'I've Got A Lot Of Concerns': Josh Hawley Says He Is 'Surprised' With Senate Changes To GOP Budget

Forbes Breaking News

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) expressed concerns about changes to President Trump's so-called 'Big, Beautiful Bill'.

Transcript

00:00Yeah, well, I got a lot of concerns. I'm just surprised.

00:14Well, I'm surprised that the Senate has decided to completely depart from the House framework

00:22when it comes to Medicaid and the provider taxes. I'm also surprised that they decided

00:26to extend the Green New Deal tax subsidies. They decided to weaken and roll back a bunch

00:32of the President's tax cuts, the Populist tax cuts. And then on the rural hospitals,

00:37I mean, this is not at all. I've talked to our leadership constantly about this, and

00:43I was told we've got a fix on the provider tax issue. We're going to help rural hospitals.

00:47There's nothing in here for rural hospitals. In fact, what they're doing is lowering the

00:51provider tax to make it even worse. So it's like we're defunding rural hospitals in order

00:56to pay for extension to the Green New Deal. Like, I just, I don't get it at all.

01:01So there's no way you could support something like this?

01:02It needs a lot of work on it, I will just say.

01:04Do you think you're going to talk to anyone on finance to kind of help them understand,

01:08like, your perspective on the provider tax?

01:10I'm being very vocal about my concerns, yeah.

01:12What is the impact on rural hospitals if this were to become law?

01:16Well, what they tell me is that we'd be looking at closures. I mean, listen, half of the hospitals

01:19in my state are rural. So, I mean, that's a huge number. We've already lost a bunch of rural

01:24hospitals. And what leadership told me over and over is we're working on a fix for rural

01:28hospitals. I don't see anything in there to that effect. Nothing. It's very different

01:32than what the House negotiated with the President. It's different from what the President negotiated.

01:37I just, I can't, I can't figure out why in the world we would so radically depart from

01:42the President's own framework. It's bizarre to me.

01:43Are there any other, you said yesterday that you would like to hear what President Trump

01:48has to say about this. Are you planning to speak with him about this?

01:50I'm sure I will. Yeah, I'm sure I will.

01:52Any time to?

01:53Well, I'm sure I will. I'll let you know.

01:55Are there any other senators who feel kind of the same way, that they feel very surprised

01:59about what they saw in the bill?

02:00Yes. I don't want to speak, well, I'm not going to speak for them, but I'll just say

02:04that I've had a number of conversations since yesterday evening with people who were really,

02:09really shocked.

02:10We often hear that benefits would not be cut, Medicaid benefits would not be cut.

02:14Do you think that this amounts to a benefit cut?

02:16Well, I don't think it's a benefit cut, Mono, but if you can't go to the hospital,

02:19I mean, it doesn't do you a whole lot of good, right?

02:22I mean, listen, I'm from a rural area. I grew up in a town of 4,000 people.

02:25My little town was the county seat, so the hospital was there.

02:29I often joke that I was a frequent contributor to that hospital's business.

02:34I was there a lot as a kid with all kinds of injuries, but in all seriousness,

02:38if you close hospitals in my town, 4,000 people, that's a lot of jobs.

02:42That's a killer for that town, and then the nearest hospital is like 40 miles away.

02:47I mean, we can't do that.

02:49So we've got to keep rural hospitals.

02:51Why would we defund rural hospitals to pay for Chinese solar panels?

02:56Like, I just don't get it. I just, I can't tell you how surprised I am by this

03:00and completely pampered by it.

03:02This is not at all, at all, what we were told would be in this bill.

03:07Can this be done by July 4th?

03:09I don't know. I hope the Senate leadership is sharpening their pencils

03:13and ready to work all night, because this needs a lot of work.

03:15I just think it's the way you currently know, unless you see the text change.

03:19Let me just say it needs a lot of work.

03:22Now, the bright spot is RECA, the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.

03:26That will expand health care access for hundreds of thousands of people around the country,

03:30beginning in the state of Missouri.

03:31This will be a generational achievement for Missouri if we're able to get this bill passed.

03:36It's in the bill, so I'm delighted about that.

03:38But we've got to have hospitals open that people can go to.

03:40I know you've been an advocate of expanding RECA for a while.

03:43Does that – are you calculating that in your decision? Would you support it at all because of –

03:49I can't imagine supporting the bill without RECA, let's put it that way.

03:53So I'm glad that it's in there.

03:55It's a hugely significant moment for survivors of nuclear radiation, not just in Missouri,

03:59but really across the country – Tennessee, Alaska, Kentucky, Utah, Wyoming, Texas, New Mexico, Idaho.

04:06I can go down the list.

04:07I mean, there's a lot of people who are affected by this,

04:09and this will significantly expand access to health care for these folks.

04:14So that's great.

04:15That's a big, big win.

04:16But we've got to have hospitals open, rural hospitals open,

04:19so people can go get care in all of those states I just mentioned, beginning with my own.

04:23Can you give a message to –

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