WEBVTT - Rep. Byron Donalds Talks US Shutdown, ACA Subsidies 0:00:02.520 --> 0:00:08.560 Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. We're all keeping our 0:00:08.600 --> 0:00:11.200 eyes on Capitol Hill today for good reason. The Senate 0:00:11.240 --> 0:00:14.480 passed the legislation last evening that would reopen the government. 0:00:14.520 --> 0:00:16.640 Once the House does the same, the President pulls out 0:00:16.680 --> 0:00:19.360 the sharpie and we're back in business. Of course, knowing 0:00:19.400 --> 0:00:21.440 that it could take some time for airlines to get 0:00:21.480 --> 0:00:24.599 back together, for airports and air traffic control towers to 0:00:24.600 --> 0:00:28.080 be fully staffed, snap benefits to be funded, and of 0:00:28.080 --> 0:00:31.360 course the hundreds of thousands of furloughed federal workers to 0:00:31.360 --> 0:00:36.160 get back to work get a paycheck in the bank account. So, Tyler, 0:00:36.240 --> 0:00:38.400 what we have here is a rules committee hearing. It's 0:00:38.400 --> 0:00:39.960 going to be an important one that's set to start 0:00:40.000 --> 0:00:42.919 a few hours from now, and they'll start hashing out 0:00:42.920 --> 0:00:45.680 the rules that will bring the bill to the floor, 0:00:46.280 --> 0:00:51.720 and by four pm, we're told, don't necessarily bet on that, 0:00:51.840 --> 0:00:53.600 but around four pm we'll have a vote in the 0:00:53.600 --> 0:00:55.240 House that could actually end this shutout. 0:00:55.320 --> 0:00:57.880 Right, if we've learned anything, things could change quickly the 0:00:57.920 --> 0:01:00.440 goose of Representatives. But this is what we're tracked as 0:01:00.480 --> 0:01:02.960 of now. How Speaker Mike Johnson can only afford to 0:01:03.040 --> 0:01:06.399 lose two Republican votes, but it appears that his hand 0:01:06.440 --> 0:01:09.160 has been bolstered by the fact that President Trump has 0:01:09.200 --> 0:01:12.200 thrown his weight behind this deal, saying that he wants 0:01:12.240 --> 0:01:14.479 to sign it into law. Now, we're going to talk 0:01:14.480 --> 0:01:16.840 to one of the members who is going to cast 0:01:16.920 --> 0:01:19.800 his vote when this comes up tomorrow, and that's Congressman 0:01:19.840 --> 0:01:24.440 Byron Donalds. He's a Republican representing Florida's nineteenth district. Congressman, 0:01:24.480 --> 0:01:27.120 thanks so much for joining us here on Bloomberg Television 0:01:27.160 --> 0:01:30.240 and Radio. I think I probably know the answer, but 0:01:30.360 --> 0:01:32.520 just to get you on the record and to confirm, 0:01:32.680 --> 0:01:34.880 how are you going to vote when this package comes 0:01:34.920 --> 0:01:35.480 up tomorrow? 0:01:36.680 --> 0:01:37.880 I'm voting yes. Tomorrow. 0:01:38.040 --> 0:01:41.560 It's time for the government to be reopened and this 0:01:41.720 --> 0:01:45.640 shutdown created by Chuck Schumer and the Democrats to be blunt. 0:01:45.680 --> 0:01:47.480 We're still not even sure what they shut the government 0:01:47.560 --> 0:01:50.240 down for in the first place, but we're excited to 0:01:50.280 --> 0:01:52.880 get back to work and get this to the President's 0:01:52.920 --> 0:01:54.320 desk as quickly as possible. 0:01:56.000 --> 0:01:57.360 Congressman, I want to ask you about one of the 0:01:57.440 --> 0:02:00.840 provisions that we're seeing included, which is a rollback, a 0:02:00.920 --> 0:02:05.000 reversal of the mass federal firings that started on October 0:02:05.040 --> 0:02:08.680 first also puts a block on any future firings until 0:02:08.880 --> 0:02:12.079 January thirtieth. Do you have any concern with this policy 0:02:12.120 --> 0:02:14.360 since we know it's something that this White House had 0:02:14.400 --> 0:02:15.280 been advigating for. 0:02:16.560 --> 0:02:17.079 No, we don't. 0:02:17.120 --> 0:02:19.280 There's been a lot of work in this regard the 0:02:19.440 --> 0:02:20.520 entire year. 0:02:20.680 --> 0:02:21.400 That's number one. 0:02:21.480 --> 0:02:24.840 Number two, everybody knows at this point that one of 0:02:24.880 --> 0:02:26.120 the ways we're going to be able to get our 0:02:26.160 --> 0:02:29.080 spending under control, which is a major concern for the 0:02:29.120 --> 0:02:32.000 bond markets and our credit rating agencies, is we're going 0:02:32.040 --> 0:02:35.040 to have to streamline the federal government across the board. 0:02:35.440 --> 0:02:39.080 Part of that has been giving workers an opportunity to 0:02:39.160 --> 0:02:41.800 leave the federal workforce. Some of them have been provided 0:02:41.840 --> 0:02:44.200 bonuses on their way out the door, and so I 0:02:44.240 --> 0:02:46.800 think this is going to continue. Well, you know, we 0:02:46.840 --> 0:02:49.320 have a temporary measure that we have to get through here, 0:02:49.400 --> 0:02:52.000 and we're going to do that and get the government reopened. 0:02:53.200 --> 0:02:53.600 Congress. 0:02:53.639 --> 0:02:55.280 But it's good to see you, and you said something 0:02:55.320 --> 0:02:56.800 in your first answer that was important. 0:02:56.800 --> 0:02:57.799 What was this all for? 0:02:57.919 --> 0:03:00.679 Because it seems to me that this could have been 0:03:00.760 --> 0:03:04.799 something that took place weeks ago, knowing that Democrats were 0:03:04.800 --> 0:03:08.880 offered an up or down vote on extending Obamacare subsidies. 0:03:08.960 --> 0:03:10.639 Many told us here on the air that that was 0:03:10.680 --> 0:03:12.480 simply not good enough. And I know a lot of 0:03:12.520 --> 0:03:14.240 them still feel that way, who are going to vote 0:03:14.240 --> 0:03:17.280 no because they wanted an actual deal on paper. John 0:03:17.320 --> 0:03:19.920 Thune has promised that vote. Now, should Speaker Johnson do 0:03:19.960 --> 0:03:20.519 the same. 0:03:22.000 --> 0:03:24.320 No, I think that's something that John Thune and the Senate. 0:03:24.040 --> 0:03:24.760 Has to go through. 0:03:24.919 --> 0:03:28.200 Let's talk real quickly about these Obamacare subsidies that were 0:03:28.320 --> 0:03:30.919 part of one of the things that Democrats were talking about. 0:03:31.200 --> 0:03:32.120 Let's first be clear. 0:03:32.200 --> 0:03:35.280 Democrats who are arguing for like five different things over 0:03:35.320 --> 0:03:37.200 the last forty days, and that's how you know that 0:03:37.240 --> 0:03:41.320 their negotiations weren't serious. This was much more about politics 0:03:41.600 --> 0:03:44.920 from the Democratic left and politics from Chuck Schumer trying 0:03:44.920 --> 0:03:48.720 to save his job as Senate Minority leader. But to 0:03:48.760 --> 0:03:52.360 the specific issue about Obamacare subsidies. What the Democrats have 0:03:52.400 --> 0:03:55.560 been telling the American people consistently is that they need 0:03:55.600 --> 0:03:58.560 more subsidies to cover up the true cost of health care. 0:03:58.880 --> 0:04:02.600 And these subsidies are on top of the existing structure 0:04:02.680 --> 0:04:07.120 of subsidies built into the law of the Affordable Care Act. So, 0:04:07.320 --> 0:04:10.440 in short, more subsidies is not going to fix Obamacare. 0:04:10.640 --> 0:04:13.080 What it's going to do is mask the true costs 0:04:13.480 --> 0:04:17.359 and the true damage to families everywhere. I've talked to 0:04:17.360 --> 0:04:20.560 people where their premiums for a bronze plan are now 0:04:20.600 --> 0:04:25.200 two thousand dollars a month. That's rent, that's a mortgage 0:04:25.200 --> 0:04:27.960 in some parts of the country. The deductibles twelve to 0:04:28.040 --> 0:04:31.080 fourteen thousand dollars a year. So if you're making one 0:04:31.160 --> 0:04:33.600 hundred and twenty five thousand dollars a year as a family, 0:04:34.040 --> 0:04:36.480 you don't have two thousand dollars a month in disposable 0:04:36.520 --> 0:04:40.400 income to pay premiums, let alone the fourteen thousand dollars 0:04:40.480 --> 0:04:43.520 to pay the deductible before you even start accessing the 0:04:43.600 --> 0:04:47.159 health insurance policy. This is what's wrong with Obamacare. The 0:04:47.200 --> 0:04:50.440 Democrats want to cover it up using subsidies, as opposed 0:04:50.480 --> 0:04:53.320 to fixing the problem that they created fifteen years ago. 0:04:54.560 --> 0:04:56.880 So then what is the plan, Congressman, are we talking 0:04:56.920 --> 0:04:59.840 about replacing? President Trump has said that he'd be willing 0:04:59.880 --> 0:05:02.920 to negotiate when it comes to this very issue. So 0:05:02.960 --> 0:05:05.080 what's feasible, what's going to get through your chamber that 0:05:05.120 --> 0:05:06.760 would get your vote? 0:05:07.080 --> 0:05:09.320 I think what's feasible are some of the reforms that 0:05:09.360 --> 0:05:12.440 we try to get through back in twenty seventeen. I 0:05:12.480 --> 0:05:14.840 will tell you by the way Democrats refuse to lift 0:05:14.839 --> 0:05:17.760 a finger and work with us to avoid the calamity 0:05:17.800 --> 0:05:20.320 that we see today. But that centered around health care 0:05:20.360 --> 0:05:23.680 policies that are patients centered. It's about health care policies 0:05:23.680 --> 0:05:27.200 that do not have overburden some requirements on all the 0:05:27.200 --> 0:05:30.719 things that are covered that really create a bureaucratic bloats 0:05:31.320 --> 0:05:34.560 and makes the premiums more expensive. It's about making sure 0:05:34.600 --> 0:05:38.000 there's more catastrophic insurance policies in the marketplace. 0:05:38.040 --> 0:05:39.719 Maybe you have young workers. 0:05:39.480 --> 0:05:43.440 They don't need a full gold plated healthcare policy. What 0:05:43.480 --> 0:05:46.640 they need is catastrophic health care coverage and ability to 0:05:46.680 --> 0:05:49.920 go get regular visits and checkups. That's a key part 0:05:49.920 --> 0:05:52.520 of this. There's a study being done. It was one 0:05:52.560 --> 0:05:55.560 I think Senator Ron Johnson released these findings actually, and 0:05:55.600 --> 0:05:58.719 it's demonstrated that employer provided coverage and most of the 0:05:58.760 --> 0:06:04.400 country has had just marginally risen over inflation. But when 0:06:04.400 --> 0:06:07.599 you look at health insurance policies in the Obamacare exchanges, 0:06:07.880 --> 0:06:11.000 they are up to three four hundred in some respects 0:06:11.040 --> 0:06:13.680 five hundred percent over inflation. 0:06:14.080 --> 0:06:14.920 That's crazy. 0:06:15.279 --> 0:06:18.760 We've created a two tier system in healthcare. So I 0:06:18.760 --> 0:06:21.320 would tell the American people this is not simply about 0:06:21.640 --> 0:06:25.520 subsidies for Obamacare. It is about providing real solutions that 0:06:25.600 --> 0:06:28.800 put patients first. So we have a healthcare system and 0:06:28.839 --> 0:06:32.680 a healthcare insurance marketplace that people can afford and be 0:06:32.720 --> 0:06:35.760 able to access health care readily in their communities. 0:06:36.560 --> 0:06:38.880 Well, I love that we're having this conversation, Congressman, and 0:06:38.880 --> 0:06:40.719 I wonder your thoughts on what the President said to 0:06:40.800 --> 0:06:43.520 Laura Ingram last evening, because he's been on truth Social 0:06:43.560 --> 0:06:46.240 about this as well. Give the money directly to people 0:06:46.720 --> 0:06:50.279 and let them negotiate with health insurance is essentially what 0:06:50.360 --> 0:06:52.560 he said. The quote was the insurance will be better, 0:06:52.600 --> 0:06:56.240 it'll cost less. They're going to feel like entrepreneurs, he said, 0:06:56.240 --> 0:06:58.760 They'll actually be able to go out and negotiate their 0:06:58.839 --> 0:07:04.440 own health insurance. Would that still require a pool of patients, though, 0:07:04.440 --> 0:07:08.000 Congressman to create leverage or am I calling up United 0:07:08.040 --> 0:07:09.840 Healthcare and trying to get my own rates at the 0:07:09.880 --> 0:07:10.800 same time that you are? 0:07:12.320 --> 0:07:14.960 Well, I think there's parts of what you're saying or true, 0:07:15.120 --> 0:07:17.000 some that will have to be worked on. I think 0:07:17.040 --> 0:07:19.920 the premise of the president laying out is the correct one. 0:07:20.160 --> 0:07:23.720 Look at any industry in our economy, the ones where 0:07:23.760 --> 0:07:27.600 people have direct purchasing power to go to companies and 0:07:27.600 --> 0:07:31.320 buy the product they're looking for, those prices are actually 0:07:31.400 --> 0:07:34.320 increasing lower than the rate of inflation. But when you 0:07:34.400 --> 0:07:37.800 bring in these other issues, these other areas where the 0:07:37.880 --> 0:07:41.200 government is doing direct subsidies, that's where the prices are 0:07:41.200 --> 0:07:44.800 completely out of control. And so for me, the situation 0:07:44.880 --> 0:07:47.000 is clear. The situation is clear. You have to put 0:07:47.040 --> 0:07:48.360 people at the front of the line. They got to 0:07:48.360 --> 0:07:50.920 be able to make those purchasing decisions. If it's doing 0:07:51.040 --> 0:07:53.560 if it's giving those dollars directly to the individual, that 0:07:53.600 --> 0:07:56.920 will work. Now to your question around risk pools, this 0:07:57.040 --> 0:08:00.360 is essential in all insurance. We could look at setting 0:08:00.440 --> 0:08:04.520 up geographic risk pools as an idea so that people 0:08:04.600 --> 0:08:08.360 in that community or in that state can actually be 0:08:08.520 --> 0:08:11.480 dealing with the insurance companies, but the insurance companies actually 0:08:11.480 --> 0:08:13.800 have a defined risk pool. This is one of the 0:08:13.840 --> 0:08:18.040 reasons why large companies have cheaper insurance than when people 0:08:18.080 --> 0:08:21.360 are just going into the marketplace by themselves, because they're 0:08:21.480 --> 0:08:24.440 using the risk profile of working for that company to 0:08:24.640 --> 0:08:27.440 set up the risk pool to with. Then the actuaries 0:08:27.480 --> 0:08:30.960 kind of decide how much is the cost to ensure 0:08:31.040 --> 0:08:33.800 each person in that pool. There's ways to do this, 0:08:34.240 --> 0:08:36.679 but the Obamacare way has been a disaster. It is 0:08:36.760 --> 0:08:38.960 now proven and the costs are out of control. 0:08:40.679 --> 0:08:42.840 We're talking about next steps here, and I also want 0:08:42.880 --> 0:08:45.280 to talk about the next steps for fully funding the 0:08:45.280 --> 0:08:49.000 government because this stock gap measure goes until January thirtieth. 0:08:49.000 --> 0:08:51.600 How are we going to avoid another shutdown? Are we 0:08:51.600 --> 0:08:53.760 going to be having this conversation again when we know 0:08:53.800 --> 0:08:56.640 that the Senate has been proposing some spending levels that 0:08:56.679 --> 0:09:00.160 are higher than many House Republicans want to see. 0:09:00.320 --> 0:09:02.319 Well, again, we're going to get back to the negotiating 0:09:02.400 --> 0:09:05.320 table in short order. I know Speaker Johnson has told 0:09:05.360 --> 0:09:09.240 the members that we can expect some very long days 0:09:09.280 --> 0:09:10.520 when we get back to Capitol Hill. 0:09:10.559 --> 0:09:12.880 And that's fine. That's our job, and we're more than 0:09:12.920 --> 0:09:13.800 happy to do that. 0:09:14.400 --> 0:09:17.640 I think it's important for my Senate colleagues, both Republicans 0:09:17.640 --> 0:09:20.280 and Democrats, to understand one very important thing. 0:09:20.800 --> 0:09:22.600 We are borrowing a lot of money. 0:09:22.880 --> 0:09:25.680 The bond market is looking at us to curtail spending, 0:09:25.960 --> 0:09:28.720 and this is the core position of House Republicans. We 0:09:28.760 --> 0:09:31.360 can still have a federal government that does its job, 0:09:31.640 --> 0:09:33.959 but we don't have to be so obscene in how 0:09:33.960 --> 0:09:36.960 we are spending other people's money. And I think that 0:09:37.240 --> 0:09:39.520 if we come back to the situation again in January, 0:09:39.720 --> 0:09:42.640 I think, whether it's healthcare or spending, it's important for 0:09:42.800 --> 0:09:45.600 myself and my colleagues to communicate clearly to the American 0:09:45.600 --> 0:09:48.800 people of what's truly at stake. Everybody wants to talk 0:09:48.800 --> 0:09:52.960 about the economy, affordability. These are major issues for the 0:09:53.000 --> 0:09:57.960 American people. The core of our affordability problems is massive 0:09:58.040 --> 0:10:02.520 government overspending deep It diminishes the purchasing. 0:10:02.080 --> 0:10:03.600 Power of the American dollar. 0:10:03.920 --> 0:10:07.000 It does not help American families be able to make 0:10:07.120 --> 0:10:07.640 ends meet. 0:10:07.880 --> 0:10:11.120 In Washington, for once, we've got to do the right thing. 0:10:11.240 --> 0:10:13.880 Let's cut our spending, get that down, and let's pass 0:10:13.920 --> 0:10:16.920 bills so we're not doing this sprinksmanship, which, by the way, 0:10:17.000 --> 0:10:19.240 the Democrats are the ones want to do it. People 0:10:19.280 --> 0:10:21.400 should know the Democrats half of them, most of them 0:10:21.440 --> 0:10:24.000 are mad about this deal to reopen the government. They 0:10:24.000 --> 0:10:26.760 want the government to continue to be shut down. That's 0:10:26.840 --> 0:10:29.600 not an appropriate way to get the business done for 0:10:29.640 --> 0:10:30.560 the American people. 0:10:31.400 --> 0:10:33.560 Well, we have talked to a number of Democratic lawmakers 0:10:33.559 --> 0:10:35.160 who were not happy with the AID who crossed the 0:10:35.200 --> 0:10:37.640 aisle on this because there wasn't a deal there that 0:10:37.960 --> 0:10:38.720 they were hoping for. 0:10:38.920 --> 0:10:40.640 Certainly, Congressman, I. 0:10:40.600 --> 0:10:43.120 Want to mention to our viewers on Bloomberg TV, if 0:10:43.120 --> 0:10:46.360 you're watching this on YouTube right now, that the Congressman 0:10:46.440 --> 0:10:47.600 does not have a new job. 0:10:47.640 --> 0:10:48.959 He's not working at Cantor. 0:10:49.000 --> 0:10:51.560 He's actually down in Miami right now at an important 0:10:51.600 --> 0:10:55.080 AI energy infrastructure conference. And I've got to ask you 0:10:55.280 --> 0:10:58.160 because we typically get to this because of your committee 0:10:58.160 --> 0:11:01.600 assignments and your areas of interest. An important bipartisan bill 0:11:02.160 --> 0:11:04.560 came out of the Senate last evening, the AD Committee 0:11:04.840 --> 0:11:08.600 on a crypto market structure bill, and I'm wondering where 0:11:08.720 --> 0:11:11.080 this stands in the House. We've talked so much about 0:11:11.080 --> 0:11:12.920 the Clarity Act and whether there's going to be some 0:11:13.040 --> 0:11:17.160 reconciliation between these two pieces of legislation or a different path. 0:11:18.559 --> 0:11:20.360 I think we're probably going to end up sitting down 0:11:20.400 --> 0:11:23.559 and get coming to an agreement between the two chambers 0:11:23.600 --> 0:11:26.079 on this. The one thing that's very clear, I'm happy 0:11:26.080 --> 0:11:27.400 that my Senate colleagues are. 0:11:27.240 --> 0:11:28.239 Taking this seriously. 0:11:29.280 --> 0:11:33.880 AI quantum computing, the future of energy for our country. 0:11:34.280 --> 0:11:37.120 These are critical components to our economic future. 0:11:37.559 --> 0:11:39.280 If we don't actually. 0:11:38.920 --> 0:11:43.240 Create the frameworks for this, we fall further behind to China, 0:11:44.040 --> 0:11:47.480 to Europe and some of our rivals on the globe, 0:11:47.520 --> 0:11:50.360 on the world stage. So this is actually important stuff 0:11:50.360 --> 0:11:53.480 that we can get done. I'm very happy that AI 0:11:53.559 --> 0:11:57.079 and quantum is not a partisan issue because it's really 0:11:57.160 --> 0:11:58.800 about the future of our economy. 0:11:59.200 --> 0:12:00.439 And so let's see what they have. 0:12:00.520 --> 0:12:02.679 We'll work together with them and try to get something 0:12:02.720 --> 0:12:05.640 done that's going to put the American people first and 0:12:05.679 --> 0:12:07.559 that should be in the best interest of our country. 0:12:08.720 --> 0:12:10.720 Could you give us any timeline that we should be 0:12:10.840 --> 0:12:12.839 watching out for any chance that this is going to 0:12:12.920 --> 0:12:14.200 get done by the end of the year. 0:12:15.840 --> 0:12:19.240 Listen, I don't put any timelines on Washington. You've been 0:12:19.280 --> 0:12:21.320 around long enough. You know you just what you do 0:12:21.400 --> 0:12:23.560 is you go in there, you work hard, you try 0:12:23.600 --> 0:12:26.800 not to set artificial deadlines. I do believe that you 0:12:27.000 --> 0:12:30.080 have members of the Senate, members of the House, myself included, 0:12:30.360 --> 0:12:34.319 who want to see a regulatory framework in AI at 0:12:34.320 --> 0:12:35.640 crypto and quantum. 0:12:35.640 --> 0:12:36.360 It is important. 0:12:36.440 --> 0:12:39.120 We have to be able to get this job done 0:12:39.320 --> 0:12:41.960 because we have many other public policy issues that we 0:12:42.000 --> 0:12:43.120 have to address as well. 0:12:43.559 --> 0:12:45.000 One of them is energy. 0:12:45.080 --> 0:12:48.720 I'm a major proponent for small modular nuclear reactors to 0:12:48.800 --> 0:12:52.640 be commercially deployed throughout the United States. Every state needs 0:12:52.679 --> 0:12:54.880 to double their amount of power on their grid. The 0:12:54.960 --> 0:12:57.240 United States needs to do that, and this is something 0:12:57.240 --> 0:13:00.640 where my colleagues on Capitol Hill. This is common sense 0:13:00.640 --> 0:13:05.359 stuff that actually provides energy at a lower per kilowatt 0:13:05.360 --> 0:13:07.760 hour than any other generation source. We need to get 0:13:07.760 --> 0:13:09.760 in the game and get that done as well. 0:13:09.960 --> 0:13:12.440 Well, you know, Congressman, a few stories are more important 0:13:12.440 --> 0:13:14.320 to our audience, So let's talk about that. Let's have 0:13:14.400 --> 0:13:17.160 that conversation when you're back in town with our eyes 0:13:17.240 --> 0:13:20.720 of course on the AI space. Congressman Byron Donald's, I 0:13:20.720 --> 0:13:22.920 hope you get the flight back to DC. 0:13:23.040 --> 0:13:24.920 All right. That's easier said than done.