00:00Hi, Senator. How are you doing? Good. You have this bill that you've written. Don't get hurt, guys.
00:06To reverse these cuts on Medicaid. Yeah.
00:10You know, why did you introduce this bill when you just voted to enact these cuts?
00:14Well, I said I would. I mean, I said that I would support the bill because it enacts work requirements, which I supported and still do support,
00:23that it prevents illegals from getting Medicaid, which I think is the right thing.
00:27It expands health care coverage. We're talking about now the big, beautiful bill.
00:30It expands health care coverage in my state and other states for hundreds of thousands of people under the RECA program, which is my bill.
00:36So I liked all of that, but there are aspects of it I didn't like.
00:39And I think these future cuts to hospitals with Medicaid is a mistake.
00:43So I said when I voted for it, I said I'm going to try to reverse these. That's exactly what I'm doing.
00:47But couldn't you have done that while the bill was being negotiated rather than after the cut?
00:51No, manifestly not. I mean, it's sadly monos.
00:53You know, I mean, with legislation, sometimes you can get some things and not other things.
00:58So we were able to accomplish a lot. There's a lot of things. I like most of the things.
01:01I mean, the tax cuts of the bill I think are good for workers, the blue-collar tax cuts.
01:05But I didn't like the hospital cuts.
01:08We were able to delay them and able to get more funding for hospitals in the short term.
01:11But I want to fund hospitals permanently, and I don't want any of those cuts to go into effect.
01:15And if your bill goes into law, what's the impact going to be on your state?
01:19No, no, no, no. Sorry. If the cuts go into law and your new bill does not go into law to push back on these cuts, what is the impact going to be?
01:28Yeah, the good news is because of what we were able to negotiate, to your point, about or in the big, beautiful bill,
01:34Missouri is actually getting a billion dollars more in hospital funding over the next four years.
01:39So what my new bill would do is double that.
01:42It would continue the increase in funding, and it would prevent any future changes.
01:45Now, you're asking what would happen in 2030. The answer is I don't know, because Missouri may well have to change its funding formula.
01:53So I don't know the answer to that. But my view is I don't want to take any chances.
01:58I don't want rural hospitals in particular adversely effective at all.
02:02And I said that I'd do everything I can to support them. That's what I'm doing.
02:05Does this bill have momentum or support from your colleagues?
02:08I hope so. We'll see. We'll see.
02:10I mean, listen, this is my consistent position on this, which is that I don't think we should reduce funding for rural hospitals.
02:16I voted for the big, beautiful bill in part because it includes an increase for rural hospital funding over the next four and five years.
02:22Let's make that permanent, and let's extend it.
02:25What do you think of the polls that show that this bill is deeply unpopular?
02:29Well, I just had what I think so far is the only rally sort of for the bill.
02:34You can correct me on this. Maybe I'm wrong about this.
02:36I think I'm the only senator who has done a big event on the bill because the nuclear radiation compensation program that is in this bill is hugely popular in the state of Missouri.
02:46So we just had a huge rally, bipartisan.
02:50My Democrat friends were there, you know, celebrating this.
02:53So, listen, I think that there's a lot in this bill to like.
02:56And, you know, the things that we need to fix, we'll fix.
02:59Senator, on the issue of rescissions, some of your colleagues, the ones who voted no yesterday,
03:03and even Majority Leader Thune has expressed some frustration with OMB that they haven't given specific things that these cuts are going to claw back on.
03:13Do you share any of those concerns?
03:14Do you think OMB should be more specific about what the money they're going to pull back is going to be taken from?
03:20Well, I'm sure they're trying to be as specific as they can.
03:23I will say some of my colleagues have the advantage here.
03:25A number of them were here for earlier rescissions packages.
03:28So I've heard a lot from my colleagues about how this rescission package differs from earlier ones.
03:33I just don't have that context.
03:35So that may be true, and I can understand the frustration.
03:38I think at the end of the day, I support the rescissions package.
03:41In fact, I'd like to make it bigger.
03:42I'd like to cut $9 billion out of Green New Deal funding that's going to a private corporation in my state that's taking farmers' land.
03:51So, unfortunately, the rules don't allow me to do it.
03:54But if you gave me my druthers, I'd try to add some stuff to this bill.
03:57So I'm going to vote for it.
03:58Senator, do you think that the Judiciary Committee should probe this Epstein matter?
04:02And what do you think about the way the administration is handling it?
04:06Well, listen, I thought what the president said yesterday, I think it was yesterday, was right.
04:09I think he said the attorney general ought to release whatever she thinks is credible and appropriate to release it.
04:14That is exactly the right answer, I think.
04:16I mean, I think she should do that.
04:17I think, and my view is...
04:18She has not released enough, in your opinion.
04:20Well, I think it's...
04:22Here's what I think is maybe a little difficult to believe.
04:25The idea that DOJ and the FBI, who prosecuted cases related to this, don't have any idea who Epstein's clients were and that he had no record of it, of the clients.
04:35I don't know.
04:35I find that kind of hard to believe.
04:37I mean, my view is make public everything you can make public.
04:41That's what the president said yesterday.
04:43I think that would be...
04:44They want my advice, and they don't.
04:45But if DOJ were asking for my advice, that's what I would say.
04:49Make it all public.
04:50Make as much public as you can.
04:52Listen, I've been an attorney general in the state of Missouri.
04:54I understand, like, these agencies often, they're always pressuring you as the prosecutor.
04:58They're always saying, please don't make this public.
04:59Please don't make this public.
05:01I just think whenever you can, so long as it doesn't interfere with the prosecution, I think you ought to make it public.
05:06And in this case, I just say, let's make it all public and get it out there.
05:10Should the judge or committee investigate this?
05:13Well, I saw that...
05:14I never know how to pronounce her name, but Max, his associate, Epstein's associate, Maxwell.
05:19And I'll help me out.
05:20What's her first name?
05:20She'll lay you in.
05:21Yeah, okay.
05:22Yeah.
05:22So I think she said that she would be willing to testify.
05:26I mean, why not?
05:27Why not put her under oath?
05:29Now, I wouldn't offer her immunity for any testimony, but, you know, if the Judiciary Committee could put her under oath and testify, I'd be fine with that.
05:36I mean, I think that would...
05:37She apparently...
05:38I mean, she's being prosecuted.
05:39I think she has an appeal pending.
05:40So, you know, I mean, I think that could be a good idea.
