House Democrats held a press briefing on Wednesday on the Republican budget reconciliation bill.
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00:00Good morning, pleased to be joined, still morning, pleased to be joined with Vice Chair
00:10of the House Democratic Caucus, Ted Lute.
00:13This week, Republicans have laid out exactly who they are fighting for.
00:17After weeks of promises that they wouldn't cut Medicaid, their budget contains drastic
00:22cuts that will throw millions off of health insurance.
00:25After campaigning on helping working-class Americans get ahead, their budget, once again,
00:31rewards billionaires and wealthy corporations and makes it harder for families to make ends
00:36meet.
00:38They are watching prices go up because of Trump's reckless tariffs, and their response is to
00:44take food off of the table for women, veterans, and children.
00:48The Republican budget doesn't address the cost of living crisis.
00:51It makes it worse.
00:53The cost of groceries, clothing, and everyday necessities are still too high, and Republicans
00:59want to add to that and make health care more expensive on top of it.
01:04This isn't about helping people find good-paying jobs or a shot at a better life.
01:09This is simply about helping people like Elon Musk pay less in taxes.
01:15House Democrats believe that we can shore up these basic needs, programs, and help everyday
01:20Americans reach their full potential.
01:23It's long past time that the wealthiest of Americans pay their fair share and will make
01:29it easier for working families to afford basic needs like health care and housing.
01:34These devastating cuts will make Americans, particularly children, sicker, hungrier, and poorer.
01:41They're shortchanging the future just so their friends can continue to get richer.
01:46The American people cannot afford the Republicans' budget, and House Democrats are using every
01:51tool at our disposal to stop it.
01:54I want to thank our Energy and Commerce members who continue to meet, Ways and Means members
02:01who continue to highlight the unfairness of this plan that Republicans are putting forward,
02:09and the Agriculture Committee who will continue to fight for nutrition programs throughout
02:15the day.
02:15Vice Chair, Ted Lue.
02:17Thank you, Chairman Aguilar.
02:20Omaha, Nebraska is the sixth largest city in America led by a Republican.
02:26And last night, in a stunning upset, Democrats flipped that seat from red to blue.
02:31I want to congratulate Mary-Lec John Ewing, Jr., who's going to be the new mayor of Omaha, Nebraska.
02:37We also know that voters are very angry at Republicans who continue to enable Donald Trump's harmful
02:43policies, and the Republican mayor, in this case, aligned herself completely with Donald
02:49Trump, and the voters spoke out in Omaha, and now we have a Democratic mayor to laugh.
02:56I also want to talk about now the Katori Luxury Palace in the Sky gift to Donald Trump.
03:03There is no such thing as a free palace in the sky.
03:07What do foreign countries want when they give massive amounts of money and other gifts to
03:13the President?
03:15Donald Trump should reject this gift of the luxury palace in the sky, Boeing 747, completely
03:22and righteously.
03:24Because we are the United States of America.
03:26We don't need gifts from foreign countries.
03:28We can build our own very impressive Air Force One.
03:32We don't need to fly a Qatari plane around as our Air Force One that's also un-American.
03:39I also want to note, new reporting came out showing that to retrofit this Qatari 747 will
03:44take perhaps up to a billion dollars, because you can't just fly a palace in the sky from
03:50a foreign country.
03:51You have to actually make it safe and secure.
03:53You have to make this plane ready to launch nuclear weapons.
03:56You can't have people eavesdropping on it.
03:58And so it's going to cost way more money to do it this way.
04:02And again, people need to ask, why is a foreign country trying to give this massive gift to
04:07Donald Trump?
04:08And think about a precedent it would set.
04:10Would it be okay if Brunei gifted a luxury 757 to J.D. Vance for Air Force Two?
04:17Would it be okay if Germany gave a Porsche SUV to Senator Thune as its official car?
04:25Would it be okay if Italy gave a bunch of expensive Armani suits to Speaker Johnson for
04:30his official duties?
04:31No, it wouldn't be okay.
04:33Also, because the Constitution says you can't do this.
04:36It requires congressional approval for the President to accept the gift of this size.
04:41And we urge the Republicans in Congress to stand up, speak out, and call for a vote if
04:46Donald Trump were to accept this essential bribe for the foreign government.
04:51And then let me now conclude on Medicaid.
04:53We now know that the Republicans lied when they said that they weren't going to cut Medicaid.
04:58They're cutting Medicaid by a massive amount of money.
05:02One of the largest cuts in U.S. history.
05:06Over 13.7 million people will be kicked off Medicaid.
05:08I also know that two-thirds of Medicaid, two-thirds of nursing home patients rely on Medicaid.
05:15This is also going to close down rural hospitals.
05:18It's going to make it so that health care for all of us becomes more expensive.
05:21Because if you don't have health care under Medicaid, you're still going to get treated.
05:25You just walk into the emergency room and it costs you more money for all of us.
05:28So we urge the Republicans to reject this massive Medicaid cut.
05:33And I just want to say we told you so.
05:34We told you that Republicans were going to cut Medicaid, and now we know that they are doing it.
05:39So if they mind, we told the truth again.
05:43Questions?
05:45Nick?
05:46I understand leadership is going to vote to table Congressman Thanedar's impeachment resolution today.
05:52Does leadership also plan to do so with Congressman L. Green's impeachment resolution?
05:56Well, resolutions in order to be, to force a vote, resolutions of privilege have to be ready.
06:05And the individual, the maker of the motion, has to go to the floor and ask for that.
06:10We will deal with what is being offered this week.
06:13I have said before from this podium that this is not the right approach we should be taking.
06:18I'll join, we'll join members of the leadership team in voting to table that motion.
06:24Right now, our focus is on health care being stripped away from the American people.
06:32That is the most urgent and dire thing that we could be talking about this week.
06:38Everything else is a distraction.
06:42Andrew?
06:44Oh, yeah, I was giving my question.
06:47That's it? That's all you got?
06:47Can I follow up on that one?
06:50Michael, then.
06:51I actually have a question for Mr. Liu this week.
06:54This is my favorite quote.
06:56The House Energy and Commerce Republicans put a provision in their bill.
07:03It's a 10-year moratorium on artificial intelligence.
07:08Most artificial intelligence models at the state and local level over the next 10 years,
07:12they pass the communications title.
07:14So it looks like it's going to be in the final bill.
07:17Given your role on the artificial intelligence task force last Congress and the interest that you have in this industry,
07:27what's your reaction to that particular provision?
07:29Do you think that it's helpful to prevent states and localities from regulating this industry?
07:37And what does it say that Congress hasn't really taken any meaningful steps to regulate artificial intelligence over these last few years?
07:44So thank you for your question.
07:46First of all, this has nothing to do with the budget.
07:49So I don't see how this survives the Senate, where I think the parliamentarian will rule it out of order.
07:55Just on the policy itself, I don't mind if we have federal preemption.
08:00We do have federal preemption in a number of areas in the law, but we can't preempt with nothing.
08:05There's no federal law or idea that we're preempting the states on it.
08:11So it doesn't make much sense to me to basically preempt with nothing.
08:15I think we're going to preempt.
08:16We should say we want to do X, Y, or Z at the federal level, and that's why you states cannot regulate in this area.
08:23I also know that 10 years is an awful long time.
08:25But if what Congress wants to say is, look, give us a year to figure this out, that might make more sense.
08:32But there's no reason to have a 10-year preemption with nothing in its place.
08:39I just wanted to follow up on Congressman Tanidar impeachment articles.
08:44This morning he admitted that some members of this party strongly disagree with him,
08:49and he kind of said, I'm moving forward anyway because I think that it's always the right time to do the right thing,
08:55regardless of what members of my party think.
08:58So what would you say to the fact that he's pretty much admitting,
09:02I know my party doesn't want me to do this and I'm doing it anyway?
09:06I'll keep the conversations that I have with members, you know, between members.
09:11Many of us have made our positions known.
09:14Like I said, this is such an impactful moment.
09:17When our colleagues are locking themselves in a room for 24 hours to protect and defend health care for their constituents,
09:29we should be talking about uplifting that hard work.
09:34We shouldn't be talking about this proposal that is not right and not timely.
09:44That's what is most important.
09:46Impeachment is a tool, like I said before, this president is no stranger to impeachments.
09:50He's been impeached twice.
09:53Impeachment is a tool that can be used, but it takes weeks and months to do.
09:58Right now, the issue of the day is, will four Republicans stand up and support health care in this country for their constituents?
10:08That is a fundamental issue.
10:09Everything else is just a distraction, and we're seeing that play out in real time in the Energy and Commerce Committee,
10:16and we will see that again as this bill goes to the Rules Committee and it comes to the House floor.
10:22That's what House Democrats are focused on fighting for.
10:25And I understand, we've said before, it is a broad mosaic of opinions within the House Democratic Caucus that the Vice Chair and I get an opportunity to lead.
10:36But this is one that is a pretty easy call.
10:40Mike Johnson said this morning that he supports a ban on stock trading by members.
10:45Jeffries has said the same.
10:46Do you think that's something now that should be moved on very swiftly, now that there's agreement from both parties' leaders?
10:54This has been a bipartisan issue.
10:56Members on both sides of the aisle have talked about this.
10:58There's a lot of details behind it.
11:01I support a ban personally, but there's a lot of details that would need to be worked out.
11:07What is difficult for members to also comprehend is, yes, we believe that members shouldn't be trading.
11:14We don't believe that members should use any knowledge that they have in order to execute trades.
11:20Marjorie Taylor-Breen and the Chairman of Committees have recently engaged in some of this that is questionable.
11:28What is also questionable is the President of the United States being able to trade his likeness with meaning points.
11:36And he and his family profit to the tune of potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in order to continue this grift on the American public.
11:49And not just the American public, to be able to profit from people around the country.
11:53So I'm in favor of a ban, but let's not also lose sight that there are plenty of things in which we need to hold the executive to when it comes to conflicts of interest and trading as well.
12:09You spoke a bit about the Omaha win yesterday.
12:13And what are some things that, and Democrats have also done very well in a lot of special elections since the 2024 election.
12:18What are some things that these candidates are doing well that you think House Democrats should be incorporating as we move into the midterm cycle?
12:24And what do you think is indicative of how the midterm cycle will go?
12:28I want the Vice Chair to speak to this too because he pointed to it.
12:31But look, I think candidates across the country are talking about the issues.
12:35They're talking about providing a better quality of life and lowering the costs that people face.
12:40That is fundamentally what folks want to talk about.
12:43And in the case in Omaha, you have one candidate who's talking about social issues, and then you have another candidate talking about potholes.
12:53The person at the local level who talks about potholes is probably going to win.
12:57And so I think keeping your eye on the ball and making sure that you're focused on the needs of your constituents is the absolute most important thing that you can do.
13:06And I think that's what those successful candidates are doing.
13:10Donald Trump is not popular.
13:12In fact, he's the least popular president in over 80 years at 100-day mark.
13:17His policies are not popular.
13:19Some of them are also lawless.
13:21And when Republicans align themselves completely with Donald Trump, then the voters get angry, and they're going to start taking them out in elections.
13:29And that's what happened.
13:30The Republican mayor was there, and she completely aligned herself with Donald Trump.
13:35And the voters removed her from office and installed a Democratic mayor who was going to work on issues such as what Chairman McGrath said to fixing potholes and improving people's lives.
13:46Last question in the back.
13:47Thank you, sir.
13:48I wanted to ask your response to President Trump's executive order.
13:52They signed earlier that he said it was aimed at cutting drug prices.
13:55If Republicans were serious about this issue, they would join with Democrats.
14:02They would have joined with Democrats when we lowered the cost of prescription drugs across this country.
14:08Right now, they and their friends are looking to sue to unwind those efforts.
14:14That's unacceptable.
14:16There are bills that Democrats are carrying that would lower the cost of prescription drugs, actually put more money in people's pockets.
14:24All of this is just a disingenuous effort on the part of House Republicans and Donald Trump to pretend like they are looking out for people.
14:33If they were serious about it, the policy would be placed within their reconciliation plan.
14:39It's not.
14:40This is just a performance effort by the President.
14:44Thank you very much.