welcome back to "face the nation." we want to continue our conversation now with congressman henry cuellar. congressman, in a letter to the president this week, you warned this week when title 42 lifts, you'll have a complete lost of operational control over the southern border. and that's going to have a profoundly negative impact on border communities. you know, the white house is saying that they've got a plan here. why are you saying they don't? what is it that you are hearing? >> you know, they've been talking about this plan for the last two years. they've been playing -- blaming the republicans blaming

congress. how long is this plan going to take? when will it take effect? i've seen that plan, with all due respect, a lot of it deals with processing, moving migrants from the border over to the interior. we need to have a way that we can have a policy where if title 42 goes away, looks like it's going to go away unless the supreme court steps in, if it goes away, they have to have a policy of an orderly pathway to asylum through our bridges. if they don't follow that pathway, they need to go back. you know, they got to have something in place. with all due respect, i've looked at that plan, and i don't think it's -- you know, they've been talking about it. it hasn't worked. now, they're asking for the $3 billion or so. it's mainly for food and shelters, processing, transportation, but it doesn't really talk about security. >> so, you also pledge in this letter to work on bipartisan legislation.

that's not going to get done in the next few days. what is it that you're envisioning in the new congress possible with a republican-controlled house? >> definitely the only thing we can do is add more money. i don't know if it will be the $3 billion, but moneys there to meet the president's request, or as much as possible, number one. next year, i mean, it's going to be a show in so many ways. you know, impeaching the secretary doesn't move us one inch closer to solving the issues. and i hope that we can have the president. the president can do this, can implement a policy of an orderly process for asylum at the bridges. if not, they go back. they have to have a consequence. the president can do that. look, compete in mind -- >> through executive order? >> well, look at it, president obama didn't have immigration reform, didn't have all the things people have been asking for, but he was able to manage

the border in a much better place -- way. so, the president, president biden can do this. but with all due respect, i think his advisers are doing a disservice to him. >> i'm sure the white house would say it's a hemispheric surge, worse than it's ever been. i want to get it to something you've been raising consistently as you've been faulting president biden for failing to visit the border. policy experts would say, a photo op doesn't do much. to you, what does going to the border actually achieve? do you think the reason he hasn't gone is because the white house thinks it's going to backfire? the border agents you're talking about will be dio him? the are different ways to go to the border. he doesn't have to go there just for a photo op. a leader has to show images of being up there in the front. he can do that. he can do it in so many ways.

and i'm not asking for a photo op, but i think the message that will go to not only the men and women in green and blue but to the border communities. i'm more interested in the border communities will say, hey, look, i'm the president of the united states. i'm here at the border. border communities, i feel your pain. >> all right. congressman, we will be watching what happens in the coming days. good luck to you and your community. we'll be right back. you could manufacture a whole new way of manufacturing. you could disrupt buying habits before they disrupt your business. you could fire up a new generation of start-ups. and fuel the search for what comes next. so...what are you waiting for? go. baker tilly.

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we go to keisha lance bottoms. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> immigration is top of mind here. you just heard from two democrats who have been sharply critical of the administration not doing more in the face of this expiration of title 42. what is the administration doing to urge migrants not to come? >> well, the administration has been working for months,

planning for the end of title 42. and you have to remember, margaret, these aren't people who are attempting to illegally cross the border. these are people who are presenting themselves, asking that they be processed in accordance with the laws of the united states. so, people have to remember, title 42 is a public health emergency order. if title 42 goes away, we will then go back to title 8, which allows for a process, which is the reason why the administration has asked congress to fund more than $3 billion to help us provide the resources that will be needed to process these migrants to make sure that people are treated humanely, to make sure the bordering communities have the resources they need. we need congress to be a partner in this. we need congress to act because this is a global issue that we

are facing. and the white house alone can't do it. we need support from congress. >> so, i mean, you make an important point that it is a right to be able to ask for asylum. what happens when title 42 goes away, pe can't be expelled -- it what it allowed for was expelling without the guarantee of an asylum hearing. this means people will be able to stay until they get their day in court. this means more people coming into the united states. they may be in a process that could last years, frankly. so, that's why i come back to that fundamental question of what is the white house doing to say, don't come to the border and try to claim asylum? >> well, what the white house has done, has said very publicly, that we want people to avail themselves of a lawful process. what we are seeing happening is many people are taking advantage

of the fact that title 42 may go away this week. we see many people exploiting migrants, saying, come now or you lose your ability to come at all. and that is simply not the case. again, this is not just the issue we're facing in the united states. this is a global issue, so the president has been working very closely with our partners across the global to address this global issue. but we also need partnership at home. we need partnership from congress. we need to focus on what this decades old issue is. that issue is making sure we have comprehensive immigration reform. not focusing on trying to impeach the people land security secretary. you think about impeachment. impeachment is for misdemeanor -- high crimes and misdemeanors, bribery, treason. this is a difference in policy approach. not the best use of our resources. certainly not the best use of

the time that congress has to work with the white house to address this issue. >> okay. so, we are about to face that republican-controlled house. it looks like gridlock. that doesn't really get you to a place for bipartisan reform. if we are only left with executive actions, what can president biden do? >> well, margaret, i want to remind you that in the first two years in office, president biden has signed over 200 bipartisan bills. he's not giving up in working in a bipartisan manner to address immigration on an issue we should all be concerned about. what we need is funding from congress. we need to continue to work towards comprehensive immigration reform. the president has said he wants to get things done in a bipartisan manner. the american people have said they want us to work together in a bipartisan manner. we need everyone at the table with ideas. remember, republicans will control the house.

so, the need for republicans in congress to say what they won't do has now been removed. now, tell us what you will do to work with the president to make sure that we have comprehensive immigration reform. but in the immediate future, we need funding for the resources that will make sure that we can address the immediate needs on the ground. >> are democratic leaders telling you you will get the $3.4 billion? >> well, we're going to keep trying. we're going to keep pushing. it's our hope, we're working daily around the clock with members of congress to make sure that funding is in place because those resources are needed. this is, again, not just a democratic issue, it's not a republican issue. this is an issue that impacts us all, even those of us that don't live in states on the border. you heard senator manchin talk about the needs in west virginia and how immigration reform is needed in west virginia to help with the economy in west virginia.

so, we're going to keep working around the clock. pe don't see the president at the border doesn't mean that he's not working. >> right. why doesn't he go to the border? he was just in arizona. why wasn't it worth his time? >> you have to remember, margaret, when the president travels, it's not like you or i jumping on an airplane, getting off and going to our destination. everything comes to a halt. all of these things are in consideration for the president. is that the best use of resources? all of the resources that will be diverted on the ground when the president makes a visit. >> is that why he didn't go? >> that visit -- well, i can't speak to why he has or has not gone. i'm just speaking to the fact that it's a bit more disruptive for the president of the united states to travel than you or i. but what the president has done is continued to lean in on this immigration issue. it's something that he ran on. and what we know over the past two years, every single thing

that the president has run on, he's put time and resources into addressing it. so, immigration, we know, is a problem that he did not create. issues with immigration are decadeslong issues, and he will continue to lean in through the white house and through the congress to get comprehensive immigration reform done. >> all right. we'll be watching for that. thank you for your time today. we'll be back in a moment. tomorrow senator raphael warnock in his first interview since defeating herschel walker in the georgia runoff. on "cbs mornings" tomorrow.

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despite some hopeful new economic indicators, consumers are watching their spending this holiday season. mark strassmann has more from atlanta. >> reporter: tis the season to be jittery, with an economy offering both the spirit of here's agiftescog >> inflation is coming down in america. >> reporter: down for the fifth straight month from its june peak. gas prices dropped more than 50 cents over the last month, averaging $3.15 a gallon. a steal compared to mid-june, when typical gas prices began with a number five. inflation's easing, but it's become a siege. still above 7%, still near a

40-year high. >> the u.s. economy has slowed significantly from last year's rapid pace. >> reporter: no surprise the fed this week raised interest rates again. this time by half a percentage point. >> without price stability, the economy doesn't work for anyone. >> reporter: the fed's seventh rate hike this year stokes another worry. >> it's clear that the fed is not done. they're going to continue to raise interest rates, more likely than that push us into recession. >> reporter: recession pesism feels scrooge along with a bear stock market, a housing slump, a drop in manufacturing output. november's retail sales were the biggest decline this year. worrisome to retailers, shoppers spent less in holiday categories. electronics, clothing, toys. >> i am definitely doing couponing, amazon deals, shopping local, and obviously, like, making my own stuff. >> reporter: the holiday shopping season is the time of

year when retailers need consumers to feel jolly. but for millions of shoppers, this year's goal, find gifts that fit under the tree and into their budget. margaret? >> mark strassmann, thank you. another thing americans are watching closely, that surge of viruses inundating us this holiday season. dr. scott gottlieb is former fda commissioner and pfizer board member. we welcome you back, dr. gottlieb. >> thanks a lot. >> the white house says this is the worst flu outbreak in a decade. rsv, covid, they're surging. 77% of icu beds in the country are currently full. how dangerous are these next few weeks? >> it's going to be a difficult few weeks. we're right in the thick of respiratory pathogen season the worst in recent memory. it's being driven largely by flu. this is an historic year for

flu. covid is exacerbating that. we have an epidemic of rsv, which seems to be abating. fu is peaking in some areas, decreasing in the south and rising in the north. covid is contributing to that. it's pressing families and pressing hospitals, as you mentioned. 80% of hospital beds are mentioned. the hospitals haven't been this full since the peak of the omicron wave last winter. the difference is that last winter 25% of those hospital beds were filled with covid admissions. right now only 6% are filled with covid admissions. a lot are flu admissions and other respiratory pathogens, all the things that plague us each winter are coming back with a vengeance. >> a lot of bugs. but if the flu vaccine is such a good match, as you've said before, to this current strain, why are so many americans getting sick? >> well, a lot of people aren't getting the vaccine, first of all. we know the vaccine isn't 100% protective against infections.

it reduces your chances of having symptomatic infection. similar to how we use it for covid. the predominant flu is h3n2. the vaccine is a good match, 60%, 70% protective. the other strain, 20% of infections are h1n1. the difference between those two trains is h2n3 peaks earlier in the season. it's not too late for people to get their flu vaccine. if people get it now, they'll have some immediate protection from it. we could see a situation, as we've seen in other winters where the predominant strain h3n2 starts to decline and wh2n picks up. >> there's also a shortage of antibiotics. why don't we have enough supply? >> it's really demand driven. distributors made estimates on how many demand there would be

this year. they've had lower demand the past two years because there was less bacterial infections because we were taking certain steps to prevent the spread of disease. demand went up, not this early in the season. it's not any kind of disruption in supply. this isn't like what we had with baby formula where manufacturers were taken out of the market. this is a sophisticated supply chain. all the manufacturers are in the market. they just didn't anticipate this much demand this early in the season. supplies should catch up with demand. there alternatives for things in shortage like amoxicillin, oral suspension of tamiflu is also in shortage. pharmacies can compound that from the capsules. it could just be difficult for families to get their hands on alternatives. >> yes. i know you're saying things are better versus where we were on the covid front. but dr. fauci was on this program a few weeks ago and he said he was tracking new covid variants that evade the

protection of monoclonal anti antibodies. what level of protection is there against these new variants? >> well, there was data out from the cdc on friday that showed the vaccine is providing good protection, particularly in older individuals, the new bivalent booster based on the new strain, ba.5. 40% of infections are bq.1.1, a derivative of ba.5. there still should be good protection from the vaccin against the new variants. the one we're worried about is xbb. so far that's not spreading in the u.s. that much. it's about 5% of infections. it's held steady for about four weeks. that strain spread a lot in asia. didn't spread in europe. so it could be bq.1 and ba.1

crowd out xbb. if it continues to persist, we could have a second wave this spring. we don't think it's a possibility but it could happen. people will still get good protection from the existing vaccine, the updated vaccine against the strains circulating. the study from cdc showed 70% to 80% protection from hospitalization from those over the age of 65. on top of the protection they got from the old vaccine. that's quite meaningful for a lot of individuals. >> i want to ask you about title 42. in march of 2020 that is when the cdc director put this in place. it's a public health law to expel migrants in order to stop the spread of disease. that was the premise. is there any public health reason to keep it in place now? >> well, look, i think as a matter of public health we should be expiring a lot of emergency measures we put in place. not just title 42 but also the national emergency that we put in place. i think what's happening is a lot of these are being extended to serve other policy and

political goals. that's ultimately going to undermine our ability to implement public health measures in the future. if we need to have expedited removal of people crossing the border illegally, they should be contemplated but not as a public health measure. i think all the publi threse putin p shoulbeexpired. >> dr. gottlieb, thank you so much. i hope you stay healthy this holiday season. >> thanks a lot. >> we'll be right back. ♪ what will you do?

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finally today, we are coming up on day 300 of the war in ukraine. reports from the country where the cold winter is being weaponized by the russians population. >> reporter: in liberated kherson, life is desperate. russian attacks on the energy grid have left the city without

fuel and power. at one of the few ways to get a hot meal now is to cook over an open fire in the street. nine months of russian occupation has obliterated any semblance of a normal life for people here, but what ukrainians have shown time and again is that they'll do anything to help each other. including at kherson's main university where desperately needed aid has been brought in by these professors from kyiv, who hadn't been able to contact their colleagues here for months. because russian forces controlled their lives so tightly. remnants of russians' occupation have been swept into this is room. you can see flags, photos of vladimir putin. while russian forces are gone, make no mistake, they're still targeting this city. at an elementary school in the kyiv suburb of bucha still haunted by the atrocities committed by russia here, life

is slowly returning to normal. but regular power cuts means it's cold and dark until the generator kicks in, bringing with it warmth and light. something in short supply at home, says this 8-year-old. there's no electricity? >> uh-huh. >> reporter: it must be really hard. it's very hard, she says. our house is freezing. on one of the school's walls is now a memorial to cat yeah, matvi and vona who were killed in the early weeks of russia's invasion says the acting principal. every morning we have a moment of silence, she says, because we must never forget them. at a small ceremony in one of bucha's cemetery, a memorial service for fallen soldiers, including her husband and brother, who are both buried here. how are you feeling? i feel pain, she says. i'm trying to come to terms with

things, but i can't. a feeling felt by so many across this waar a, neai. that's it for us today. thank you for watching. we wish you a happy hanukkah for those who celebrate the holiday. until next week, for "face the nation," i'm margaret brennan.

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get xfinity home internet for just $24.99 a month for 2 years with no annual contract and a free streaming box. york. good evening, everyone. jericka is off tonight. i'm errol barnett. a rush of migrants at the u.s.-mexico border is pushing the immigration system to its limits. the mayor of el paso this weekend declaring a state of emergency saying there are already hundreds of asylum seekers living on the city's streets. today on "face the nation" texas congressman tony gonzalez called the situation there dire. >> the city declared a state of emergency. this is something you do when

there's a hurricane, a