'A Textbook Case Of Class Lawfare': Ron Wyden Absolutely Slams GOP Reconciliation Bill

At a Senate Democratic press briefing on Tuesday, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) spoke about the Senate Republican reconciliation bill.

Transcript

00:00Thank you leader and let me first just say I so admire my colleague from the West for his dignity

00:09and his caring. I've never heard him even before what happened in Los Angeles raised his voice

00:20in a typical situation. This is the person we admire so much. It's so good to be here with his

00:27family. So much of our country is wrestling with chaos right now and I just wanted to take a minute

00:39because here in the Senate Republicans are working on a big economic piece of legislation that's going

00:48to bring loads more chaos into the homes of millions of Americans who are so vulnerable

00:56who wrestle every day with the food bill against the rent bill and the rent bill against the gas bill

01:04and now they're going to be pushed up against it every week trying to figure out how they're going

01:13to make ends meet. And this bill that my colleagues are talking about is a textbook case of class warfare.

01:24It is in effect caviar over kids and Mar-a-Lago over the middle class. Now some of the Republicans in the Senate

01:37said well we're going to have a milder and a more gentle bill than the House of Representatives had.

01:46Well I've had a night now to study the Senate Republican bill but what I can tell you is it is going to cut

01:55Medicaid which is already the biggest health care cut in American history. It is going to cut

02:05Medicaid even more than the bill in the House of Representatives and these deeper cuts in Medicaid

02:15are going to hit rural America like a wrecking ball and other essential health care providers

02:24plus our states that are on a funding cliff being put in a position where they too are going to be unable

02:34to help the vulnerable. Senator Schumer and I have led the effort to try to hold down energy bills

02:45for those who are vulnerable in America. And in particular we want to keep these tax incentives

02:54because these tax incentives ensure that we'll have good paying jobs and we'll be in a position

03:03to prevent price hikes in energy. But we are met with opposition there. I can tell you this Senate bill

03:14as it's written now is a stake in the heart of the solar manufacturing industry. And the reason this is so

03:23important is because of growth we need more energy. And even people who run gas companies are saying we need

03:32the electrons from renewable energy. So we are going to continue and my colleague from Minnesota touched on it very well,

03:41to advance the cause peacefully, fairly, to try to listen to all sides, but give everybody in America the chance to get ahead.

03:53Not just the people at the top. That's not an agenda that we're all about. We're all about giving everybody a fair shot.

04:01So in the spirit and the dignity of the Padilla family today, I want you to know we're going to pursue this legislation

04:11in a thoughtful way to try to make sure that everybody can be heard and to do our best to write a fairer bill, a better bill,

04:22a bill that's in line with the spirit of what our country is all about. Thank you, Leader.

04:26Thank you, Ron. We'll take questions for any of us.