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Speaker 1: Welcome to this week on Capitol Hill, your insider's guide

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Speaker 1: to the story shaping Washington and the world.

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Speaker 2: I'm Tony Perkins.

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Speaker 3: Governor Tim Walltz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Minnesota's Democrat

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Speaker 3: leadership have either been asleep at the wheel or complicit

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Speaker 3: in these crimes. How could they allow this massive fraud

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Speaker 3: to go on four years?

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Speaker 2: This is why we're here today.

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Speaker 3: We must expose this theft of taxpayer dollars and hold

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Speaker 3: everybody accountable who let it happen.

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Speaker 1: I was Congressman James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee,

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Speaker 1: opening a hearing this week examining widespread fraud and the

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Speaker 1: misuse of federal funds uncovered in Minnesota. Later in the

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Speaker 1: program will be joined by Pennsylvania Congressman Scott Perry, a member.

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Speaker 2: Of the Oversight Committee.

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Speaker 1: We'll also examine the growing unrest in Minnesota following a

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Speaker 1: shooting involving a federal ice officer. And another major story

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Speaker 1: dominating headlines this week, of course, was Venezuela.

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Speaker 4: Overwhelming American military power air land and sea was used

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Speaker 4: to launch a spectacular assault, and it was a assault

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Speaker 4: like people have not seen since World War Two. It

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Speaker 4: was a force against a heavily fortified military fortress in

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Speaker 4: the heart of Caracas to bring outlaw dictator Nicholas Maduro

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Speaker 4: to justice.

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Speaker 1: I was President Donald Trump last Saturday announcing the US

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Speaker 1: military operation in Venezuela that led to the arrest of

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Speaker 1: Nicholas Maduro. Joining us in just a few moments will

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Speaker 1: be Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, the chairman of the Senate

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Speaker 1: Intelligence Committee.

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Speaker 2: And of course, there was no shortage of political theater.

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Speaker 5: The People's House has just delivered a decisive victory for

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Speaker 5: the American people by extending the Affordable Care Act tax

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Speaker 5: credits to prevent tens of millions of Americans from experiencing

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Speaker 5: dramatically increased health insurance premiums.

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Speaker 1: That was House Minority Leader Hakim Jeffreys, reacting after seventeen

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Speaker 1: Republicans joined with all Democrats to vote to extend the

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Speaker 1: COVID Area era Obamacare subsidies. Now, later in the program,

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Speaker 1: House Speaker Mike Johnson will join us to explain why

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Speaker 1: this was largely for show. All of this and more

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Speaker 1: straight ahead this Week on Capitol Hill.

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Speaker 2: Today's edition of This Week on Capitol Hill is brought

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Speaker 2: to you by Americans for Prosperity, Senior Care Pharmacy Coalition

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Speaker 2: and Clear.

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Speaker 1: Path Well protest turned deadly in Minneapolis this week after

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Speaker 1: the Trump administration ramped up immigration enforcement in the state

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Speaker 1: of Minnesota following reports of widespread welfare fraud committed by

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Speaker 1: the states sizable Somali population. A motorist was shot by

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Speaker 1: Ice agents after impede immigration enforcement efforts. This follows former

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Speaker 1: Vice presidential candidate and current Minnesota Governor Tim Walls abandoning

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Speaker 1: his re election campaign for governor as news of the

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Speaker 1: multi billion dollar scandal escalated. Joining me now to discuss

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Speaker 1: this and more is Daily Wire White House correspondent Mary

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Speaker 1: Margaret Olahan. Mary Margaret, Welcome to this week on Capitol Hill.

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Speaker 1: Thanks for joining us.

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Speaker 6: Thank you so much for having me. It's great to

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Speaker 6: be here.

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Speaker 1: So the week began in Minnesota with the embattled governor

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Speaker 1: Tim Walls announcing that he would end his reelection bid.

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Speaker 1: Now by midweek, tensions escalated and Walls authorized in Minnesota

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Speaker 1: National Guard to be staged and ready following the fatal

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Speaker 1: shooting in Minneapolis. Walk us through your reporting on the

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Speaker 1: Trump administration throughout the week as it retains to Minnesota.

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Speaker 7: Yes, So, the Trump administration has really zeroed in on

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Speaker 7: what is going on in Minnesota.

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Speaker 6: It's become kind of the wild West of politics.

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Speaker 7: This week, we have these the fraud investigation, and we

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Speaker 7: also have unrest over the recent ice agent shooting a

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Speaker 7: woman who appeared to be trying to drive into him.

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Speaker 7: All of these things are happening in Minnesota right now,

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Speaker 7: so it's really become the focal point of politics. But

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Speaker 7: the Trump administration on the fraud.

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Speaker 6: Front is really zeroing in.

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Speaker 8: UH.

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Speaker 7: They have they have all cylinders fire firing.

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Speaker 6: And as for.

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Speaker 7: Tim Waltz, they really graded hish his news that he

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Speaker 7: will not be seeking re election with triumph. They perceived

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Speaker 7: this as a political victory. Nick Sureley, the journal the UH,

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Speaker 7: the YouTuber and journalists who documented a lot of this fraud.

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Speaker 8: UH.

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Speaker 7: He's also perceiving this as a win for himself. Some

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Speaker 7: journalists might say what we call a scalp uh, and

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Speaker 7: there's much rejoicing on the right.

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Speaker 6: I would say that Tim Walls will not be seeking reelection.

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Speaker 7: He is not planning on resigning right now.

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Speaker 6: He has said that.

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Speaker 7: I think the Trump administration would really be happy to see.

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Speaker 2: Him do so.

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Speaker 7: But this is you know, they're lying, they're laying the

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Speaker 7: blame for a lot of this that his feet and

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Speaker 7: many of us would say rightfully.

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Speaker 4: So.

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Speaker 7: But as these investigations pick up, we know that Treasury

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Speaker 7: Secretary Scott Bessant is actually in Minnesota today on the ground.

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Speaker 7: I'll be joining a press conference with him later today,

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Speaker 7: hoping to ask me some questions about this Somali fraud

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Speaker 7: and what else we're seeing there. So it's just one

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Speaker 7: more thing after another going on as it pertains to

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Speaker 7: Minnesota and the fraud investigations and the ice activity out there,

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Speaker 7: and we cannot keep up with this news. It's unbelievable.

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Speaker 2: Let's focusing on the fraud for a moment.

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Speaker 1: We'll be talking with Congressman Scott Perry, a member of

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Speaker 1: the Oversight Committee committee in the House, a little bit later.

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Speaker 1: But let's talk about the administration. Are they looking to

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Speaker 1: go elsewhere? I know there was conversations this week about California.

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Speaker 1: We saw Christy Nomes saying we're coming. What I know

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Speaker 1: you were in a briefing with the Vice President was

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Speaker 1: their discussion of expanding this investigation into government fraud.

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Speaker 7: Yes, so the President actually posted on True's social earlier

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Speaker 7: this week and said that they'll be investigating California for fraud.

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Speaker 6: He didn't elaborate on what he meant.

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Speaker 7: There, and during the press briefing with Caroline Levitt, the

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Speaker 7: White House Press Secretary, on Wednesday, I believe I asked

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Speaker 7: her about this investigation. She didn't give much more details,

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Speaker 7: which led me to believe that there isn't a lot

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Speaker 7: of movement on linesday, but it is coming, and the President,

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Speaker 7: for that matter, made it very clear that he's interested

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Speaker 7: in it. During the briefing yesterday with Vice President Vance,

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Speaker 7: there was more.

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Speaker 6: Talk of this.

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Speaker 7: He said that he's interested in looking into Ohio, I

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Speaker 7: believe in several other states. So there are many more

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Speaker 7: investigations coming, and as we know, California is a very

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Speaker 7: interesting target given Governor gavidaman Newsom and the amount of

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Speaker 7: illegal immigration we've seen in this state, as well as

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Speaker 7: other nonsense that we've seen from the governor and from

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Speaker 7: his office and from the Democrat legislatures legislators out there.

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Speaker 7: But I also wanted to mention that Vice President Vance,

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Speaker 7: when he took questions at this briefing yesterday, I initially

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Speaker 7: asked him the very first question. Actually, we asked him

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Speaker 7: about Tim Walls and some of his writer it coming

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Speaker 7: out of Minnesota. For example, Tim Walls said referenced some

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Speaker 7: Civil War era activity that happened in Minnesota and suggested

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Speaker 7: that they might need to behave in the same way

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Speaker 7: now given the recent developments with Ice. And he really

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Speaker 7: was using some interesting language there. So I asked the

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Speaker 7: Vice president about that, and also Mayor Jacob Fry and

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Speaker 7: his comments about Ice and the Vice president. His response

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Speaker 7: was basically, we don't care what they think. They're not

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Speaker 7: someone that we look to for advice. They're not someone

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Speaker 7: that we respect, and they should get out of politics.

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Speaker 7: And was very, very very vigorous in his response.

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Speaker 1: Speaking of that, Mary Margaret, there has been strong reactions

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Speaker 1: on both sides following the shooting involving the Ice officer.

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Speaker 1: House Speaker Mike Johnson asked about it, as he has

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Speaker 1: asked about pretty much everything. He said, Look, we need

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Speaker 1: to let the investigation play out. I wasn't there, You

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Speaker 1: weren't there, he responded to reporters. Are people rushing to

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Speaker 1: judgment here?

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Speaker 7: Well, I mean it's one of those things where you

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Speaker 7: need to look at the evidence yourself, and we do

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Speaker 7: have an FBI. I believe investigation into this, the federal investigation,

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Speaker 7: there's a I believe the DHS investigation as well.

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Speaker 6: But we also live in the age of the Internet.

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Speaker 7: And so there are i want to say, three or

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Speaker 7: four different angles of this shooting available. And what the

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Speaker 7: Vice President said yesterday we're hearing from Christino I'm and

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Speaker 7: Donald Trump and several other members of the administration is

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Speaker 7: that these videos show that the ICE agent was trying

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Speaker 7: to protect himself and that this woman turned the car

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Speaker 7: and drove right into him. And you know, I've looked

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Speaker 7: at some of these videos myself several times, actually, I would.

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Speaker 2: Say, and it just not look good.

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Speaker 7: It looks like this woman was purposefully trying to drive

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Speaker 7: into this ICE agent. But you're right, we don't have

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Speaker 7: the conclusions of the investigations yet, and so I am

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Speaker 7: sure that many of us are very curious to hear

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Speaker 7: what federal authorities have to say about what went down here.

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Speaker 7: But unfortunately it's also being mired in politics because Governor

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Speaker 7: cham Watts is already saying that the investigation is fraudulent

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Speaker 7: and there's a lot going on here that could inhibit

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Speaker 7: what we find here. And also given a lot of

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Speaker 7: the controversy there does seem on the left to be

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Speaker 7: a disinterest in actually finding the truth and more of

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Speaker 7: an interest in portraying this woman who was shot as

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Speaker 7: a political hero. And we're hearing a lot of the

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Speaker 7: same type of rhetoric that we heard during the writing

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Speaker 7: over George Floyd. We do have a reporter on the

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Speaker 7: ground in Minneapolis to cover what's going on, Brecas. She's

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Speaker 7: doing a phenomenal job, and I hope that she will

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Speaker 7: stay safe and many of the other reporters out there

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Speaker 7: will stay safe, because it does appear that they're his

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Speaker 7: interest in seeing unrest in Minneapolis.

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Speaker 1: All Right, Mary, Margaret Olahan, thanks so much for joining

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Speaker 1: us today.

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Speaker 2: Appreciate your insights.

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Speaker 6: Thank you for having me.

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Speaker 1: Well, folks, Obviously a lot going on in our nation

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Speaker 1: right now, a lot to be praying for as we

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Speaker 1: look at the unrest, we look at the uncertainty. We're

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Speaker 1: going to continue looking at the facts. Congressman Scott Perry

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Speaker 1: will be joining us a little bit later to talk

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Speaker 1: about Minnesota. Well, it's it going to be talking with

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Speaker 1: Senator Tom Cotton after the break. He's going to join

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Speaker 1: us to talk about the effort in Venezuela as well

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Speaker 1: as the vote by the United States Senate to move

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Speaker 1: toward a vote on the War Powers Act. What does

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Speaker 1: that mean? Is it more of a show vote? We'll

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Speaker 1: talk about that next here on this Week on Capitol Hill.

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Speaker 2: Don't go away.

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Speaker 1: Welcome back to this week week on Capitol Hill. I'm

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Speaker 1: Tony Perkins. This week, the Senate advanced a War Powers

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Speaker 1: resolution that would block the president's use of the US

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Speaker 1: Armed forces in Venezuela unless authorized by Congress. This comes

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Speaker 1: after the Trump administration orchestrated a successful operation for the

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Speaker 1: capture and arrest of Venezuela and President Nicholas Maduro and

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Speaker 1: his wife. It's important to note that the resolution did

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Speaker 1: not pass by a veto proof margin, and it still

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Speaker 1: has to This is a procedural vote, has another vote required,

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Speaker 1: and then it goes to the House. More of a

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Speaker 1: show vote, we'll see. Joining us now is Arkansas Senator

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Speaker 1: Tom Cotton. He serves on three Senate committees, including the

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Speaker 1: Senate Armed Services Committee and the Select Committee on Intelligence,

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Speaker 1: where he is the chairman. Chairman Cotton, Welcome to this

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Speaker 1: week on Capitol Hill. Thanks for joining us.

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Speaker 6: Thanks for having me on, Tony.

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Speaker 1: All right, before we get to the resolution, you chair

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Speaker 1: the Senate Intelligence Committee. You've been very vocal about this,

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Speaker 1: your reaction to the capture and of Nicholas Maduro.

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Speaker 9: Well, it was an exceptional operation conducted by our troops

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Speaker 9: and our intelligence officers. Truly, only the United States could

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Speaker 9: have achieved such a flawless execution of a highly dangerous

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Speaker 9: and risky mission without the loss of American life.

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Speaker 6: It is a very good day for the United States, for.

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Speaker 9: Venezuela, and for the cause of stability, order, and prosperity

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Speaker 9: in our own backyard. Venezuela is really unique in Latin America.

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Speaker 9: Some countries don't have control of their whole territory. Cartels

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Speaker 9: operate in that territory. Other countries tolerate the presence of

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Speaker 9: these cartels. In Venezuela, the government was the drug cartel.

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Speaker 9: It was in league with drug trafficker. That's by Nicholas

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Speaker 9: Maduro was a US indicted drug trafficker. Furthermore, Venezuela has

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Speaker 9: turned into crossroads and a playground for every American enemy

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Speaker 9: around the world, China, Russia, Cuba, ron even Islamic terrorists

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Speaker 9: like HESBLO, and they were using Venezuelan territory to radiate

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Speaker 9: threats out to the United States. So I think the

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Speaker 9: President was right to act decisively after trying diplomacy and

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Speaker 9: trying to let Maduro go into exile. Hundreds of our cansons,

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Speaker 9: thousands of Americans who've lost loved ones to drug addiction,

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Speaker 9: will now get a measure of justice, and we hope

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Speaker 9: that Venezuela will see a new day. The early signs

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Speaker 9: this week are encouraging from the interim authorities in Venezuela.

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Speaker 9: There's a long way to go, but remember this was

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Speaker 9: once a stable, prosperous, pro American country before Hugo Chavez

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Speaker 9: and Nicholas Maduro turned it into a garrulent anti American country.

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Speaker 9: We want to return it to those routes. We want

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Speaker 9: to have pro American countries in our backyard.

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Speaker 1: So based on what you know, Senator, beyond the drug traffic, which,

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Speaker 1: as you've pointed out, effects families all across this country,

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Speaker 1: was it also becoming a staging ground for potential terrorist

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Speaker 1: activity and attacks on the United States, much like what

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Speaker 1: we saw in Gaza with Israel.

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Speaker 9: Yes, Tony, without question, again, that's why ran the Ruddian

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Speaker 9: Revolutionary Guard CORE, which is the shock troops for the Iyatolas.

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Speaker 9: Even terrorists like Hesbolah were present in Venezuela. It's one

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Speaker 9: thing for countries like Russia and China to have intelligence

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Speaker 9: operatives masquerading as diplomats. That happens in a lot of

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Speaker 9: countries around the world. It's another thing to have shock

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Speaker 9: troops and terrorists on your territory traffic, not just in drugs,

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Speaker 9: but your traffic weapons as well, to get passports to

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Speaker 9: allow them to travel freely throughout the Western Hemisphere. These

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Speaker 9: were threats that were emanating from Venezuela, which again is

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Speaker 9: not happening anywhere else throughout Latin America. So America is

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Speaker 9: safer today, and Venezuela has the hope of a brighter

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Speaker 9: future that will be pro American because we had our

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Speaker 9: brave troops and intelligence officers go in apprehend Nicholas Maduro

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Speaker 9: and bring him to justice.

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Speaker 1: In the United States, Senator Cotton, you mentioned Iran. I

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Speaker 1: want to ask you about that. At a moment, with

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Speaker 1: events unfolding there, it could be at a tipping point.

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Speaker 1: But I want to ask you about the War Powers

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Speaker 1: Act vote procedural vote. It's moving toward a vote in

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Speaker 1: the Senate, but you had five Republicans normally wouldn't pay

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Speaker 1: much attention to this when the Democrats are the ones

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Speaker 1: that are doing all the blabbering.

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Speaker 2: But you had five of your colleagues.

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Speaker 1: Joined with us among Republicans, is this sending a message

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Speaker 1: or what's going on here?

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Speaker 9: Well, Tony, first off, you're right, that is a practical matter.

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Speaker 9: This will have no impact. Speaker Johnson doesn't have to

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Speaker 9: bring it up in the House if we ultimately pass

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Speaker 9: it in the Senate, and the course President Trump would

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Speaker 9: veto it, and it didn't pass with veto proof majorities.

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Speaker 9: The War Powers Act, though it was a Vietnam era

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Speaker 9: relay that allows usually that minority to get expedited and

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Speaker 9: privileged resolutions to the floor when it disagrees with a

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Speaker 9: president's foreign policy actions. You have a difference between those

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Speaker 9: Democrats and the handful of Republicans who voted support this resolution.

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Speaker 9: Though they all agree that Maduro was an illegitimate communist

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Speaker 9: dictator and a drug trafficker and the world's a better

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Speaker 9: place within behind bars. The Democrats that want to eat

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Speaker 9: their cake and have it too, they then say that

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Speaker 9: Donald Trump was wrong to execute the operation that put

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Speaker 9: him behind bars. The Republicans voted for the resolution strongly

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Speaker 9: support what President Trump did in Venezuela. They just have

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Speaker 9: concerns about what's next in Venezuela, and they have somewhat

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Speaker 9: different views than I do about the extent of presidential

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Speaker 9: power under the Constitution, in Congress's role in foreign policy

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Speaker 9: and defense policy. I think those are genuinely heartfelt, convicted positions.

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Speaker 9: I disrespectfully disagree with them. But as a practical matter,

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Speaker 9: this is not going to have any impact on what

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Speaker 9: we're trying to accomplish in Venezuela.

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Speaker 1: Could it be sending that message though? As you pointed out,

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Speaker 1: there's concerns that we don't get stuck. When people are

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Speaker 1: talking about we're going to be running Venezuela. People are

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Speaker 1: concerned because it's not.

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Speaker 2: Been that long ago we were in Afghanistan.

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Speaker 9: Yeah, there's a lot of differences, of course, between Venezuela

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Speaker 9: on the one hand and Afghanistan and Iraq on the

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Speaker 9: other hand. Venezuela is a largely homogeneous country from the

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Speaker 9: standpoint of ethnicity and culture and religion, unlike Middle Eastern

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Speaker 9: countries that are riven with factional tribal sectarian differences. Venezuela

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Speaker 9: has a history of prosperity, stability, and representative government until

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Speaker 9: Hugo Schabez and Nicholas Maduro run the country. And of

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Speaker 9: course we don't have troops in Venezuela. President Trump is

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Speaker 9: that he doesn't want to have any more troops in Venezuela.

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Speaker 9: What we have in Venezuela, which we didn't have in

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Speaker 9: those other countries, is extraordinary leverage because they are so

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Speaker 9: dependent on black market oil revenue, and that revenue is

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Speaker 9: not coming in right now now because we have a

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Speaker 9: naval blockade in place. That's one reason why I thought

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Speaker 9: the Warpowers resolution was ill advised because it could be

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Speaker 9: interpreted as requiring us to remove that blockade. But we've

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Speaker 9: seized five hundred of these so called ghost tankers, not

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Speaker 9: five hundred and five of them, just over the last week,

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Speaker 9: and that means that Venezuela's government, really its entire society,

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Speaker 9: will begin to seize up if they don't have access

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Speaker 9: to that illicit oil revenue. What President Trump plans do

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Speaker 9: is to take the oil to sell it on the

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Speaker 9: open market at fair market value, and then use those

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Speaker 9: revenues to help Venezuela return to stability to pay salaries

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Speaker 9: for their police officers, sanitation workers, firefighters, to get the

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Speaker 9: electrical grid back up and running, ultimately to get their

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Speaker 9: oil industry back up and running.

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Speaker 6: So those are real.

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Speaker 9: Significant differences between Venezuela and Latin America on the one hand,

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Speaker 9: Iraq in Afghanistan and the broader Middle East on the

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Speaker 9: other hand.

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Speaker 1: Forty five seconds left, Senator Cotton a run. Is this

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Speaker 1: more of the same, unresked or is there something significant

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Speaker 1: happening there?

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Speaker 9: Well, we've seen these kind of protests over the years,

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Speaker 9: most notably in two thousand and nine when Barack Obama

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Speaker 9: pretended they didn't even happen and the regime brutally put

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Speaker 9: them down. It's a new day and ran in America

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Speaker 9: because President Trump has been very clear that he is,

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Speaker 9: as he put it, locked and loaded.

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Speaker 6: If the Iatolas begin to.

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Speaker 9: Massacre their own people who simply want to get out

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Speaker 9: from underneath their theocratic thumb. And what we've seen is

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Speaker 9: that they have not begun the mass slaughter or harassment

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Speaker 9: of these protesters.

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Speaker 6: We all wish them very well.

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Speaker 9: We want to take any step we can to help

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Speaker 9: them in their genuine yearning against the Iatolas for freedom

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Speaker 9: and to return Iran like we want to see Venezuela,

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Speaker 9: return to a pro American country that works with us,

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Speaker 9: that doesn't work against us at every turn.

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Speaker 1: Well, we'll continue to watch that. Senator Time Cotton, thanks

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Speaker 1: for joining us. S right, folks, more straight ahead, so

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Speaker 1: don't go anywhere. Welcome back to this week on Capitol Hill.

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Speaker 1: I'm your host Tony Perkins. And to keep up with events.

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Speaker 1: To out the week, simply text this week to six

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Speaker 1: seven seven four to two. That's this week to six

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Speaker 1: seven seven four two. Well, this week, the House Oversight

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Speaker 1: and Government Reform Committee held the first of a number

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Speaker 1: of hearings on the widening Minnesota welfare fraud scandal, where

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Speaker 1: committee members demanded answers to determine what the state's leadership

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Speaker 1: should have done to prevent such abuse. What did we

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Speaker 1: learn and when will American taxpayer see accountability for this

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Speaker 1: type of fraud?

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Speaker 2: Join me now to discuss this.

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Speaker 1: Congressman Scott Perry, he serves on four House committees, including

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Speaker 1: the House Oversight and Reform Committee. He represents Pennsylvania's tenth

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Speaker 1: Congressional District. Congress and Perry, welcome back to this week

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Speaker 1: on Capitol Hill.

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Speaker 8: Great to be listened with Tony and you sure it

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Speaker 8: was a rawit hearing if you watched or saw any

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Speaker 8: of it. Unfortunately, it really laid out the level and

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Speaker 8: the depth of the fraud not only by these individuals

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Speaker 8: living in Minnesota, but apparently I think, I think that

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Speaker 8: there can be a credible claim that the administration, the

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Speaker 8: government of Minnesota at least knew about it.

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Speaker 6: It's not.

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Speaker 8: Aided essentially in the in the conduct of that fraud,

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Speaker 8: which is very, very disturbing.

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Speaker 1: Congressman, when you look at something this widespread. And of

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Speaker 1: course we know, and I think as conservatives we share

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Speaker 1: this view that you know, government programs are like you know,

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Speaker 1: they're an attraction to corruption and fraud. That's why we

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Speaker 1: we need to limit what government does, especially outside of

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Speaker 1: its fundamental roles.

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Speaker 2: But that said, it appears that this had to be coordinated.

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Speaker 1: I mean, how how could you have this many people

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Speaker 1: independently doing the same thing taking advantage of this program.

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Speaker 8: That's exactly right, well, and and government programs are often

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Speaker 8: brought with frauds because we all want to help, right,

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Speaker 8: but there they are big.

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Speaker 10: And there's a limited amount of time and.

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Speaker 8: Any time money's involved, there somebody has to be keeping

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Speaker 8: an eye on it, especially when it's not your money,

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Speaker 8: because we all safeguard our own money. But when this

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Speaker 8: is someone else's money, then you get lax about enforcing

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Speaker 8: the standard. And these are big, big, massive programs. And

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Speaker 8: as soon as one person figured it out, I'm sure

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Speaker 8: they told another and another, and it really is people say, well,

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Speaker 8: it was up to the inspector general.

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Speaker 10: It's up to the federal government. Actually, in this case

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Speaker 10: it's not.

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Speaker 8: These moneys flow out of the federal government, out of

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Speaker 8: federal taxes that we're all forced to pay down for

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Speaker 8: the states to administer them, and it is up to

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Speaker 8: the states to make sure they are good stewards of

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Speaker 8: the dollars that they get. And in cases where they're

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Speaker 8: not good stewards, this is what happens.

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Speaker 10: Now.

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Speaker 8: The real question is where they beyond being not good stewards,

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Speaker 8: but not only turning a blow I died to it,

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Speaker 8: but knowing about it.

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Speaker 10: And here's the thing. When you find out that whistle.

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Speaker 8: Blowers were then attacked or blowing the whistle, then you got.

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Speaker 10: To believe they not only knew about it, but they.

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Speaker 6: Wanted to make sure that it continued.

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Speaker 10: And that is that's where the accountability.

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Speaker 7: Look.

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Speaker 8: We have crimes of comission and crimes of omission, and

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Speaker 8: it seems to me that these at leans are crimes

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Speaker 8: of omission where you just didn't do the right thing

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Speaker 8: on behalf of.

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Speaker 10: The governor, the lieutenant governor, and.

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Speaker 6: The attorney general.

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Speaker 1: What about these reports that this was heavily concentrated in

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Speaker 1: the Somali communities there in Minnesota.

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Speaker 8: Well, that's that's where the facts lie.

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Speaker 10: It's not just reporting.

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Speaker 8: It's not racism, it's not xenophobia, it's not any of

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Speaker 8: that stuff. The facts show that this is where this

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Speaker 8: fraud was occurring time and time again. So you know,

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Speaker 8: of course those are going to be the claim, but

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Speaker 8: those are red pairings to try and take you off

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Speaker 8: the trail of pursuing the fraud and fixing the fraud,

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Speaker 8: prosecuting the fraud, and getting out of accountability for the

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Speaker 8: frauduct that is where the fraud occurred, That's where the

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Speaker 8: investigation must occur.

444
00:24:05,920 --> 00:24:07,640
Speaker 1: Based on what you've seen this far, do you think

445
00:24:07,640 --> 00:24:09,120
Speaker 1: there's a criminal conspiracy here?

446
00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:12,320
Speaker 8: I do think that there is a criminal conspiracy. The

447
00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:15,080
Speaker 8: other part of this is important, it do you know better?

448
00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:15,320
Speaker 10: Right?

449
00:24:15,359 --> 00:24:19,879
Speaker 8: And let's just take daycare organizations that didn't have any children.

450
00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:23,159
Speaker 8: If you're running a daycare, you're taking federal dollars or

451
00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:26,600
Speaker 8: any kind of government dollars, but not having any applicants

452
00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:31,399
Speaker 8: or children at the daycare, then you know better. And

453
00:24:31,400 --> 00:24:34,840
Speaker 8: of course, certainly sending if this is this is what.

454
00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:36,600
Speaker 10: Has occurred, sending that those.

455
00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:41,000
Speaker 8: Tax dollars overseas through terrorist organizations. I don't care what

456
00:24:41,119 --> 00:24:44,159
Speaker 8: country you're from. You know better, and those are the

457
00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:46,359
Speaker 8: laws that are being broken. You need to be prosecuted

458
00:24:46,359 --> 00:24:46,760
Speaker 8: for them.

459
00:24:47,280 --> 00:24:50,479
Speaker 1: Conversation, did you have sixty sixty seconds left? Do you

460
00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:53,000
Speaker 1: think this may be occurring in other states as well?

461
00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:55,760
Speaker 10: Well, there's no doubt that it's occurring in other states.

462
00:24:55,840 --> 00:24:58,720
Speaker 8: Unfortunately, many of us feel like this is just a

463
00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:01,640
Speaker 8: tip of the iceberg. We've got to remember that this

464
00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:04,600
Speaker 8: is a relatively small state compared to many big ones

465
00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:05,600
Speaker 8: like California.

466
00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:08,240
Speaker 10: The same programs.

467
00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:10,879
Speaker 8: Exist, and that they can exploit them in Minnesota, they

468
00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:13,280
Speaker 8: can certainly exploit them anywhere else in the country.

469
00:25:14,080 --> 00:25:15,399
Speaker 2: You'll be looking at that as well.

470
00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:17,400
Speaker 10: We will be looking at that. Yeah.

471
00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:19,639
Speaker 8: Well, like I said, this is going to open up

472
00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:22,960
Speaker 8: for these investigations across the nation and every single state

473
00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:23,560
Speaker 8: in the.

474
00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:25,800
Speaker 10: States that I come from. Pennsylvania.

475
00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:31,200
Speaker 8: Coinciding with the governor's election was the lack of certification

476
00:25:31,480 --> 00:25:34,880
Speaker 8: of government paid for daycares. And you just wonder why

477
00:25:35,040 --> 00:25:37,359
Speaker 8: is that. I'm not making any claims here. We're going

478
00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:39,960
Speaker 8: to take a look to make sure that the right

479
00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:42,399
Speaker 8: thing is being done in Pennsylvania, and we should be

480
00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:45,120
Speaker 8: doing that in every single state. These dollars are precious.

481
00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:47,840
Speaker 2: Congressman Scott Perry, thanks so much for joining us.

482
00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:50,399
Speaker 1: All right, stick with us, folks to the House speakers next,

483
00:25:59,119 --> 00:26:01,240
Speaker 1: you're tuned in to the week on Capitol Hill, and

484
00:26:01,280 --> 00:26:02,399
Speaker 1: I'm your host, Tony Perkins.

485
00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:03,280
Speaker 2: Thanks for joining us.

486
00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:06,840
Speaker 1: On Thursday afternoon, the House approved a renewal of the

487
00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:11,679
Speaker 1: expired Obamacare COVID era subsidies in a two thirty to

488
00:26:11,720 --> 00:26:15,160
Speaker 1: one ninety one vote. Seventeen Republicans joined with two hundred

489
00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:18,600
Speaker 1: and thirteen Democrats all Democrats, to pass a three year

490
00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:22,200
Speaker 1: extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies, which lapsed at the

491
00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:24,800
Speaker 1: end of last year. Notably, this marks the first time

492
00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:28,359
Speaker 1: Republicans have voted in favor of these subsidies or for

493
00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:31,080
Speaker 1: the underlying Obamacare framework itself.

494
00:26:31,560 --> 00:26:33,400
Speaker 2: The bill now heads to the Senate, where.

495
00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:36,600
Speaker 1: An almost identical proposal was previously rejected, making a floor

496
00:26:36,680 --> 00:26:39,760
Speaker 1: vote there unlikely. So what do Republican leaders see as

497
00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:44,080
Speaker 1: the way forward on healthcare insurance policies and the reform?

498
00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:46,679
Speaker 1: Joining me now to discuss this and more. House Speaker

499
00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:50,600
Speaker 1: Mike Johnson, who represents the fourth Congressional District of Louisiana.

500
00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:53,200
Speaker 1: Mister speaker, welcome back to this week on Capitol Hill,

501
00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:54,320
Speaker 1: and happy new year.

502
00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:57,679
Speaker 11: Hey Tony, Happy new year, and happy two fiftieth, the

503
00:26:57,800 --> 00:27:01,760
Speaker 11: semi quincentennial year of the your public here, big.

504
00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:03,560
Speaker 6: It's already begun in earnest, hasn't it.

505
00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:07,760
Speaker 1: Yeah, Well, let's talk. Let's talk policy, let's talk elections.

506
00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:11,680
Speaker 1: Let's talk about the way forward. First, seventeen Republicans joined

507
00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:16,960
Speaker 1: with Democrats to pass a extension of these Obamacare subsidies.

508
00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:22,560
Speaker 11: Your reaction, well, disappointing outcome last night. Not entirely surprising,

509
00:27:22,680 --> 00:27:27,760
Speaker 11: as you know, the expiration of the extra Obamacare COVID

510
00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:30,960
Speaker 11: era subsidy, which is a Democrat creation and one that

511
00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:33,120
Speaker 11: they set the expiration date on that we've talked about

512
00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:35,439
Speaker 11: quite a bit, has been talked about a lot on

513
00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:38,359
Speaker 11: Capitol Ville as well, of course, it was a central

514
00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:40,800
Speaker 11: theme in the middle of the whole government shutdown, the

515
00:27:40,920 --> 00:27:45,080
Speaker 11: historic shutdown, the lengthy one last year, Let's fall. And

516
00:27:45,119 --> 00:27:48,359
Speaker 11: it's been a point of great consternation. The reason is because,

517
00:27:48,359 --> 00:27:51,520
Speaker 11: as you noted, the Republican Party has never ever played

518
00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:55,960
Speaker 11: any role whatsoever in what I think is the monstrosity

519
00:27:55,960 --> 00:28:00,959
Speaker 11: of Obamacare. The people who designed Obamacare, the bomb administration,

520
00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:05,000
Speaker 11: this is more than fifteen years ago, now designed to implode,

521
00:28:05,040 --> 00:28:08,439
Speaker 11: they were the architects of it. Where the advocates of

522
00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:11,640
Speaker 11: single payer they want the government, like Zoron Mndami wants

523
00:28:11,640 --> 00:28:14,359
Speaker 11: the government to run everything, every aspect of our lives.

524
00:28:14,080 --> 00:28:15,240
Speaker 6: And that includes healthcare.

525
00:28:15,359 --> 00:28:18,080
Speaker 11: But we know by experience and by the facts and

526
00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:20,480
Speaker 11: the evidence that every time this is tried around the world,

527
00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:23,159
Speaker 11: it turns into a disaster. We don't want that. We

528
00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:26,359
Speaker 11: want individual freedom in the marketplace. We want choice in

529
00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:29,080
Speaker 11: a marketplace. We want high quality care or costs, and

530
00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:33,040
Speaker 11: Obamacare has provided exactly the opposite. The premiums are up

531
00:28:33,119 --> 00:28:37,919
Speaker 11: in some categories, but over eighty percent, so adding additional subsidies,

532
00:28:37,960 --> 00:28:41,200
Speaker 11: throwing more money at a bad program is a terrible

533
00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:44,280
Speaker 11: policy idea. And to your point, what we're trying to

534
00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:47,280
Speaker 11: do is the opposite. We want to reform that system

535
00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:51,720
Speaker 11: to make it affordable again, and simply adding more subsidies

536
00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:55,080
Speaker 11: to insurance companies drives premiums up even further and exacerbates

537
00:28:55,120 --> 00:28:58,360
Speaker 11: the problem. So I was disappointed that we had those

538
00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:01,160
Speaker 11: the small number of Republicans who going on with the Democrats.

539
00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:04,000
Speaker 11: It was a show vote, Tony, it's not a lawmaking exercise.

540
00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:06,920
Speaker 11: That exact measure has already failed in the Senate, so

541
00:29:07,080 --> 00:29:09,440
Speaker 11: I think it will be over after this.

542
00:29:10,280 --> 00:29:15,160
Speaker 1: Now, there was efforts by Republicans to provide maybe a

543
00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:18,600
Speaker 1: bridge while the underlying issue is dealt with in terms

544
00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:22,680
Speaker 1: of reforms to extend these for a short period of

545
00:29:22,720 --> 00:29:27,240
Speaker 1: time in exchange for hide protections. That means taxpayers would

546
00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:29,960
Speaker 1: not be forced to fund abortions, which is something that

547
00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:32,760
Speaker 1: Obamacare has skirted from the very beginning.

548
00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:36,200
Speaker 2: But the President this week at the policy.

549
00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:41,360
Speaker 1: Forum GOP held at the Kennedy Center suggested that Republicans

550
00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:45,480
Speaker 1: need to be flexible on high That's a first.

551
00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:47,760
Speaker 11: Yes, And I wouldn't read too much into what he

552
00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:50,880
Speaker 11: said that was off the teleprompter. As you know, he

553
00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:54,840
Speaker 11: was sort of riffing when he was with us, and

554
00:29:55,360 --> 00:29:58,200
Speaker 11: he talks about a lot of ideas. In terms of negotiations,

555
00:29:58,240 --> 00:30:00,600
Speaker 11: the president is the deal maker, as you know, and

556
00:30:00,960 --> 00:30:03,120
Speaker 11: he desperately wants to bring down the cost of healthcare,

557
00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:06,000
Speaker 11: and we do as well, and there are impediments to

558
00:30:06,040 --> 00:30:06,719
Speaker 11: doing some of this.

559
00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:09,120
Speaker 6: We obviously are the party of life.

560
00:30:09,200 --> 00:30:12,120
Speaker 11: We are a nation that has to defend the sanctity

561
00:30:12,120 --> 00:30:15,360
Speaker 11: of human life, and we will continue that as a theme.

562
00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:17,560
Speaker 11: I want to note here, in spite of the President's

563
00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:20,480
Speaker 11: comments and things he says sometimes in all these processes,

564
00:30:20,760 --> 00:30:23,640
Speaker 11: the record shows that President Donald J. Trump is the

565
00:30:23,680 --> 00:30:26,520
Speaker 11: most prolite president of the modern era, and I think

566
00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:29,200
Speaker 11: of all time. I mean, look at the many strides

567
00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:31,040
Speaker 11: that we've made under his leadership, and.

568
00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:32,360
Speaker 6: He's committed to the issue.

569
00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:36,080
Speaker 11: Now he's in tune as well to the politics of

570
00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:38,520
Speaker 11: all this, and all those things have to be mixed together.

571
00:30:38,600 --> 00:30:41,440
Speaker 11: But I made a statement after the conference, and I've

572
00:30:41,640 --> 00:30:44,360
Speaker 11: stated it many times since, and it's the same thing

573
00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:47,320
Speaker 11: I've said my entire adult life. Only we are going

574
00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:49,440
Speaker 11: to defend the sancety of life and the high protections

575
00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:52,719
Speaker 11: are sacrosanct. Here in Layman's terms, what it means is

576
00:30:53,120 --> 00:30:56,040
Speaker 11: taxpayer funding will never be authorized to pay for abortion,

577
00:30:56,360 --> 00:30:58,640
Speaker 11: period stop, full stop, end of sentence.

578
00:30:58,680 --> 00:30:59,440
Speaker 6: And that's never going.

579
00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:02,360
Speaker 1: To change here, and that certainly has been your record

580
00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:08,200
Speaker 1: from the start, mister speaker, Let's talk policy ideas momentum.

581
00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:11,880
Speaker 1: At the Policy Forum earlier this week, you shared six

582
00:31:12,040 --> 00:31:15,040
Speaker 1: reasons why the Republicans are going to win the midterm.

583
00:31:15,600 --> 00:31:17,400
Speaker 11: Yes, you know, we've noted you and I've talked about

584
00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:20,000
Speaker 11: how we have to defy history to keep this majority

585
00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:22,160
Speaker 11: and keep it going. Give the president four years instead

586
00:31:22,200 --> 00:31:24,400
Speaker 11: of just two. We've got to win this midterm election

587
00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:26,520
Speaker 11: in November, and it's only happened twice in the last

588
00:31:26,520 --> 00:31:30,360
Speaker 11: fifty ninety years. Actually the sitting president has picked up

589
00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:32,480
Speaker 11: seats for his party. But there's lots of reasons that

590
00:31:32,560 --> 00:31:35,440
Speaker 11: we will. I'm absolutely convinced we're going to Tony, and

591
00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:37,560
Speaker 11: it's not just because I'm convinced that God has not

592
00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:39,400
Speaker 11: done with America yet, got it. We got to keep

593
00:31:39,560 --> 00:31:43,160
Speaker 11: all this going. But I handed out a summary of reasons,

594
00:31:43,360 --> 00:31:45,560
Speaker 11: and I put it in summary format because I give

595
00:31:45,560 --> 00:31:46,200
Speaker 11: you a ninety.

596
00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:46,640
Speaker 6: Minute slide show.

597
00:31:46,720 --> 00:31:49,200
Speaker 11: But it boils down to the proven record of Republicans

598
00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:52,120
Speaker 11: at what we've done, the expanded base that we achieved

599
00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:55,120
Speaker 11: in twenty twenty four, and that big demographic ship in

600
00:31:55,160 --> 00:31:57,560
Speaker 11: the election. We hold a lot of those. The Democrats

601
00:31:57,600 --> 00:32:00,360
Speaker 11: being in total disarray. They have the lowest approval rating

602
00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:03,040
Speaker 11: of all time, and they're going into an open civil

603
00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:07,280
Speaker 11: war with mom Dami and communists marks as challengers to

604
00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:09,160
Speaker 11: all the Democrats around the country. It's going to be

605
00:32:09,160 --> 00:32:11,680
Speaker 11: an ugly primary for them. We have a fundraising advantage.

606
00:32:11,680 --> 00:32:14,120
Speaker 11: I've said, fundraising records, by God's grace of all time,

607
00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:16,600
Speaker 11: and all of our colleagues are as well. The party

608
00:32:16,760 --> 00:32:19,760
Speaker 11: has more money than the Democrats in five. The favorable

609
00:32:19,800 --> 00:32:23,560
Speaker 11: environment we're in politically number six. The unprecedented energy and

610
00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:26,760
Speaker 11: events that we will have in this election cycle. President

611
00:32:26,800 --> 00:32:29,160
Speaker 11: Trump himself is going to be out campaigning, as they

612
00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:31,160
Speaker 11: said in the White House like it's twenty twenty four.

613
00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:35,400
Speaker 11: We're going to have a midterm convention right before the election.

614
00:32:35,480 --> 00:32:38,680
Speaker 11: That's never happened before. So unprecedented events and an historic year.

615
00:32:38,920 --> 00:32:40,720
Speaker 11: We're really looking forward to it.

616
00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:44,800
Speaker 1: Eleven months until the election. You know, in politics, a

617
00:32:44,880 --> 00:32:46,800
Speaker 1: day is like a lifetime and a lifetime a day.

618
00:32:46,840 --> 00:32:51,160
Speaker 1: How do you keep that momentum in those advantages moving forward?

619
00:32:51,840 --> 00:32:53,560
Speaker 11: Well, I have to you know, Scripture says you don't

620
00:32:53,600 --> 00:32:56,040
Speaker 11: worry about tomorrow. You focus on the troubles of today,

621
00:32:56,040 --> 00:32:58,760
Speaker 11: because the day has enough, and we do that hour

622
00:32:58,840 --> 00:33:01,000
Speaker 11: of hour, day by day faith and in prayer.

623
00:33:01,080 --> 00:33:03,520
Speaker 6: We walk forward. We advance this these priorities.

624
00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:06,080
Speaker 11: We advance the America First agenda, which is right for

625
00:33:06,120 --> 00:33:08,880
Speaker 11: the country, and we demonstrate day by day that we're

626
00:33:08,880 --> 00:33:10,160
Speaker 11: doing the right thing for the right reason.

627
00:33:10,200 --> 00:33:11,960
Speaker 6: And I think the voters are going to reward that.

628
00:33:12,040 --> 00:33:14,280
Speaker 11: I don't think they want the chaos and the communism

629
00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:17,240
Speaker 11: that comes with today's Democrat Party. I think they want

630
00:33:17,600 --> 00:33:20,760
Speaker 11: us to continue to fulfill our promises and that's what

631
00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:22,480
Speaker 11: we've done so far, that we'll do this year, and

632
00:33:22,480 --> 00:33:24,120
Speaker 11: that will be rewarded at the ballot box.

633
00:33:24,720 --> 00:33:27,320
Speaker 1: Yes, I think the evil of today is enough to

634
00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:28,959
Speaker 1: keep us quite occupied.

635
00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:32,120
Speaker 2: Mister speaker, thanks so much for joining us. Have a

636
00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:34,000
Speaker 2: great weekend, and we'll see you next week.

637
00:33:34,360 --> 00:33:35,600
Speaker 6: Thank you, my friend, appreciate it.

638
00:33:36,080 --> 00:33:38,440
Speaker 1: Speaker Mike Johnson, all right, don't go away, because on

639
00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:40,840
Speaker 1: the other side of the break, a few final thoughts

640
00:33:40,880 --> 00:33:43,520
Speaker 1: to wrap up the week. As we are talking about

641
00:33:43,560 --> 00:33:47,040
Speaker 1: the High Amendment. This is a redline for Republicans. We're

642
00:33:47,040 --> 00:33:49,120
Speaker 1: going to talk about it next here on This Week

643
00:33:49,160 --> 00:34:01,240
Speaker 1: on Capitol Hill. Welcome back to This Week on Capitol Hill.

644
00:34:01,280 --> 00:34:04,280
Speaker 1: Thanks so much for tuning in. All right, picture this.

645
00:34:04,520 --> 00:34:07,080
Speaker 1: You're sitting in a nice restaurant. The people at the

646
00:34:07,120 --> 00:34:11,040
Speaker 1: next table are sparing no expense ordering the most expensive

647
00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:14,319
Speaker 1: items on the menu. Now that's their choice. But when

648
00:34:14,360 --> 00:34:17,440
Speaker 1: the waiter brings you the bill and says you didn't

649
00:34:17,560 --> 00:34:19,680
Speaker 1: order any of this, but you're paying for it anyway,

650
00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:24,439
Speaker 1: you'd probably lose your appetite and maybe your temper well.

651
00:34:24,440 --> 00:34:28,239
Speaker 1: As offensive as that would be, it pales in comparison

652
00:34:28,280 --> 00:34:32,280
Speaker 1: to the injustice of forcing taxpayers to fund the killing

653
00:34:32,360 --> 00:34:36,280
Speaker 1: of the unborn. This is not merely a policy dispute.

654
00:34:36,320 --> 00:34:41,560
Speaker 1: It is a profound moral wrong. It compounds one injustice

655
00:34:41,640 --> 00:34:46,000
Speaker 1: upon another, first the taking of innocent human life, and

656
00:34:46,080 --> 00:34:50,480
Speaker 1: then compelling citizens to finance an act that violates the

657
00:34:50,520 --> 00:34:54,480
Speaker 1: moral law of the author of life. That is precisely

658
00:34:54,640 --> 00:34:59,080
Speaker 1: why the late Congressman Henry Hyde of Illinois successfully crafted

659
00:34:59,360 --> 00:35:02,840
Speaker 1: what became known as the High Amendment in nineteen seventy six.

660
00:35:03,320 --> 00:35:07,000
Speaker 1: The High Amendment is an annual appropriations writer adopted every

661
00:35:07,080 --> 00:35:11,840
Speaker 1: year since establishing the only enduring common ground on abortion

662
00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:14,960
Speaker 1: policy that Americans should not be forced to fund and

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00:35:15,120 --> 00:35:18,799
Speaker 1: act that many believe is morally abhorrent the taking of

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00:35:18,880 --> 00:35:24,600
Speaker 1: the unborn child's life. Now, despite decades of pro abortion

665
00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:30,480
Speaker 1: propaganda and cultural indoctrination, a clear majority of Americans fifty

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00:35:30,560 --> 00:35:35,520
Speaker 1: seven percent still oppose being compelled to fund abortions. Now,

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00:35:35,520 --> 00:35:39,960
Speaker 1: among Republican voters, that opposition rises to eighty three percent.

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00:35:40,840 --> 00:35:43,800
Speaker 1: I'm going to tell you, in today's fractured political climate,

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00:35:43,920 --> 00:35:47,399
Speaker 1: few issues command that level of agreement. That is what

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00:35:47,520 --> 00:35:50,480
Speaker 1: makes President Trump's call this week for Republicans to be

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00:35:50,560 --> 00:35:54,560
Speaker 1: quote a little flexible on hide during their negotiations over

672
00:35:54,600 --> 00:35:59,960
Speaker 1: Obamacare subsidies so stunning. Retreating from the party's long stand

673
00:36:00,280 --> 00:36:03,520
Speaker 1: defense of the unborn is not pragmatism. It is the

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00:36:03,640 --> 00:36:08,640
Speaker 1: shortest path to becoming a permanent minority. At issue is

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00:36:08,880 --> 00:36:12,520
Speaker 1: the Affordable Care Act itself, which was deceptively designed to

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00:36:12,640 --> 00:36:16,439
Speaker 1: evade Hyde's protections when it was passed in twenty ten

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00:36:16,719 --> 00:36:21,200
Speaker 1: without any Republican support. I might add the COVID era subsidies,

678
00:36:21,239 --> 00:36:25,280
Speaker 1: again pushed solely by Democrats during the Biden administration, funneled

679
00:36:25,360 --> 00:36:28,759
Speaker 1: even more money into an already failing system under the

680
00:36:28,800 --> 00:36:34,440
Speaker 1: pretext of emergency relief. What is now unmistakably clear is

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00:36:34,480 --> 00:36:38,800
Speaker 1: that the so called Affordable Care Act is in fact unaffordable.

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00:36:39,320 --> 00:36:43,360
Speaker 1: To date, no Republican has voted for Obamacare or its subsidies.

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00:36:43,600 --> 00:36:46,760
Speaker 1: Some Republicans have signaled a willingness to support a short

684
00:36:46,840 --> 00:36:50,960
Speaker 1: term extension while Congress works to overhaul the system, but

685
00:36:51,160 --> 00:36:55,840
Speaker 1: only if hide protections are included. Democrats have flatly rejected

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00:36:55,920 --> 00:37:01,200
Speaker 1: that condition, insisting that abortion coverage remain mandatory. That position

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00:37:01,360 --> 00:37:05,560
Speaker 1: has been and must remain a red line for Republicans.

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00:37:06,040 --> 00:37:08,759
Speaker 1: When we consider the moral truth of the sanctity of

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00:37:08,800 --> 00:37:11,799
Speaker 1: human life and the womb, and the equally important right

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00:37:11,880 --> 00:37:15,239
Speaker 1: of citizens not to be forced to finance its destruction,

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00:37:16,040 --> 00:37:19,520
Speaker 1: we're reminded of the words of another president, at a

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00:37:19,560 --> 00:37:24,680
Speaker 1: moment of national consequence, who said, this important principles may

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00:37:24,960 --> 00:37:29,560
Speaker 1: and must be inflexible. Those were among the last public

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00:37:29,640 --> 00:37:33,960
Speaker 1: words spoken by Abraham Lincoln, and those words, my friend

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00:37:34,400 --> 00:37:38,640
Speaker 1: still speak today. And with that that has been this

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00:37:38,719 --> 00:37:40,319
Speaker 1: week on Capitol Hill