| Speaker | Time | Text |
|---|---|---|
|
unidentified
|
Of artificial intelligence. | |
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| So yesterday, Democratic leaders in the House unveiled their counteroffer to the Republican seven-week government funding bill. | ||
| What is it that Democrats are asking for? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Well, I think that we want to make sure that we protect America's health care to begin with. | |
| The impacts that Americans are facing with the cuts that are in Medicare and Medicaid are going to have significant impacts across the country. | ||
| And we have in my area rural hospitals that are in really significant financial challenges. | ||
| And we need to let the American people know that this continuing resolution that the Republicans are proposing is just more of the same, which is hitting into the pocketbooks of middle-class Americans across the country. | ||
| And will there still be a vote on the Republican plan on Friday tomorrow? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Well, that's up to the Speaker. | |
| If they have the votes for it, I suspect they will bring it up. | ||
| That's the plan. | ||
| But they've really made no serious attempt to have a bipartisan effort to sit down at the table and to try to have a compromise. | ||
| And we have a budget process, as you know, that's broken and it has been for a while. | ||
| And the enhanced premium tax credits for the ACA, the Obamacare, they're set to expire at the end of this year. | ||
| What impact do you think that that would have if that's not addressed now, as opposed to, as Republicans are saying, to address it later in the year? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Average premiums could spike more than 75% if we don't extend that. | |
| And rural regions of the country, and I represent significant rural regions, could go as high as 90%. | ||
| So that would be an average increase cost of $700 per individual. | ||
| And, you know, the Affordable Health Care Act has now been law for 15 years. | ||
| I voted for it in 2010. | ||
| And the portions of my district had 24% people without any insurance, a significant number with underinsured, and that number dropped to 10%. | ||
| That is a significant change. | ||
| And, you know, I think that, frankly, we can't leave Americans without health care. | ||
| And all of this, as you know, adds to the debt. | ||
| Is this a deal breaker for you, Congressman? | ||
| If those extensions are not put into this bill, would you risk a shutdown over this? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Well, I don't think it's ever acceptable to have a shutdown, but in the past, Democrats have provided the majority of votes to avoid a shutdown. | |
| And we've been a part of the conversation. | ||
| This time, they've decided to go it alone in the House. | ||
| And therefore, I think until the Republicans are willing to support the Affordable Health Care Act and other impacts that my constituents will feel, if this is the budget that they're proposing that they want to go and extend for this continuing resolution, then they're going to have to pass it on their own. | ||
| And we had a caller earlier that was worried about his Medicare and Medicaid if there was a shutdown. | ||
| What can you say about that? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Well, the Medicare and Medicaid have been impacted as a result of the passage of earlier this year the big, I didn't use the adjective beautiful because it wasn't beautiful. | |
| The impacts to my constituents are devastating with the amount of Medicare and Medicaid health care impacts that would be cut. | ||
| And so my constituents are wondering what's going to happen not only to the health care that they receive, but to the health care clinics that are so important in our rural areas. | ||
| We had a workshop with our hospitals and with our clinics last month, and they are very much wondering how they're going to be able to continue to provide affordable, accessible health care for the people in my district. | ||
| Now, Attorney General Pam Bondi has faced criticism, even from people on the right, about remarks that she made about hate speech being prosecuted. | ||
| She has since walked back those comments. | ||
| Your views on the Charlie Kirk assassination and also how you're feeling about your own personal safety. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Well, I think the Attorney General's comments were wrong in terms of defining hate speech. | |
| It was horrific what happened to this assassination of an American that had support from so many people. | ||
| And I think all Americans, you know, mourn the loss for him and for his family. | ||
| And it sadly reflects a level of violence that we see too often occurring in the political debate and dialogue that we have that Charlie always opposed. | ||
| He supported free speech. | ||
| And so I think that when you look at the amount of threats that have occurred to members of Congress over the last several years, they've increased 300%. | ||
| We've been advised by security and capital police to try to avoid events that have large gatherings. | ||
| That's not how I represent my constituents. | ||
| I want to be able to be out there, and I'm my people person, and I always am accessible. | ||
| And I go home every Thursday looking forward to being with my constituents in the San Joaquin Valley and Fresno. | ||
| The fact that there is so much fear and so much hate-mongering and finger-pointing, I think, is something that we should all be concerned about. | ||
| It really goes to the heart of our participatory democracy and allowing the people to have access to their elected officials. | ||
| You're the co-chair of the Congressional Crime Survivors and Justice Caucus. | ||
| That spearheads efforts related to victims' rights and services. | ||
| This week you joined other members and wrote a letter to the Attorney General and talking about the Justice Department's decision to withhold federal funding from states if they don't cooperate with immigration efforts, those funding specifically for the victims. | ||
| Can you first explain what those funds have been used for, those federal funds for victims? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yes, the Volca funding for victims of crimes and their families was passed in the early 1980s and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan. | |
| These are not taxpayers' dollars. | ||
| These are fines and remittances from ill-gotten gains by criminal activities, whether they be white-collar crime or whether they be running of drugs or using of airplanes and other things that when we convict these criminals, we confiscate whatever they have, and it really adds up into the billions of dollars each year. | ||
| So these are not taxpayer dollars, and these monies are distributed to organizations throughout the country, centers for women and children to protect them who've been engaged in domestic violence. | ||
| The funds go to help out organizations that try to provide counseling for victims of crime and to assist their families. | ||
| And in some cases, when sadly there are deaths that result of this, it goes to help with family services. | ||
| So, you know, the bipartisan victims of crime caucus has been in effect since Congressman Ted Pohl and I created it back in 2007. | ||
| And we've tried to, one, protect those funds, two, recognize and support legislation on behalf of crime victims, and three, every year recognize organizations and individuals who every day are there to help people who are victims of crime and their families. | ||
| And finally, there was a Senate hearing yesterday with Susan Menares. | ||
| She's the fired head of the CDC. | ||
| And she testified about Secretary Kennedy's demands that she pre-approve vaccine recommendations for the public. | ||
| Do you, first, I mean, do you believe that that is actually what happened? | ||
| What was your reaction to that? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Well, I believe her. | |
| She's completely credible. | ||
| And ironically, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, when he appointed her, stated that she was imminently qualified, one of the best people in the country, to hold this position. | ||
| And then when he decided unilaterally that he was going to change the protocol and ignore the science in terms of vaccine efficacy, all of a sudden she was no longer acceptable. | ||
| We don't want people that are making decisions on the efficacy of vaccines for our children, for ourselves, and to protect us against smallpox, polio, COVID, based upon political decisions or a political agenda. | ||
| That's just wrong. | ||
| And it goes to the heart of the credibility of the Center for Disease Control, the CDC, that has had respect throughout the world. | ||
| And I am very dismayed and frustrated, I think as many of my colleagues are, to see the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary Kennedy, go as a lone cowboy promoting his own political agendas that are well known. | ||
| He's an anti-vaxxer. | ||
| Always has been. | ||
| All right, that is Democratic Representative from California, Jim Costa. | ||
| He sits on the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Agriculture Committee. | ||
| Thanks so much for joining us today, sir. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you. | |
| Good to be with you. |