38 billion above the sequester, robert kagan writes that the editorial writers and columnists beating up obama and cheering republicans need to tell republicans and their own leaders that National Security costs money and letters and speeches are worse than meaningless without it. Those calling for a tougher approach as they run for president need to say loudly and frequently while traveling to iowa and New Hampshire and florida that a central plank of their candidacy and a central goal of the presidency is breaking sequester and increasing spending on defense. One of the many pieces written about the budget plans this week. What is your top issue of this past week on this friday morning on washington journal. Cap, florida, our line for independents. Good one, john. Caller yes, here we go again. The same neoconservative mindset that got us into iraq, that wrongfully got us into iraq, is being executed by these 46 republican senators. They basically want us to now attack iran because that is the only option they are presenting us with. Basically, their motivation is to serve the likud party of israel. Why not support the labour party of israel, the peaceful people the good party of israel . I think it is terrible that these hawks, whether they be israeli or american, they first one is to attack iran, they got us into iraq, that was a disaster, and now they want to get us into another disaster iran. Thank you very much. Host john in tampa florida. Baltimore, maryland, our line for democrats. Caller good morning, sir. My question why is the republican, each time they need the presidency, they become very hostile and begin to attack and attack and tear down the president . Why do they behave like that . During the time of bill clinton, president bill clinton, they shut down government, continued to do every havoc to the government. Now obama they keep shutting down government. Why do they behave like that . Is there a way to sanction republicans from being crude and hostile to government . Host are you talking currently this past week . Have you been watching the impasse over the nomination of Loretta Lynch and how it has affected some of the legislation moving in the senate this week . Caller which one are you talking about . I dont know about that. Host is that some of the gridlock you are talking about your and your concerns or are you just talking much shutdowns in general . Caller shutdown every time, shut down each time they dont have their way they shut down government. Host up next and other mobile row, maryland, staying in maryland, line for democrats. Jen, good morning to. Caller good morning, this is jen. Host what is your cap issue on capital hill . Caller the mistreatment of the office of the presidency specifically mr. Obama. I believe these republicans are behaving as they are because he is black. There is no other way to look at it. And we forget that when he was elected, they all got together and took an oath that they would do nothing to aid him in his success as president. It is horrible how they treat him. It is disrespectful of the office of the president for them to continue to behave as they are doing. Host jen, do you think it could be a disagreement in his policies, why republicans are trying to block him . Why do you think it is specifically because of his race . Caller well, because when we go back to the beginning, they said they would not do anything for him to be able to pass any bells. If there were any successful bills passed it would get credit on his presidency. In addition to that, when you look back at history, other president s because of how democracy is set up, they are supposed to debate and all that but they go out of their way to block him, everything he wants to do. We try to pass one bill, they get their topic, their issues past. Host race starting to be injected into the fight over the attorney general nomination of Loretta Lynch after some comments from senator dick durbin on the floor of the senate this week. Here is the headline from politico on this. We will talk more about this in our final half hour of todays show. Just a bit of the headline from politico, parties dig in on a Loretta Lynch confirmation fight. The story noting that despite her qualifications and reputation as a fairminded prosecutor from the Eastern District of new york lynchs nomination has generated growing criticism from the right. The opposition mostly stems from her assertion that president barack obama acted constitutionally in differing deportations of roughly 5 million Illegal Immigrants after the election in november. We will be asking callers in the last halfhour of todays show specifically about that confirmation battle, whether you think she should be confirmed. For the next half hour our phones are up and on your top issues for the past week in capitol hill. Adam is calling in from michigan on our line for independents. Caller hey, how is it going, mr. Mcardle . Host good, go ahead. Caller i just want to say that i was kind of i dont want to say disgusted, but offended by the speeches, Senate Republicans, tom cotton, marco rubio, had on the senate floor yesterday. I think these guys are really unreasonable. They use really illogical arguments to get their points across. I think they are like some of the reasons why people really dont like politicians especially marco rubio. I think that guys just an idiot, man. Host that is adam calling in from michigan. Bringing up tom cotton, among the members that he disagrees with. Tom cotton was the lead author of that letter that was sent to the iranian leaders ended the Nuclear Negotiations that garnered so much attention. On monday, tom cotton took to the senate floor and offered his maiden floor speech as United States senator, freshman senator. He talked about the nuclear deal and an armed iran. Here is what he had to say. [video clip] sen. Cotton the threat of terrorism brings us to iran, the worst state sponsor of terrorism. My jacksons to the ongoing Nuclear Negotiations are wellknown and need not be rehearsed here. I will civilly note that the deal foreshadowed by the president allowing iran to have Nuclear Capabilities and exiting an Expiration Date on any agreement, to quote Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu, does not block irans path to the bomb. It paves irans path to the buffet if you think, as i do, the Islamic State is dangerous and nucleararmed Islamic Republic is even more so. Host if you want to watch that speech by senator tom cotton, go to cspan. Org and watch the entire event. One where headline obam to iran seize the moment. The president s comments came for the persian new year celebration as the talks entered a critical stretch. The president said Nuclear Talks have made progress with gaps remain and irans leaders have a choice between two paths ahead. Kerry is up next in kansas city, missouri, line for democrats. What is your top issue in the past week from capitol hill . Caller well jen from a while ago said almost word for word what is it for me. I would like to see cspan have two great historians on and discussed by comparison how Ronald Reagan was treated with so much respect and dignity, and examples of how our president has been treated with disdain. I think 30 years from now when the books are written and there will be a whole lot of them written about this president the that this presidency, that it will prove that statements like we disagree with him on policy, those are code words for we disagree with him because we dont want a black president. There is a racial element. I am a white person, but there was a racial element going on with this presidency that is historic. Just like anything else, time will tell. I appreciated jen. I thought, well, that is exactly what is on my mind, that these historians who will write these histories and gather the news magazine topics where they show the quotes, you lie and all that stuff, and put them side by side with quotes from the other presidencies and show how this president has been treated, it will show the disrespect that has a racial element to it. Host terry in kansas city, missouri this morning. This coming up amid the debate over the nomination of Loretta Lynch. Cnn some black leaders say race is playing a role in the delay. Congressman g. K. Butterfield of North Carolina is the head of the Congressional Black Caucus, joined other black leaders in a press call Tuesday Morning this week, calling on black Media Outlets and members of the public to wrap up their pressure on senator Mitch Mcconnell to bring lynchs nomination to the floor. I speak for the Congressional Black Caucus and i can tell you that the cbc is disturbed and that is putting it mildly. We are greatly disturbed that this confirmation is now taking more than four months to work its way through the senate. The sad thing is that votes are there today to get her confirmed. There is no question about it. If senator mcconnell would put this Nomination Committee report on the floor she would be the attorney general by the time the sunsets this afternoon. That from cnn. Com and their reporting on it. Comments from senator dick durbin of illinois also bringing this issue up. They caused senator john mccain to take to the senate floor yesterday to respond to some of dick durbins comments print here is a bit of senator mccains statements. [video clip] senator mccain perhaps my colleagues and senator from illinois in particular need to be reminded of their own record. In 2012, Janice Rogers brown, an africanamerican was nominated to serve on the u. S. Court of appeals for the District Of Columbia, a court that had never included africanamerican woman judge. The senator from illinois voted to filibuster her nomination in 2003 and again in 2005 when she was finally confirmed after waiting 684 days. The senator from illinois voted against the historic nomination. I would never suggest, even with veiled rhetoric, that judge rogers browns race was the reason for the senator from illinois opposition to her nomination. And he should extend i say to my colleague from illinois he should extend the same courtesy to me and my colleagues. Host we will be talking more about that in the last halfhour of todays washington journal. The snow starts to come down this morning on capitol hill here in washington, d. C. Our phone lines are up and to talk about your top issues of the week from capitol hill. Pennsylvania, life for republicans. Life for republicans. Caller my coming through clear . Host yes you are jay. Caller john mccain just stole my thunder. Dick durbin was race baiting and saying that she was pushed to the back of the bus, which is a racial statement designed to inflame racial hatred, which is what the democrats do. He also voted against Condoleezza Rice, i believe. The lady from missouri was hilarious. Ronald reagan was treated with respect . I was alive back then, i was a teenager, i remember send donaldson Sam Donaldson stalking him, screaming him. The media was aligned against him, hollywood was aligned against him. He was going to destroy the world. Yet in 1984 he want everything the state except minnesota won every single state except minnesota. It was because of democrats, they called them reagan democrats. He won massachusetts, believe it or not. When it comes to obama being black, this craps got a stop. There is a lot of guys i respect who i only found out later they happen to be black ok . People like walter williams, thomas sowell, incredible conservative minds that i would love to support as president. They are getting up there in years. Allenan keyes, was a great guy christian, prolife, patriot yet he was mocked by the media destroyed. It is all about ideology. Lets put it this way for the lady from missouri if barack obama was a charming articulate, prolife proamerican, conservative republican, democrats would have been terrified of him and they wouldve destroyed him. They wouldve done like they did to alan keyes, they made him into a fool, called him an uncle tom. Not this crap knock this crap off that it is about his race. It is the Democrat Party which is obsessed with caller, color, hyphenated americanism. It is the Republican Party which believes in individual liberty first an individuals first and groups. Also wanted that is basically all i wanted to say. My issue this week was the starbucks coffeehouse ceo who wants us to go to starbucks and talk about race, which is really ridiculous. Racetogether theyre going to print on all their starbucks there is very few starbucks, i think, in inner cities. Maybe you should build some down there. Host jay from pennsylvania. On that starbucks issue, a fullpage spread in todays usa today about that. We will be talking about that issue this weekend in whenever our opening segments of washington journal. Minnesota, line for independents. Stephen, good morning. Caller hey john. I have a suggestion and a comment. I would like to see the National Debt clock every morning at least for 30 seconds so i can look at that and see it. Host you want that on washington journal every morning, stephen . Caller yeah, even when you are talking, just show it up so people got to see. It doesnt make any difference what these democrats or republicans are doing. If we dont get this controlled, it doesnt make any