| Speaker | Time | Text |
|---|---|---|
|
unidentified
|
Types of cuts, and they don't want to pay for it in the 2026 midterms. | |
| But the line so far from Republican leadership has been: yes, we can negotiate on these things, but only with the government open, and we will not include these ACA subsidies in any conversation that has to do with this government funding saga and the shutdown. | ||
| Obviously, Democrats have tried to insert that as an issue at the negotiating table when it comes to the shutdown. | ||
| So, we'll have to see if Republicans are willing to re-engage with Democrats on the issue of these subsidies in the context of reopening the government. | ||
| What will you be watching for today? | ||
| We're expected to hear from leadership on both sides starting just around the time this program ends at 10 a.m. Eastern. | ||
| What are you looking for? | ||
| What signals are going to determine the politics of this? | ||
|
unidentified
|
I would see how Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, responds this morning. | |
| I think that last night, right around the time of the shutdown, commencing right after midnight, he and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries put out a statement that was pretty much going after the president in a pretty personal manner, saying that he was unhinged. | ||
| I wonder if Democratic leaders continue to make that sort of a central part of their campaign in the shutdown, the erratic behavior of the president, the videos he's posting online. | ||
| So, keep an eye on Democratic leaders and what they choose to message and how clear and the clarity of that message in getting it across. | ||
| And viewers should keep an eye on Axios, some of the best source reporters on Capitol Hill. | ||
| It's axias.com. | ||
| Stephen Newcomb is the co-author of the Hill Leaders newsletter. | ||
| We'll let you get to your first day of the government shutdown and check in with you down the road. | ||
| Stephen Newcomb. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thanks, John. | |
| We're joined by the Secretary of the VA, Doug Collins. | ||
| Secretary Collins, good morning to you, sir. | ||
| Thanks for the time. | ||
| Can you just tell us what's happening at the VA this morning under a shutdown? | ||
| There's a whole lot of people who work at the VA. | ||
| How many are furloughed, and what is and isn't happening for veterans today? | ||
| Well, there's good news and bad news, John. | ||
| I think from our perspective, the funding for the VA for our hospitals, our benefits, and disabilities are all continuing to function. | ||
| We're on in a multi-year appropriation. | ||
| So if you're a veteran out there and you have especially medical needs or you need to get to our hospital or clinics, they're open, they're running. | ||
| Where it's going to be affecting us, especially in the short run, is our regional offices for disability claims. | ||
| New claims are getting questions answered are going to be closed. | ||
| Our counseling, our VRE issues for people getting their vote rehab, how they get into new careers, those are going to be limited. | ||
| Our outreach is going to be limited. | ||
| As it goes further, there could be other things shut down, especially when it comes to getting questions on GI Bill, loan guarantees, those kind of things. | ||
| But right now, we're sitting here watching a very sad situation in which our veterans across the country, not just at the VA, but are going to be affected this. | ||
| Many who work in the federal government, many who are affiliated with businesses who do business with the federal government. | ||
| So I think that's the bigger issue we have with our veterans right now. | ||
| The New York Times on their chart about who's working and who's not. | ||
| The VA, the largest agency outside of the DOD, some 450 or 60,000 employees, they have it about 15,000 employees being furloughed. | ||
| Does that sound about right to you? | ||
| That's probably about right, yes. | ||
| I mean, there's different ways we look at it. | ||
| So yes. | ||
| So what's the message to veterans watching this morning and a little nervous about what that means? | ||
| Call their congressman, tell them to pass the CR. | ||
| I mean, this is an issue that, I mean, very bluntly, this is a shutdown in the making caused by really right now about five more Democrats in the Senate who would vote for a continuing CR, which they voted for in March, to continue it for seven weeks to continue the policy discussions that we have. | ||
| This is a truly self-made problem in Congress, and especially right now in the Senate, that is keeping us from that. | ||
| I think the veterans, though, as we have just said, especially with their health care, especially with their mental health care, our call lines, our 401, our 1-800, my VA 411 lines are going to be open. | ||
| The vet crisis line is going to be open. | ||
| Our vet centers are going to be open. | ||
| So we're going to continue to minister and work for our veterans to make sure they have what they need. | ||
| But there are many veterans who work in the federal government. | ||
| It is sort of surprising to me that the same folks on Capitol Hill who were so upset with veterans and veterans working in Capitol Hill when they were discussing how we were reorganizing our department seem to be very silent now that those same veterans are going to have to be furloughed because they won't continue the government funding. | ||
| Are you expecting the Office of Management and Budget to step in and let go more people in the VA during the shutdown? | ||
| Is that something that could impact VA employees? | ||
| Not at this point. | ||
| I think we're working with OMB to make sure that we're focused on our employees and we've been working with them all along. | ||
| I think the great thing that we have had is we've been able to reshape our force through folks who took early retirement in that process and we've reshaped it. | ||
| It's been publicly reported about 30,000 over the past nine months and at the same time. | ||
| 30,000 fewer employees? | ||
| Yes, fewer employees since the first of the year. | ||
| Now, I have to say that, and also caveat at this before anybody starts saying that it's affected veteran service, our wait times at our hospitals, our C-Box all have gone down. | ||
| And we've also shaved off almost 50% off of a backlog of disability claims that were over 125 days old. | ||
| And I have to report also that yesterday, as of yesterday, we did 3 million disability claims. | ||
| The previous record was 2.4 million. | ||
| The VA is working efficiently right now, and we're working it through with some great employees. | ||
| I'm very proud of them. | ||
| You have the unique perspective of having seen these funding fights on the congressional side when you're in Congress and now as the head of an agency. | ||
| What sticks out to you? | ||
| What would you tell the folks who are on Capitol Hill going through the politics of this as you go through the day-to-day impacts? | ||
| Yeah, John, that's a great question. | ||
| And I thought about this a lot over the last little bit. | ||
| I look back on it a little bit differently and also been involved in doing this. | ||
| When you make demands, especially at times like this, it's going to be very difficult to get those. | ||
| Those policy discussions should have happened earlier in what is, frankly, a broken appropriation system. | ||
| But I mean, really, the one thing that people need to alert themselves to now is that we're at a time in which, again, you're in a CR. | ||
| We've been in the CR for a community resolution for a while. | ||
| This is simply extending that for seven more weeks. | ||
| The discussions that I've seen many of my former colleagues on the Democratic side wanting to talk about health care and the Obamacare issue does not expire until the end of December. | ||
| And they're using this right now to hold the American people hostage over this issue. | ||
| And the realization is, is what they're asking for is about like if you had a house that was valued a million dollars on the market and somebody said, I'll offer you $50 for it. | ||
| Are you going to take that offer seriously? | ||
| This is what they're offering is cutting out $50 billion for rural health care. | ||
| As I say, it's taking and adding back stuff that has been already done. | ||
| I think this is the problem you're having. | ||
| There's no negotiation when your offer is not reasonable. | ||
| And that's the problem we're seeing right now. | ||
| So I would just tell them, get in a room, solve it. | ||
| Remember that they work for the American people as we all do. | ||
| And, you know, I look, I think they will at some point. | ||
| This is a lot of times posturing, but it is unfortunate posturing because it's about people that get hurt. | ||
| When you say you think they will solve it, do you think they will extend those health care subsidies dating back from the Affordable Care Act? | ||
| That's the great thing about not being in Congress. | ||
| That's their problem to figure out. | ||
| I think what they need to do is pass the CR, get us continuing. | ||
| We've done this many times before, especially from the perspective over the last few years. | ||
| You put this further down the line, then deal with the issues. | ||
| I think, frankly, passing a clean CR, adjusted for inflation, is the best way to do this. | ||
| If you need more time, get more time and then solve those issues through the regular process. | ||
| We've gotten too adept at spending through non-regular processes, which has caused a lot of the issues we have. | ||
| And then finally, Secretary Collins, where are you going to be today? | ||
| What does a day look like for you under a shutdown? | ||
| Absolutely packed. | ||
| We're here at the office. | ||
| I've got meetings all day today. | ||
| I'm going to be with media all day today. | ||
| And I appreciate you letting us come on to share the fact that our veterans are first here at the VA, that we're going to continue our health care. | ||
| We're going to continue processing their disability claims. | ||
| And I've got workers who are willing to come in and be a part of that. | ||
| So that's what we're going to be doing today, full steam ahead here at the VA. | ||
| Well, we'll let you get to it, Veteran Affairs Secretary Doug Collins. | ||
| Always appreciate your time, sir. | ||
| Take care, John. | ||
| It's good to see you. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Take care. | |
| A headline in the Associated Press today: vote to end government shutdown fails in the Senate as Democrats hold firm on health care demands. | ||
| The story says Democrats in the Senate held firm to the party's demands to fund health care subsidies that President Donald Trump and Republicans refused to provide. | ||
| The tally showed cracks in the Democrats' resolve on day one of the shutdown, but offered no breakthrough. | ||
| A close-up look now outside the visitor center at the U.S. Capitol. | ||
| The message on the sign there giving the picture of what's happening here in Washington, D.C.: While the visitor center is closed, the U.S. Capitol is open for guests. | ||
| This afternoon, the Senate failed to advance temporary spending legislation to reopen the federal government. | ||
| The chamber is planning a recess tomorrow for the Yom Kippur holiday. | ||
| They'll be back in session on Friday and will reportedly work through the weekend to try to end the impasse between Democratic leaders and the White House. | ||
| The Washington Times reporting that U.S. stocks fell today as investors feared a prolonged government shutdown would harm the economy and key data on its health. | ||
| The shutdown will result in a blackout for economists and investors hoping to gauge the state of the economy. |