00:21We are making good headway on the reconciliation bill.
00:25As you all know, this is the legislation that we believe implements the president,
00:30its agenda, and makes our country safer, stronger, and more prosperous.
00:35And if you look at how it achieves those objectives, and certainly on the tax side of it,
00:41it makes it easier for American families to make ends meet by giving them significant tax relief in several ways.
00:50It locks in and makes permanent the lower tax rates that were part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
00:55It allows for a permanent extension of the increased, the expanded child tax credit,
01:02and it also makes permanent the increased standard deduction, which 90% of the people in this country claim.
01:10And then on top of that, a number of President Trump's initiatives deal with no tax on tips,
01:16no tax on overtime, lower taxes on seniors in this country, and interest on, no tax on interest on new loans for cars.
01:25So those are all things that the president has included.
01:27They're included in our package.
01:28They were included in the House package.
01:30But we think they are important in terms of the mess that they send to the American people,
01:34and that is that we want to allow you to keep more of what you earn so that you can spend it
01:39and make decisions that are in the best interest of your family instead of sending that money to Washington, D.C.
01:45Couple that with what it does in modernizing our military, making the country safer,
01:49what it does with respect to securing our border and making our country more secure that way.
01:54These are all important aspects and components of the reconciliation legislation that's in front of us,
01:59and we feel very good about the path that we're on and getting this across the finish line by the end of the week.
02:06So with that, I will yield to our whip, Senator Brasso.
02:11Well, Republicans were elected to provide safety and prosperity for the American people.
02:16Democrats lost the last election because they were the party of high prices and open borders.
02:22The sooner we can pass this comprehensive economic plan,
02:25the sooner the American people will see the benefits that will come from this legislation.
02:30The leaders just talked about a number of those things.
02:33Higher wages, lower prices, lower taxes, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, lower taxes on our seniors.
02:42All of these things are critically important.
02:44Now, the Democrats have said they're going to do everything they can to defeat this bill.
02:48If that happens, the American people will see the largest tax increase in the history of this country.
02:54We cannot allow that to happen.
02:55I said it before, the Democrats are also the party of historically high taxes.
03:02We're there to provide safety, security, and prosperity for the American people.
03:07We're ready to get America back on track.
03:11I really do think this will be an historic week because of what's going to happen with the American family,
03:18whether it's keeping taxes low, as we did in 2017, keeping those, whether it's the child tax credit,
03:25making it permanent, which will give families a lot of reassurance as they move into paying their taxes.
03:32We also create a savings account for every child born in this country.
03:37Now, we talk about, you know, some of our, let's say, Social Security that's supposed to be in 2033 have some difficulties, a lot of difficulties.
03:48What if we start saving?
03:50We have that savings account beginning the day you're born.
03:53That's going to be really, I think, wonderful for families all across the country.
03:58Helps with adoptions.
03:59This is a family bill.
04:01This is a family bill from beginning to end.
04:04The small business tax credits that are in here are going to be made permanent.
04:08Secretary Besant believes, he said this to us today, as I believe,
04:13that this will be the biggest growth portion of the bill that will lead to a lot of capital expenditures,
04:18more people working at higher wages.
04:20One other aspect of the bill, of course, is the border security bill, part.
04:25This is very important.
04:26I was privileged on Monday to host Secretary Kristi Noem to come to Harper's Ferry, West Virginia,
04:32where we have the advanced training center for our border patrol agents,
04:35where we train over 16,000 a year to meet the challenges on our southern and our northern borders.
04:43And she talked a lot about the progress that the president has made in terms of border security.
04:50But without this bill, that progress would be stopped in its tracks.
04:54We need to move forward with border security to make sure that we're safer,
05:00but also those agents that we're training and the advanced training they're receiving in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia,
05:06at the advanced training center makes their job safe,
05:09and the service they're doing for this country, much appreciated.
05:13Thanks.
05:13Do you expect, even if the bill is going to pass, that you at least have two to three members on your side who would vote no?
05:23Could be.
05:25Why?
05:25Why?
05:27Well, we've got a lot of very independent thinking senators and who have, you know,
05:33reasons and things that they'd like to have in this bill that would, in their view, make it stronger.
05:38But at the end of the day, this is a process whereby not everybody's going to get what they want.
05:45And we have to get to 51 in the United States Senate.
05:48We are moving toward that objective.
05:50I'm hopeful at the end that we'll have the requisite number of votes to pass it.
05:55And we just had Secretary Besson, as you I know heard from, come in and speak to us about why it's important to get the bill done
06:01and why it's important that we get it done in a timely way.
06:04And so we're looking forward to progressing on the bill this week,
06:08and hopefully when a push comes to shove and everybody has to say yes or no,
06:13we'll get the number of votes that we need.
06:14Peter, is a member of the Gang of Eight, do you agree with the assessment from President Trump
06:21that the key nuclear enrichment facilities in Iran have been completely and totally obliterated?
06:27Well, I don't, I'm not sure I have, you might want to hear from Senator Cotton,
06:33who chairs the Intelligence Committee, an answer on the full extent.
06:37But we know for sure that their nuclear program was set back considerably,
06:43and that is a victory not only for that region, but for our country's national security interests.
06:47Senator Cotton, do you agree?
06:48Rural hospitals, some senators say that is not only the biggest sticking point,
06:52but that Senate Republican leadership does not have a plan to address it,
06:55specifically the provider tax.
06:57Can you guarantee that rural hospitals will not lose millions of funding
07:00and millions of Americans will be left without insurance?
07:03We are working on a solution for rural hospitals,
07:07and that's something that's been in the works now for several days
07:10in response to a number of concerns that our colleagues have mentioned
07:15about ensuring that there be the impact on rural hospitals be lessened, be mitigated,
07:24and I think we're making good headway on that solution.
07:25I mean, how do you expect, how do you ask about the schedule?
07:30The text is going to come out Wednesday or Thursday.
07:32Can you break it down?
07:33Motion to proceed on the bill, first vote on Thursday or Friday.
07:35Can you provide any clarity there?
07:37And, you know, you have a couple colleagues who are outspoken with their complaints here.
07:41How are you confident that you will have the 50 votes?
07:44Well, I just think when push comes to shove, you know, you're looking at whether
07:53or not you're going to allow the perfect to become the enemy of the good.
07:56And there are a lot of things in this bill, as I pointed out.
07:58It modernizes the military.
08:00It secures the border.
08:01It brings tax relief to working families.
08:03It has the biggest spending reduction in history,
08:06and it restores energy dominance for our country.
08:09I mean, I think there is so much good in this,
08:10and people sit down and evaluate how they're going to land in the end.
08:15You have to recognize that this is a process whereby everybody doesn't get everything they want,
08:20but I think we produced a bill working with the House, working with the White House,
08:24that will get the requisite number of Republican senators to vote for it so that we can pass it,
08:30get it back to the House.
08:31Hopefully they can take it up and pass it and put it on the President's desk.
