00:00okay good afternoon everybody and thanks for being here a special thanks to Senators Wyden
00:13Hassan Welsh for joining us now this weekend we got news that President Trump will be accepting
00:21almost he will be accepting almost a half a billion dollar jet from the
00:29Qatari government this just isn't naked corruption it's also a national security threat Donald Trump
00:38isn't just blurring the lines between public service and personal profit he's erasing it
00:44that's not just speculation in fact it's backed by overwhelming evidence he is jeopardizing
00:52America's national security to line his own pockets that's why this morning I announced I
00:58would be placing a hold on all political DOJ nominees until we get more answers on this so
01:05called deal until we learn the truth about this deal I will do my part to block the galling and
01:12truly breathtaking politicization of DOJ we've never seen anything like it in other heinous
01:19news for Americans this weekend the House Republicans unveiled their plan for the largest cut to Medicaid
01:26in American history the largest cut to Medicaid in American history 14 million Americans at least 14
01:35million would be ripped off ripped off of their health insurance under this proposal why tax breaks for
01:43billionaires it's appalling to take people's health care away to make them sicker to give tax breaks to
01:53billionaires is just appalling it's not what America wants and it's not what America needs not only will
02:02millions of Americans lose coverage for many others their premiums will skyrocket talk about lowering costs this
02:10ain't a way to do it that's for sure and hospitals rural urban and in between will ship will close many many people will
02:20lose their jobs and many more will lose their health coverage states will scramble with their budgets and American
02:28families will be left out to drive for months the Republicans claimed that their tax plan wouldn't touch Medicaid
02:37now we know that's a bold-faced lie they were afraid to admit it but now they can't avoid it it's slashing Medicaid more than it ever has been slashed before it's cruel it's heartbreaking Senate Democrats will continue to expose this devastating plan and fight for American families to keep their hard-earned benefits Senator White
02:59thank you
03:06and let's be clear about what the Republicans are up to on health care they're basically gaslighting the American people telling folks that fraud waste and abuse are everywhere and the Democrats are simply going along with all of it now we have the Congressional Budget Office which is the go-to arbiter of the facts and the
03:29Congressional Budget Office say that 100% of the cuts have nothing to do with waste fraud and abuse nothing they're basically terminating coverage denying services like home care which seniors see as precious and also in rural areas making it harder to get hospitals and nursing homes and providers to cover care and the second point that I want to mention is when you look at the entire
03:59the majority of the Republican response on health care what they are doing is everything possible to keep eligible people from being able to get coverage they put them through so much red tape that's essentially what some of these new things are all about they are bureaucracy requiring steps that ensure that it's hard to be eligible for services
04:26so we feel that health care is basic to American families nothing is more precious than to be able to go to bed at night knowing that you're going to get decent health care and what the Republicans do in their health care provisions in the reconciliation package is walk back health security for millions and millions of Americans all to make sure that folks at the very top of the ladder can come up with another package of better
04:56benefits benefits benefits benefits benefits benefits that in so many instances defy common sense and are only there in order to give yet more privileges to the people at the top we're for a tax code that gives everybody in America the chance to get ahead and that's what we're going to battle for in this process
05:14well thank you leader Schumer
05:19look this week President Trump and congressional Republicans are pushing forward with their plan to give billionaires and corporate special interests more tax breaks all paid for by taking health coverage away from millions of Americans
05:36Americans and by the way by adding trillions to the national debt it is wrong it's dangerous and it's devastating to people our small rural hospitals our communities our economy millions of families count on Medicaid and the affordable care act for essential health care and this Republican bill to take coverage away from many of our constituents will result in untreated diseases packed emergency rooms
06:05emergency rooms if you think wait times are long in emergency rooms now they will get worse and even higher prescription drug prices because this bill exempts more drug products from negotiation with Medicare when I was governor of New Hampshire we expanded Medicaid with Republican support because even though we didn't agree on everything
06:35at a time when families continue to struggle at a time when families continue to struggle with rising costs I can think of few ideas as ill-advised as this one from President Trump and congressional Republicans they are working this bill directly raises health care costs on millions of Americans just as other costs continue to go up
06:42but this proposal to take Medicaid coverage away from people doesn't just put the families who are going to lose coverage at risk
06:49no this proposal threatens our entire health care system health care providers all across the country especially rural doctors and hospitals are only able to keep their doors and
07:19open because of the care that they provide to patients who have Medicaid and Medicare
07:25coverage. If millions of people can no longer afford to go to the doctor and get the care
07:30that they need, many of these facilities will have no choice but to shut down altogether.
07:37And when people have their insurance taken away, they end up getting their care in emergency
07:45rooms when their condition is acute. This drives up waiting times, costs, and look, it will
07:52drive up insurance premiums even on the private health insurance market for everyone. The bottom
08:00line here is clear. If this billionaire tax break at the expense of the middle class passes,
08:07more people will get sick, our economy will weaken, and an awful lot of people, an awful
08:15lot of our fellow Americans, our friends and neighbors, will be hurt. Thank you.
08:20Senator Welch.
08:21Thank you. Just on that plane, Senator Schumer, he's kind of an old-fashioned guy who puts
08:28like national security ahead of presidential traveling comfort. Shocking. You know, we're
08:36at crunch time here, and there's a lot of suffering and anxiety throughout the country, especially
08:43folks who are struggling week to week, month to month to pay their bills. And we're at a moment
08:50where death suffering is going to be intensified by a law that Congress is considering. Folks need
09:01health care. And folks need it in red states, and they need it in blue states. Folks need
09:10health care, whether they voted for Trump or they voted for Harris. They need it for the
09:15kids. They need it for their older parents. And we are on the cusp of voting on a bill that makes
09:27it legal to boot seniors out of nursing homes, that makes it legal to deny disabled kids Medicaid,
09:39that makes it legal to move to a different topic, to take $2 for a meal that's provided by SNAP off
09:50the table. This is what we're actually considering, to make it legal to take away health care for
09:57kids and for seniors. That is so outrageous. And why is it? It's not because my Republican
10:03colleagues don't want their folks that they represent to have access to health care. They're
10:08intimidated by Trump. This is totally outrageous if we even have to have a discussion about taking
10:15away health care. Not to mention all the consequences, the insecurity, the suffering. And then in rural
10:22America, where we depend on those hospitals, they won't be able to operate when we take away
10:30Medicaid. They won't be able to operate. You know what will happen? They'll work hard. And that'll be in red
10:35states and blue states. And they'll keep providing services even when it's free until they can't
10:39anymore. And it's an absolute disgrace that this Congress is even having a discussion about taking
10:46away health care from children, from seniors, from disabled people. We don't need to do it. And then
10:52the version of fiscal responsibility that the Republicans have to pay for this tax cut that largely goes to
11:01billionaires and to very wealthy people. And by the way, in Vermont, when I walk around, people are
11:08not saying, Peter, where's my tax cut? They're saying what's happening to my health care. They're saying
11:13what's happening to my ability to feed my kids. That's what they're asking me, not about this health
11:17care. The version of fiscal responsibility is to pay for it by taking away health care, by taking away
11:23food stamps, by taking away meals on wheels. No is the answer.
11:27Thank you, Peter. And I mentioned on the floor, Trump calls this a big, beautiful bill. We call
11:36it the big grift. Greedy Republicans in favor of tycoons. Questions? Yes. Do you believe David
11:43Hawke should remain the vice chair of the DNC? Up to the DNC. Yes. What do you think of threats to
11:50potentially sanction these Democratic members who went to the ICE facility, even threats from
11:54the Trump administration, maybe to arrest them? Do you see a resolution now to maybe toss them from
12:00their committees? Look, the right of peaceful protest is sacrosanct in America. The Trump
12:06administration and often its Justice Department doesn't seem to believe in it. Yes. Yes.
12:10On the floor today and in a letter we will be sending. We ask a whole lot of questions,
12:28a lot of serious answers. National security threats. You're going to take a plane from
12:32another country. And Air Force One is the most complicated piece of aircraft in the world. It
12:38needs so much. So much goes into it, a lot of which is classified. We've got a lot of questions.
12:45Yes. No, no. This person. Okay. You get him. I thought his hand was up.
12:52You said in June of last year, in my meetings with President Biden, I found him being commanding,
12:58impressive and building influence to make progress on key priorities. But in that same month,
13:04Biden did not even recognize George Clooney at a fundraiser. Were you being straight with the
13:09American public? Look, we're just looking forward. Yes. What's your reaction to President Trump's
13:15proposal to direct DHS and CMS to negotiate the lower drug crisis if they match with other countries?
13:21Yeah. It's very much the same as what he said in 2020. It's all talk, no action. In 2020,
13:27he didn't get the results. And I doubt he's going to get them now. A lot of talk, a lot of hype,
