House Democratic leaders held a press conference on Capitol Hill blasting former President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans for what they called a “deepening health care crisis” affecting millions of Americans. Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-CA) opened the briefing by accusing the GOP of failing to lower health care costs, failing to curb rising premiums, and failing to deliver relief to families facing growing financial pressure. Aguilar said Republicans “have no real plan” to prevent premiums from spiking before the end of the year. Caucus Vice Chair Ted Lieu (D-CA), along with Reps. Shomari Figures (D-AL) and Sarah McBride (D-DE), shared firsthand accounts of how rising health care expenses are impacting their constituents, warning that the affordability crisis is worsening without meaningful action from the Republican-led House
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hello everyone, honored as always to be joined by Vice Chair Ted Lieu and also representatives
00:16Sarah McBride and Shamari Figures, new members to Congress who have been amazing advocates
00:23for their communities, for their regions, and honored to have them here.
00:28We're here today because Donald Trump and House Republicans are failing the American people.
00:34They're failing to address the healthcare crisis that they've created, they're failing
00:38to lower costs, and they're failing to make life more affordable for hardworking Americans.
00:45Families are struggling to get by, yet Republicans continue to be more focused on building, on
00:51the bidding of their billionaire class friends than helping people that they represent.
00:56Ahead of the holidays, Americans are seeing prices go up for gifts and groceries, and
01:03the family gatherings that they are planning are becoming more expensive.
01:07On top of that, Republicans have no real plan to ensure Americans' healthcare premiums don't
01:14skyrocket before the end of the year.
01:17They highlighted that and stood for that even just moments ago.
01:22For months, House Democrats have been sounding the alarm that Republicans need to work with
01:28us on extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits to keep healthcare costs low for American
01:35families.
01:35And we've put forward a plan that has the support of every single member of the Democratic
01:40Caucus.
01:41We only need four Republicans to join with us in signing a discharge petition to prevent the
01:47American people from losing their healthcare coverage, because we know when people don't
01:52have healthcare coverage, they don't stop getting sick.
01:56They don't stop needing medication.
01:58They don't stop needing to take their kids to the doctor.
02:02If they can't afford to go to the doctor, they won't see one, or they'll go to the emergency
02:07room, which is the highest cost, most expensive way to get care.
02:12And limits are already burdened healthcare system, which Republicans will be brave enough to
02:19join us.
02:20We just don't know.
02:21The American people can't afford inaction from Republicans, and it's time that they put
02:26politics aside and do the right thing.
02:29Lower costs, save healthcare, put the American people first.
02:34Now turn it over to Vice Chair Ted Luke.
02:35Thank you, Chairman Aguilar, and I am so honored to be here today with two of our amazing freshmen,
02:43Shamari Figures and Sarah McBride.
02:45I also wanted to note that we had an election yesterday in America, and I want to congratulate
02:52Eric Gisler in Georgia for flipping a state house district.
02:58And just to give you some context, Democrats lost that district last term by 22 points.
03:03He won it last night, and I want to congratulate Eileen Higgins, the incoming mayor of Miami.
03:09She flipped that seat from red to blue, and she overperformed by 20 points.
03:15She was the first Democrat in nearly 30 years who's going to be mayor of Miami.
03:19And I dare Florida Republicans to try mid-decade redistricting, because we're going to win the
03:27seats that you have to weaken among Republican incumbents if you try this.
03:30Now, we have an affordability crisis in America, electricity costs are surging, grocery prices
03:38continue to increase, and healthcare costs are skyrocketing.
03:42What does the President of the United States focus on?
03:46I'm just going to read you one of his many posts on social media.
03:49This one was from two days ago.
03:51The only reason Marjorie Trader Brown, Green Turns Brown under stress, went bad is that
03:58she was jilted by the President of the United States, certainly not the first time she has
04:03been jilted.
04:04Too much work, not enough time, and her ideas are now really bad.
04:08She sort of reminds me of a rotten apple.
04:10Marjorie is not America First or MAGA, because nobody could have changed her views so fast.
04:14And her new views are those of a very dumb person.
04:17That was proven last night when washed-up Trump-hating 60 Minutes correspondent Leslie Stahl, who
04:22still owes me an apology from when she attacked me on the show with serious conviction that
04:27Hunter Biden's laptop from hell was produced by Russia, not Hunter himself, totally proven
04:31wrong, interviewed a very poorly prepared trader who, in her confusion, made many really
04:35stupid statements.
04:37My real problem with the show, however, wasn't the low IQ trader.
04:41It was that the new ownership of 60 Minutes Paramount would allow a show like this to air.
04:45They are no better than the old ownership who just paid me millions of dollars for fake
04:49reporting about your favorite president, me.
04:52Since they brought it, 60 Minutes has actually gotten worse.
04:55Oh, well, far worse things could happen.
04:57P.S.
04:57I hereby demand a complete and total apology, though far too late to be meaningful, from
05:02Leslie Stahl in 60 Minutes for her incorrect and libelous statements about Hunter's laptop,
05:07President DJT.
05:08Oh, now it's my great honor to introduce an amazing freshman from Alabama, the great
05:17Representative Shamari Figures.
05:24Thank you, Congressman Liu.
05:27Look, we're in the middle of a health care crisis and the stakes could not be higher.
05:32Millions of Americans rely on health care subsidies to be able to afford coverage.
05:36And 50,000 of those Americans are located in my district in Alabama.
05:41And it's not just a talking point back home.
05:45This is real life for people.
05:47I represent one of the poorest districts in the country.
05:50The individual median income in my district is just north of $32,000.
05:54To say that another way, 50% of the wage earners in my district earn less than $32,000.
06:00And so when we talk about 50,000 people's health care premiums on average increasing by a little
06:07more than double in a district where the income is just north of $32,000 on average, it's more
06:14than a talking point.
06:15It's something that hits people in real ways in real life.
06:19It's not something people can afford.
06:21And beyond the personal side of it, my district as a whole is one of the worst for health care
06:27access and outcomes in the country.
06:30I have 13 counties in my district.
06:31You can only deliver babies in two of the 13.
06:34Ten of the 13 counties either have hospitals that have closed, are in the process of converting
06:39to REHs so they don't close, or are on literal financial life support under the threat of closure.
06:46And by the way, the largest hospital in my state capital of Montgomery, which I also represent,
06:51which is one of only two hospitals in that county, is in the middle of a bankruptcy.
06:56And so health care access is something that is deeply personal to my district, and to make
07:02the cost of health care unaffordable for people, completely unaffordable, to put it completely
07:08out of reach for people is something that is irresponsible, and something that we have the
07:12ability to be able to stop, because it's going to put more stress on the hospitals that we
07:16still have, and people are going to continue to suffer some of the worst health care outcomes,
07:22because all of that, that I just said, is all in a district that has the third lowest life
07:27expectancy in America.
07:29And so this is a, this is something that we, that we have to, that we have to get Republicans
07:35on board to fix.
07:36We just need a few.
07:38We just need a few to join us to do the right thing.
07:41We need a few to, to step up to the plate, to show that they understand and they know
07:46that supporting life doesn't end at birth.
07:50It is something that we can do, and something that we need to do here in Congress to make
07:54sure that the American people, and the richest nation that the world has ever known, that
07:59health care coverage, health care access, is not something that is a luxury, that is only
08:04available to the wealthy, and something that is only available to the few.
08:07And so I am proud to stand here with my colleagues to bring up this issue once again, yet again,
08:13something that we have been pressuring now for, since, well, since I've been here in
08:18Congress for the better part of the last 10 or 11 months, but something that obviously
08:23Democrats have been pushing for decades.
08:25And we're going to continue to wave this flag.
08:27We're going to continue to beat this drum.
08:28We're going to continue to do this on behalf of the constituents in Alabama's second
08:32congressional district and those across this country, because it's the right thing
08:35to do.
08:36And with that, I'll turn it over to Representative Sarah McBride.
08:41Thank you so much to my fellow freshman representative figures, and thank you so much,
08:46Chair Aguilar and Vice Chair Liu, for inviting us today.
08:51Across Delaware and around the country, families are being hit from every direction, at the grocery
08:57store, at the pharmacy, and, of course, now in their health care premiums.
09:02In 2024, Donald Trump promised the American people that he would lower costs on day one.
09:09But we all know that whether it's his business partners, people who worked for him, or the
09:15American people, the one through line throughout Donald Trump's life is that he has never met
09:20a promise that he was not willing to break.
09:23Because one year into the second Trump presidency, all we have are a litany of broken promises
09:31and billionaire tax breaks.
09:34This affordability crisis is not a hoax.
09:37It is a choice by congressional Republicans and by Donald Trump.
09:41A choice to impose a tariff tax on small businesses and consumers.
09:46A choice to cut food assistance and a choice to insert a $1 trillion bomb into the center
09:53of the American health care system.
09:55That bomb is now going off.
09:59Premiums are skyrocketing.
10:01The largest cut to Medicaid in American history is on the horizon.
10:06Rural hospitals and doctor's offices are already closing.
10:11Trump care has arrived.
10:13And it is dangerous and it is deadly.
10:16I hear it every single day back in Delaware.
10:20Dave, a constituent of mine in Newcastle, pays $350 a month right now for his wife's marketplace
10:27plan.
10:29Next year, without the ACA tax credits, those premiums will jump to $1,200 a month.
10:35His wife lives with a disabling spinal condition, diabetes, hypertension, depression, and takes
10:41dozens of daily medications.
10:43Without this tax credit, they will lose their coverage that is keeping his wife alive.
10:51People like Dave are doing everything right, but Republicans in Congress continue to fail
10:58them.
10:59It's not too late for my Republican colleagues to do the right thing, to make a different
11:05choice.
11:06As has been mentioned, we only need four Republicans in Congress to demonstrate courage on behalf
11:15of their constituents by signing this discharge petition to force an up or down vote on protecting
11:20care.
11:21But I'm not going to hold my breath, because while we are freshmen, while we are new, what
11:27has become abundantly clear to us in the last 11 months is the only thing that congressional
11:33Republicans are more loyal to than Donald Trump is to cutting the health care of the American
11:38people.
11:38Imagine winning those elections, getting all of that power and spending all of your political
11:45capital on kicking millions of people off their coverage and jacking up health care prices
11:50for everyone else.
11:52People deserve so much better than what congressional Republicans and Donald Trump have offered them.
11:59I ran for office after my experience as a caregiver to my husband during his battle with terminal
12:06cancer, and I simply do not believe that in the wealthiest nation on earth, any American
12:13should have to go without the health care that they need to live and thrive.
12:18And so long as there is air in our lungs and breath in our bodies, House Democrats will fight for an
12:25state of America, where every single American can get the health care they need, regardless
12:29of where they live and regardless of who they voted for in the last election.
12:35And so with that, I'll turn things back over to Chair Aguilar to answer any questions.
12:41Thank you, Representative McBride and Representative Figures.
12:45Andrew?
12:46Can you think of Haley Stevens introducing articles of impeachment against Robert Kennedy?
12:51I think that what Robert Kennedy Jr. has done to the health care system, what he stands for,
13:03his latest support for decisions that reduce Americans' access to vaccines are deeply troubling
13:10from a public health perspective.
13:12I understand that members have frustrations and concerns about it.
13:16I don't know how successful those measures would be in a Republican-held Congress, but I appreciate
13:25that members have a lot of views on this and want to hold the Secretary accountable.
13:31He is someone who is an impediment to Americans having health security.
13:37I think that's very clear.
13:39And the day for accountability will come.
13:41I don't know when that is, but the day for accountability for the Secretary and many others
13:46of the President's administration will come.
13:49We'll see what that looks like, though.
13:51Nick?
13:52I want to ask about the NDAA.
13:54Do you expect to support final passage of that bill whenever it comes up later today?
14:00We'll see when it comes up.
14:02They've got to pass the rule first.
14:03I think they're having some difficulty with that.
14:06If it comes up, well, we've had a caucus conversation this morning.
14:12Adam Smith presented the bill to the caucus, and members will make their decisions.
14:18I'll wait until the rule passes, and then I'll indicate where I stand on the bill.
14:23He wants to do that.
14:24This NDAA has a provision in there requiring the Department of Defense to release a video
14:31of the strike on the Venezuelan vote, particularly their second strike that killed two defenseless
14:38shipwrecked survivors.
14:40And if the Pentagon doesn't do that, then the Secretary of Defense's travel budget will
14:44be reduced.
14:45So you have now bipartisan support to get this video released.
14:51And we need to be asking, the mayor can be asking, what is Pete Hexeth hiding?
14:59Michael?
14:59Thank you, Mr. Chair.
15:01President Trump was in the Northeast, Pennsylvania last night, kicking off what the administration
15:07has described a series of events promoting his economic agenda, his economic policies, pushing
15:13back on Democrats' criticism of his role in the affordability crisis.
15:19They, Republicans believe that the more he's out there, the better it is for them and their
15:25voters to hear from the President.
15:26I wanted to get your thoughts on, do you believe the more that President Trump is out there that
15:32it's advantageous to the case that you all are making about the affordability crisis, given
15:36that he's out of the coats and a con?
15:38And just what do you make of the fact that they say that he's going to be out on the road
15:43a little bit more, speaking about his agenda and kind of looking to rub back some of the
15:48criticisms that you all have waged against him on the affordability crisis?
15:52Sometimes it's a long 16 blocks from Capitol Hill to the White House.
15:56Clearly it's taken the President quite a long time to understand the affordability crisis that
16:03we're in.
16:04I think the event yesterday was one of the first, I've seen that the President wasn't
16:08attending a sporting event or something else.
16:13But saying that the economy is A+++, calling the affordability crisis a hoax, these are things
16:19that the American people just know aren't true.
16:23He's lying.
16:24House Republicans are lying.
16:26They know that.
16:27They know that the affordability crisis is at their doorstep.
16:32They know it is more difficult to live under the Trump economy than it was previously.
16:39And they're holding him accountable.
16:42And that's coming through, not just in public polling, but it's coming through in our elections.
16:47In every election that we've seen, special elections from last night to Iowa months and months ago,
16:53everything in between, New Jersey, Virginia, Mississippi, Georgia, I mean, all of these,
17:00Republicans continue to underperform because they have no real solutions.
17:06They won't solve the affordability crisis.
17:09They're only making it worse.
17:10And the American people are smart enough to know that.
17:13So I don't think that there's anything that the President can do because clearly every time
17:17he gets in front of a microphone, he's saying something that is an outright lie.
17:21And the American people know it.
17:23So I don't have any problem with him continuing to go out around the country and to talk about
17:32this because the polling clearly shows that folks aren't paying attention and that they
17:37know better.
17:38Pete, can I ask something?
17:39Oh, yep, yep.
17:39You go ahead.
17:40Sarah, then Ted.
17:42Just a couple of things.
17:44First of all, the idea that the American people aren't hearing enough from Donald Trump right
17:49now beggars belief.
17:52I think everyone in this country hears enough from Donald Trump and having him go out on
17:57the road and stand in front of a sign that says affordability isn't changing that.
18:02It also doesn't change the fact that they have no plan to tackle the affordability crisis
18:07and that Donald Trump himself has continued to deny this crisis, calling it a hoax.
18:11I think his handlers in the White House are making the same mistake that his handlers
18:16in Trump one made, which is thinking that they can put together these events and keep
18:20this president on message in the way that they want him to be on message.
18:24He is always going to speak what he believes and what he clearly believes right now is that
18:29he's doing a great job, that prices are fine, that the economy is working well, and that
18:33everyone should just go along and get along.
18:35I strongly support President Trump going on the road.
18:42Even though he is old and weak and has trouble staying awake at cabinet meetings, I am begging
18:48the White House to please send Donald Trump to every swing House district.
18:53Many people say that Congressman David Valadio in California would love to have Donald Trump
18:58visit.
18:59Donald Trump can talk about how tariffs are helping the farmers.
19:02He can talk about how the racial profiling by ICE is helping Valadio's constituents, and
19:07he can talk about how the Medicaid cuts are owning the libs in David Valadio's district.
19:11I would love for Donald Trump to go to every House swing district.
19:17I think that sums it up.
19:20Yeah.
19:21Have any members of past Democratic leadership talked to the GOP leadership in the House about
19:25the health care vote?
19:26Why do you think they're staying strong on their argument?
19:29Because it doesn't seem like there's a lot of flexibility on their part.
19:32I can't speak for other members of the leadership team.
19:34I can speak for myself.
19:37I haven't had any conversations with House Republicans.
19:39They continue to recycle old priorities.
19:42The priorities that they laid out today in their conference meeting and in front of all of you
19:48previously are all old ideas, 10-, 15-year-old ideas that reflect where Republicans are that
19:57basically say if you have money, you can put some money aside to help with your health care.
20:02It does nothing to address the millions of people in Alabama's second district who are
20:08losing their health care and around the country.
20:10Democrats are fighting for them.
20:14They're fighting for people to keep their health care.
20:16And none of the ideas that Republicans put out today move the needle to actually help
20:22the American people keep the health care that they have.
20:26Can I just say something?
20:28I'm sorry.
20:28Just briefly on that, with regard to the Republican conference's proposals, quote unquote, on the
20:36health care affordability crisis, the one that they created, this is like an arsonist setting
20:42fire to a house and then bringing a garden hose to try to put out a five-alarm fire.
20:48These are no solutions to actually grapple with the health care crisis that they created.
20:53The Republican health care plan was the big, ugly bill.
20:58The Republican health care plan is Trump care, which we are living under right now.
21:02The largest cut to Medicaid in American history, a massive cut to Medicare in action, letting
21:08the ACA tax credits expire.
21:10That is the Republican health care plan.
21:13And that has been the Republican health care plan for decades, because every single step
21:18of the way, Republicans in Congress have tried to prevent progress in expanding access
21:24to health care and have tried to cut health care for the American people.
21:27And it certainly stands in stark contrast to our proposals, to extending the Affordable
21:33Care Act tax credit, to expanding Medicaid, to improving Medicare, and to guarantee that
21:40every single American can get health care without breaking the bank.
21:45In the middle of this affordability crisis, there is growing concern that the construction of
21:51these AI data centers in rural communities specifically could be increasing the cost of utilities like water
21:57and electricity.
21:58Do Democrats see this as a priority?
22:00And if so, is there any bipartisan consensus that this needs to be addressed?
22:04The Democrats see rising utility costs under this Republican administration as a priority.
22:12We see the data.
22:14We see the numbers go up.
22:15Vice Chair Liu, I'll let speak, is convening some stakeholders to speak with members of the
22:20Democratic caucus on these issues.
22:23We think rising utility costs are a concern for the American people.
22:28One of the first things the administration did was to gut any renewable energy proposals
22:35that the previous administration had in place that would have diversified our energy, would
22:41have lowered costs, made significant investments.
22:44Those types of things and his opposition to and all of the above strategy really harms the
22:51American people and is going to continue to rise their costs unless we address it and Democrats
22:57have ideas and strategies on how to do that.
23:01But we're going to need to ensure that we have the gavels in order to deliver on that.
23:05Sure.
23:06There are a number of reasons why electricity costs are surging under the Trump administration,
23:12outpacing inflation.
23:14The tariffs, for example, do increase the prices of many products, some of which these
23:18utilities do use.
23:20In addition, the Trump administration canceled a number of green energy projects.
23:26And when you reduce the supply of energy available, you're going to drive up costs.
23:30And yes, it's also true that AI data centers also do use a similar amount of electricity.
23:36And when you take this in combination, you have electric costs surging.
23:40And again, what is Donald Trump doing?
23:42He's simply rage tweeting on his social media posts and saying batshit crazy things.
23:49Speaker Johnson today said that Jasmine Crockett running for Senate is the greatest thing that
23:55happened to the Republican Party.
23:57The Republicans have tended to make or try to make like a boogeyman of people in the
24:01Democratic Party.
24:02We saw it with Mom Donnie during the shutdown.
24:04And now with Crockett, do you have a reaction to these comments that you're making?
24:07I think Speaker Johnson is trying to do anything he can to distract from the majority that he's
24:13seen, that he's, that we see dwindling.
24:17And it's like sand falling through his hands.
24:19He just can't keep a hold of it.
24:22He sees that.
24:23He would much rather talk about a Senate race than he would the Georgia House races that
24:28Republicans lost or the mayor's race that the vice chair mentioned first time in 30 years
24:34that a Democrat has been mayor of Miami.
24:37He wants to distract and take away from this because he's losing his grip on his majority.
24:43That much is very clear.
24:45So the more that Speaker Johnson wants to talk about the national landscape and the Senate
24:50environment, I absolutely support because he's losing his majority next November, if not
24:54sooner.
24:55Mike in the back.
24:58On the ACA subsidies yesterday, we saw yet another plan to extend them two years, not
25:03the three years you want.
25:05And it's got some eligibility limits and some HSA, you know, promotion language in there.
25:11But it does have the advantage of being bipartisan.
25:13Jared Bolden's on it, Tom Swazi, a couple others.
25:16Do you see a scenario where if the option is no extension of subsidies or you guys have
25:23to swallow a shorter window and some of the reforms that you don't like, but do you see
25:28a scenario where that is the vehicle that can actually get something done?
25:31No one has signed on to your discharge petition from the Republican Party.
25:35We want to help the American people.
25:38We want to pass laws that help the American people.
25:41The House and Senate, Democrats both have the three-year proposals that you mentioned.
25:46There's two-year proposals.
25:47There's one-year proposals that are bipartisan.
25:50I understand.
25:51I understand that.
25:52We're not negotiating, you know, here in this room.
25:56Let's see what the vote totals, you know, look like.
25:58I don't anticipate that either of the Senate proposals has 60 votes.
26:04Democrats have said, we'll go anywhere.
26:05We'll talk to anyone if it delivers support, if it supports our health care for the American
26:12people.
26:13That is our policy.
26:14We feel that the three-year proposal is the best, fastest, most certain way in order
26:20to do that.
26:21But we're willing to have conversations and members are having conversations, as you see
26:26with that outline.
26:29We support members having those conversations.
26:31Right now, let's see where the vote totals are.
26:34That group is growing.
26:36It is bipartisan, as you mentioned.
26:38But it is nowhere near the 200-plus members that we have on our bill right now.
26:43So let's give us some space and some time.
26:46But our focus, our North Star, is always going to be, you know, how do we deliver the most
26:50help to the most people?
26:52And that's what it will continue to be.
26:54Shamar?
26:55Shamar?
26:56And I'll add to that.
26:58In the lead-up to enduring the shutdown process, the one message that was consistent coming
27:04out of the Democratic caucus was, come and talk to me.
27:07Meet us at the table.
27:08Let's discuss a way to keep health care affordable for millions of people.
27:12The fact that we're even getting to the point now where there are bipartisan solutions,
27:17I think, is an outcome, or bipartisan proposals, rather, is an outcome of that messaging and
27:23of that belief and of the strategy of Democrats to be willing and open.
27:27It's not even a strategy.
27:28It's a core principle, right?
27:30Just come to, like, we all got elected to Congress to come here to try to hash out different
27:37deals in different ways where we understand we won't get everything we want.
27:40They understand they won't get everything they want, but we should be able to come together
27:43as adults in a room and come up with solutions that literally will save lives in this case
27:49that is so drastically necessary.
27:51So I think, you know, that is progress that we're seeing those sorts of offers on the table.
27:56And I think it's progress that's been driven by the leadership of the Democratic caucus
28:00and the position of Democratic members of Congress.
28:06One of the things that it also speaks to is where is Speaker Johnson, you know, on this?
28:10His members are clearly speaking out against him by supporting these bills, one year, two
28:16year bills.
28:18He is nowhere to be seen.
28:20That's why discharge petitions happen.
28:21That's why discharge petitions have been successful, is because he cannot lead a group.
28:28He cannot keep them on the same page because they know his North Star is how to decimate
28:34the ACA and hurt the American public.
28:36And they know that that's not popular.
28:37They're just waking up to it.
28:40And they are trying to do something to send a message to their communities that they're aware
28:45of it after they voted for the largest Medicaid cut and health care cut in American history.
28:50Quick follow then, if I could, because Mike Johnson is not going to bring the Fitzpatrick
28:53bill to the floor because, as you say, he doesn't support the subsidies that you do.
28:57But he would need – Fitzpatrick would need Democrats to sign the discharge petition
29:00to force it around Mike Johnson.
29:03Would you guys be willing to sign the discharge petition if the three-year plan doesn't reach
29:08the 218 threshold?
29:09Look, let's see what the three-year plan delivers on the discharge side.
29:14I haven't heard specifically if Congressman Fitzpatrick and other Democratic sponsors are ready to
29:20discharge their bill.
29:22So there's a couple steps here before we get to that point.
29:26But like Shamari said, look, the American people know that the Democratic Party supports
29:30health care.
29:31We want to deliver support to as many people as we can to avoid this catastrophic cliff that
29:37Republicans have created.
29:39Unfortunately, Republican leadership doesn't want to meet with us or talk with us about
29:44it.
29:45So we'll see what the member-to-member conversations will yield.
29:48Last question.
29:49On the video of the Volksstrike representative, Mike Rogers announced the investigation of the
29:55Service Committee as contrary.
29:56What are you expecting from this investigation?
30:00Well, the administration needs to brief all members of Congress.
30:05Some members of Congress have been briefed.
30:07I think all members need to have access to the video and to a comprehensive briefing in
30:13a classified setting, as well as whatever report is done by the House Armed Services Committee
30:20needs to be available for all members to look at and to view.
30:24As the Vice Chair said, there are some accountability measures within the NDAA and withholding parts
30:29of Secretary Hegs' budget until the information is released.
30:36That's a good start.
30:38We need more of this information.
30:40And we need to ensure that we understand what the focus will be moving forward, as well,
30:51and if there are any changes to policy that the Secretary has conveyed to his combatant commanders.
30:58Thank you so much.
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