WEBVTT - 7-15-26: Rep Edwards Joins

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<v Speaker 1>Going back to breaking with Brett Jensen here on this

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<v Speaker 1>Wednesday night. Okay, so I've interviewed many congressmen over the

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<v Speaker 1>last few years here, quite a few Congressmen and a

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<v Speaker 1>couple Senators as well. One that I have not interviewed

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<v Speaker 1>is Chuck Edwards, the congressman out of western North Carolina

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<v Speaker 1>and District eleven, which is basically all of the mountains.

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<v Speaker 1>So for the very first time, he's joining us right now. So,

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<v Speaker 1>first of all, Congressman, thank you for joining us tonight.

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<v Speaker 1>And second of all, I saw the other day that

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<v Speaker 1>Speaker Mike Johnson said that he wants to have a

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<v Speaker 1>very vigorous active you know, late summer, early fall, going

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<v Speaker 1>into November and December, and so I'm just curious from

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<v Speaker 1>that standpoint what kind of bills are voting or what

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<v Speaker 1>to anticipate he meant by vigorous and what do you

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<v Speaker 1>expect going on between now and the end.

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<v Speaker 2>Of the year. Well, I wouldn't say it's only Speaker

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<v Speaker 2>Johnson that wants an aggressive wrap up to the one

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<v Speaker 2>hundred and nineteenth Congress. I recognized that we still much

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<v Speaker 2>work to do for the people of North North Carolina,

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<v Speaker 2>and the number one thing that we're working on right

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<v Speaker 2>now is funding the next fiscal year. Our fiscal year

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<v Speaker 2>ends on September thirtieth, and we've got to put a

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<v Speaker 2>twenty twenty seven spending plan together.

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<v Speaker 1>Speaking of a Congressman Chuck Edwards, who represents all of

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<v Speaker 1>western North Carolina, like all the mountains and right there

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<v Speaker 1>in District eleven. So you just mentioned, you know everything

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<v Speaker 1>talking about finances going forward, how do you think that

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<v Speaker 1>will go? Because North cal Indians are very all too

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<v Speaker 1>well informed about how budgets go between. You know, it

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<v Speaker 1>took a year and a half to get the one

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<v Speaker 1>just now passed in Raleigh, and we've heard about government

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<v Speaker 1>shutdowns in the past. So how do you think this

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<v Speaker 1>one will start going?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I think it's going to go much better than

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<v Speaker 2>we've seen for the last several decades. An example is

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<v Speaker 2>just how we finished up twenty twenty six the Appropriation Committee,

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<v Speaker 2>which I sit on As a matter of fact, I'm

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<v Speaker 2>the only appropriator from North Carolina in the House of Representatives.

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<v Speaker 2>We passed all twelve spending bills. These were pre conferenced

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<v Speaker 2>with the Senate, and we had a bipartisan effort to

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<v Speaker 2>fund our government right up to the last minute when

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<v Speaker 2>a number of Democrats, because of their resistance of funding ICE,

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<v Speaker 2>pulled their support for the Department of Homeland Security. But

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<v Speaker 2>we got twelve in excuse me, eleven individual spending bills

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<v Speaker 2>passed outside of the CR process, which was absolutely unheard

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<v Speaker 2>of for the past several years, and we're all to

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<v Speaker 2>the same type of start this year. We've passed all

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<v Speaker 2>twelve spending bills out of Appropriations Committee thus far.

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<v Speaker 1>Congressman, almost your entire area was devis Hurricane Helen. Can

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<v Speaker 1>you give the people you know east of you an

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<v Speaker 1>update and how things are going up there? Are the mountains?

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<v Speaker 1>Are they pretty much rebuilt? Seventy five eighty ninety fifty percent?

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<v Speaker 1>Can you give us an update on how things are

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<v Speaker 1>going up there from Hurricane Helen?

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<v Speaker 2>Hi, I appreciate that question. You're right. I represent the

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<v Speaker 2>sixteen western most counties in western North Carolina, every one

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<v Speaker 2>of which was declared a natural disaster area after Hurricane Heleen.

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<v Speaker 2>We saw unprecedented damage, and I'm really proud of the

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<v Speaker 2>work that so many churches and volunteers and neighbors have

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<v Speaker 2>done to help initially make sure that folks were taken

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<v Speaker 2>care of. They had the resources and the shelter that

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<v Speaker 2>they needed. We've come on strong in terms of rebuilding.

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<v Speaker 2>About ninety eight percent of all of our roads are

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<v Speaker 2>now reopened. The Blue Ridge Parkway be fully restored by

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<v Speaker 2>the end of this year. All the water systems are

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<v Speaker 2>now operational. We've repaired or replaced about one hundred and

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<v Speaker 2>six thousand homes in North Carolina. About ten thousand, four

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<v Speaker 2>hundred private roads and bridges have been restored. We don't

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<v Speaker 2>have a good count on the number of businesses that

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<v Speaker 2>are reopened, but many have. We've brought about thirteen billion

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<v Speaker 2>dollars in disaster relief funding to Western North Carolina for

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<v Speaker 2>the rebuild. Yeah, we've got We've still got work to do.

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<v Speaker 2>It may take a few years before we look totally

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<v Speaker 2>normal again, but I'm proud of the way that the

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<v Speaker 2>people of western North Carolina have come together to get things.

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<v Speaker 2>The federal government, there's no question, has been a bit

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<v Speaker 2>slow in its response, and I have worked with three

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<v Speaker 2>different femas since Hurricane Heleen. I worked with the FEMA

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<v Speaker 2>under the Biden administration. I worked with a FEMA under

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<v Speaker 2>Christy Noman. Now I'm working with a FEMA under Secretary

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<v Speaker 2>Mark Wayne Mullen, each of which takes on a whole

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<v Speaker 2>different set of personalities.

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<v Speaker 1>Speak with North Carolina Congressman Chuck Edwards, who represents the

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<v Speaker 1>District eleven, which is the Mountains of North Carolina. So, Congressman,

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<v Speaker 1>one of the big things about a month and a

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<v Speaker 1>half ago at the NCGOP convention was Republican motivation, getting

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<v Speaker 1>them really motivated to show up in November to actually

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<v Speaker 1>vote into counteract the motivation by the Democrats. Do you

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<v Speaker 1>see that being an issue?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, my focus actually serving as the representative of western

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<v Speaker 2>North Carolina is continuing to serve the people of west

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<v Speaker 2>in North Carolina and doing the job that I was

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<v Speaker 2>hired to do. I've not taken a lot of time

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<v Speaker 2>to campaign, but the reality is Republicans are fired up

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<v Speaker 2>and we will must certainly make it to the polls

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<v Speaker 2>in October and November. I think we're going to see

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<v Speaker 2>record early voting turnout by Republicans this session or this election.

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<v Speaker 2>Republicans are fired up. We'll must certainly make it to

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<v Speaker 2>the polls because we understand what's on the line.

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<v Speaker 1>So Congressman, I'll end it like this, and like I do,

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<v Speaker 1>just about every single interview is there anything that you'd

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<v Speaker 1>like to say that I didn't ask you about, or

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<v Speaker 1>anything that you'd like to say to the constituents in

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<v Speaker 1>your district or just to the people in North Carolina

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<v Speaker 1>who are listening.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I appreciate that opportunity. First of all, I think

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<v Speaker 2>folks would be interested in a couple of bills that

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<v Speaker 2>we're going to see work on this week. In fact,

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<v Speaker 2>last night, the House passed the Sunshine Act, which would

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<v Speaker 2>eliminate the well it would keep permanent daylight savings time.

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<v Speaker 2>While that seems like such a small issue, it's an

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<v Speaker 2>annoyance for Americans to have to change their clocks twice

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<v Speaker 2>a year, and I hear constituents over and over again

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<v Speaker 2>telling me that they wish that we could pick one time. Well,

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<v Speaker 2>we're going to give the states an option to do

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<v Speaker 2>that through the bill that we passed last night. Also,

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<v Speaker 2>I know there's a lot of interest about eighty five

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<v Speaker 2>percent of Americans would like to see provisions of the

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<v Speaker 2>Save America Act passed. Eighty five percent of Americans think

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<v Speaker 2>only US citizens should be voting in federal elections, and

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<v Speaker 2>the Save America Act provides for that. In addition to

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<v Speaker 2>most Americans feel that there should be voter ID in place,

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<v Speaker 2>and so the House is going to be working on

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<v Speaker 2>another result this week. In fact, tomorrow, the Budget Committee

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<v Speaker 2>begins to mark up a reconciliation package that I believe

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<v Speaker 2>the Senate can get on board with and pass with

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<v Speaker 2>a simple majority. That's two pieces of legislation I think

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<v Speaker 2>folks in North Carolina would be interested in past that.

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<v Speaker 2>I'd just like to say to folks out there that

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<v Speaker 2>I always appreciate the opportunity when folks reach out to

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<v Speaker 2>me to talk about what's on their mind. We have

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<v Speaker 2>the Carolina Cruiser in every county every month, so follow

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<v Speaker 2>my website and social media for the calendar there. We

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<v Speaker 2>always look forward to folks climbing aboard the Carolina Cruiser

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<v Speaker 2>and talking about what's important to them. And if anybody

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<v Speaker 2>out there is still having problems with disaster recovery, I

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<v Speaker 2>set up a special phone line. It's two two three

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<v Speaker 2>fixed FEMA, and they'll be connected directly with one of

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<v Speaker 2>my staff experts on helping folks navigate the bureaucracy of

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<v Speaker 2>hurricane recovery. That's two two three fixed FEMA.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, Congressman Chuck Edwards, I really do appreciate you taking

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<v Speaker 1>the time for our very first interview with one another,

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<v Speaker 1>and I look forward to doing this in the very

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<v Speaker 1>near future. So again, thanks a lot for joining us tonight, all.

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<v Speaker 2>Right, Thanks a lot, I've enjoyed visiting with you.

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<v Speaker 1>All right. Once again, thanks to Congressman Chuck Edwards for

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<v Speaker 1>joining us tonight for the very first time. Here, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>breaking with Brett Jensen. Look forward to doing that more

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<v Speaker 1>times in the future.