WEBVTT - Congressman Bryan Steil Talks Government Shutdown

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio News.

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<v Speaker 2>We're lucky to be joined now by one of those

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<v Speaker 2>members of Congress who is currently out of session but

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<v Speaker 2>joins us now from Capitol Hill. That's Congressman Brian's Style,

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<v Speaker 2>Republican representing Wisconsin's first district. Congressman. It's good to see you,

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<v Speaker 2>and thanks so much for joining. I've loved your opinion

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<v Speaker 2>on this. The Senate majority leader suggesting it's time for

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<v Speaker 2>the House to come back into session. Do you think

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<v Speaker 2>that's a good idea.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, it's time for the Senate to pass the clean

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<v Speaker 3>cr We're in this situation because the Senate Democratic leadership

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<v Speaker 3>under Chuck Schumer refuses to vote for a clean CR.

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<v Speaker 3>This used to be a non controversial vote here on

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<v Speaker 3>Capitol Hill. In fact, Democrats have voted time and again

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<v Speaker 3>in favor of clean crs, most recently in the spring.

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<v Speaker 3>What changed is the politics for Democrats in the United

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<v Speaker 3>States Senate. So the House has done our job, We're

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<v Speaker 3>all waiting for the Senate to do their job. Chuck

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<v Speaker 3>Schumer is beholden to his radical base. A lot of

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<v Speaker 3>us are frustrated. It's time for us to move on

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<v Speaker 3>because there's really important negotiations in front of us, including

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<v Speaker 3>fiscally your twenty six appropriations, as well as other priority

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<v Speaker 3>policy priorities that you mentioned Congress.

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<v Speaker 1>But it's good to see Kevin Hassett had suggested yesterday,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe there's capitulation this week and this whole thing comes

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<v Speaker 1>to an end. But every time the Senate votes on this,

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<v Speaker 1>it's the same two Democrats an independent who break ranks here.

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<v Speaker 1>So I mean, at some point we could be bumping

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<v Speaker 1>up against November twenty first, what do we do then?

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<v Speaker 1>Do you wait forever for Senate Democrats? We just stay

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<v Speaker 1>shut down until Chuck Schumer changes his tune.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, the consequences of the Schumer shutdown continue to build.

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<v Speaker 3>President Trump has done a great job taking some extraordinary

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<v Speaker 3>actions to make sure that the consequences aren't felt by

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<v Speaker 3>our troops, for example, But many of these are one

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<v Speaker 3>time actions, and so the consequences will continue to build.

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<v Speaker 3>The pressure will build, and I do believe at some

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<v Speaker 3>point the Senate will come to the table and recognize

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<v Speaker 3>that their action to close the federal government and put

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<v Speaker 3>at risk, for example, payment to our troops, the men

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<v Speaker 3>and women wearing the United States military uniform, was the

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<v Speaker 3>wrong bet the sooner we come out of the shutdown

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<v Speaker 3>and begin the substantive negotiations on fiscally your twenty six

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<v Speaker 3>approaches as well as other policy priorities, the better off

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<v Speaker 3>we are.

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<v Speaker 2>Well the White House has come to the table on

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<v Speaker 2>some of these really critical issues, like military pay, pay

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<v Speaker 2>for the Coastguard, also finding that supplementary funding for that

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<v Speaker 2>key federal nutrition assistance program that helps women and children.

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<v Speaker 2>But Congressmen, we hear from Democrats that they want President

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<v Speaker 2>Trump to come to the negotiating table when it comes

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<v Speaker 2>to the policy stances at stake here, particularly related to healthcare.

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<v Speaker 2>We know he had this luncheon today with Senate Republicans,

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<v Speaker 2>but do you think President Trump should be getting more

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<v Speaker 2>involved as this shutdown drags on?

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<v Speaker 3>Well, I think again, the challenge here is we put

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<v Speaker 3>forward a clean CR now, as you not weeks ago

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<v Speaker 3>passed in the House. We're three weeks into a shutdown.

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<v Speaker 3>We should be three weeks into the CR utilizing the

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<v Speaker 3>time that we're burning right now to negotiate those policy priorities.

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<v Speaker 3>Many of these have year end deadlines, appropriate conversations for

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<v Speaker 3>us to be having, but we should be doing that

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<v Speaker 3>in the context of an open and operational government. Again,

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<v Speaker 3>the House did our job. The Senate is running into

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<v Speaker 3>filibuster challenges. Center Fetterman is even calling now and saying,

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<v Speaker 3>maybe we have to overcome that because a minority of

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<v Speaker 3>United States Senators are standing in the way, under the

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<v Speaker 3>leadership of Chuck Schumer, from reopening the federal government.

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<v Speaker 1>You've seen what's going on with the premiums here, Congressman,

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<v Speaker 1>and I know that you're careful not to conflate this

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<v Speaker 1>debate with that of government funding. But we saw a

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<v Speaker 1>couple of states this morning in Georgia, where I know

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<v Speaker 1>Congressoman Marjorie Taylor Green has been making some noise here,

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<v Speaker 1>Obamacare premiums could rise as much as four times. They

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<v Speaker 1>could quadruple in main plans. We'll see premiums up in

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<v Speaker 1>average of twenty four percent. In Michigan, could surpass eighteen percent,

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<v Speaker 1>and that's before factoring in the expiration. What would it

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<v Speaker 1>mean for people looking at their subsidies rise in Wisconsin.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, I think what we see as the data continues

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<v Speaker 3>to come in that the Affordable Care Act was anything

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<v Speaker 3>but affordable for the American people. The program the Democrats

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<v Speaker 3>put in place, and again the Democrats set the sunset

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<v Speaker 3>date themselves. This was a Democrat decision to sunset it

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<v Speaker 3>at the end of the year. But what we continue

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<v Speaker 3>to see is challenges inside the structure of the program.

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<v Speaker 3>There is plenty of evidence of the waste, fraud, and

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<v Speaker 3>abuse inside this Democrat created program. There's a Treasury report

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<v Speaker 3>that came out under President Biden that identifies as significant

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<v Speaker 3>flaws inside these premium credits that go back to insurance

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<v Speaker 3>companies as to why it's structurally unsound. So at an

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<v Speaker 3>absolute minimum, we would need to make meaningful and substantive

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<v Speaker 3>reform in the program. But again, these are the conversations

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<v Speaker 3>and the debates that we should be having right now

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<v Speaker 3>on Capitol Hill. Instead, we're shut down all because Chuck

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<v Speaker 3>Schumer and Democrats in the Senate refused to open the

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<v Speaker 3>government with a clean cr to allow these negotiations and

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<v Speaker 3>debates to take place.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, Congressman Joe just outlined one of the potential impacts

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<v Speaker 2>for constituents. Another has to do with economic assistance for farmers.

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<v Speaker 2>A senior Administration official tells me that's currently been delayed

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<v Speaker 2>because of this ongoing shut down. I looked up the

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<v Speaker 2>stats the USDA estimates Wisconsin farmers produced one point three

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<v Speaker 2>billion dollars worth of soybeans each year. This is, of

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<v Speaker 2>course at the center of this issue, as China hasn't

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<v Speaker 2>imported any US soybeans so far this harvest season. I'm

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<v Speaker 2>wondering if you're in any discussions with the administration on

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<v Speaker 2>what this aid package might look like. Are they talking

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<v Speaker 2>with Congress on this and any update on when it

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<v Speaker 2>could be ruled out.

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<v Speaker 3>I had a long conversation with two soybean farmers from

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<v Speaker 3>Wisconsin yesterday talking about this exact challenge. The short term

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<v Speaker 3>fix may be that type of a subsidy, but the

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<v Speaker 3>long term fix is getting trade agreements in place and

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<v Speaker 3>having China once again purchasing US soy The US soy

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<v Speaker 3>exports are heavily dependent on the Chinese markets. The broader

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<v Speaker 3>trade negotiations that we're having is causing concern. I'm of

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<v Speaker 3>the view that we have a huge opportunity here to

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<v Speaker 3>work with our allies, hold China accountable, and then strike

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<v Speaker 3>the trade deal. I think President Trump's in a position

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<v Speaker 3>to do that. The short term fix may be providing

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<v Speaker 3>some level of assistance. The long term fix is striking

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<v Speaker 3>these trade agreements to the benefit of American workers and farmers.

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<v Speaker 1>Congressman, we appreciate the insights. As always, that's Brian's style,

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<v Speaker 1>Republican Congressman from Wisconsin who chairs the House Admin Committee,

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<v Speaker 1>and always a pleasure to have the chairman with us

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<v Speaker 1>as part of our conversation.