WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.000 applause 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:04.000 thank you and welcome to 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:06.000 Western Oregon University I'd like to 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:08.000 start with a quick overview 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:09.000 of some facts you may not know 00:00:09.000 --> 00:00:10.000 about the university first 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:12.000 of all it was founded in 1856 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:13.000 it's the oldest 00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:16.000 state of Oregon and nearly 80 percent of our 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:18.000 students are from Oregon and 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:19.000 over twenty percent of our 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:20.000 students are latinx 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:22.000 making Western one of the 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:23.000 most diverse campuses in 00:00:23.000 --> 00:00:25.000 Oregon our largest majors are 00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:27.000 business criminal justice of course 00:00:27.000 --> 00:00:29.000 education exercise science 00:00:29.000 --> 00:00:31.000 and psychology Western is 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:32.000 committed to educating the 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:34.000 next generation of leaders 00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:37.000 for Oregon and the nation now I would 00:00:37.000 --> 00:00:38.000 like to introduce our mayor 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:40.000 of Monmouth Mayor Cec Koontz will go 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:42.000 over the rules of a town 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:45.000 hall for us thank you 00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:48.000 President Fuller I'm honored everyday to serve this 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:49.000 university as a trustee of 00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:51.000 its governing board and to 00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:53.000 serve my community as mayor and 00:00:53.000 --> 00:00:55.000 with all the difficult issues 00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:57.000 facing us today I am thankful 00:00:57.000 --> 00:00:60.000 that the biggest flap I have 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:03.000 presided over in my public life 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:08.000 is that of neighborhood peacocks 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:10.000 I know you have more important 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:12.000 issues on your minds today so 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:13.000 let me explain the process for 00:01:13.000 --> 00:01:16.000 the town hall today each person 00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:18.000 who wants to ask a question 00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:20.000 of the senator should've gotten a ticket as they 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:22.000 were coming in so if you don't 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:24.000 have one you can still get one 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:27.000 we can get that entered right 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:31.000 right here -- when we start I will call out 00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:33.000 two numbers the first will 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:35.000 be the person who is asking 00:01:35.000 --> 00:01:37.000 the question and the second 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:39.000 will be the next person to be 00:01:39.000 --> 00:01:41.000 prepared when your number's 00:01:41.000 --> 00:01:42.000 call please raise your hand 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:45.000 or stand up -- we have folks 00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:46.000 with microphones they will try 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:48.000 to get to you so that you can 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:50.000 speak into the microphone they 00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:53.000 will check your number and 00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:55.000 then you may ask your question 00:01:55.000 --> 00:01:56.000 there's a lot of folks here 00:01:56.000 --> 00:01:59.000 today so -- hopefully we can go 00:01:59.000 --> 00:01:62.000 ahead and be concise get through 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:04.000 as many questions as possible 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:06.000 so don't forget after the 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:08.000 senator is finished answering each 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:11.000 question I'll call then two numbers 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:14.000 the first person and then the 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:17.000 person to get ready so back to 00:02:17.000 --> 00:02:19.000 President Fuller who will introduce 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:21.000 Senator Ron Wyden thank you 00:02:21.000 --> 00:02:23.000 okay good afternoon 00:02:23.000 --> 00:02:25.000 when Senator Wyden is in Washington DC 00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:26.000 representing us in the Senate 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:27.000 he's a member of the committees 00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:30.000 on finance budget intelligence 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:32.000 energy and natural resources 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:33.000 he is a ranking member of the 00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:34.000 Senate Finance Committee as 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:36.000 well and the ranking Democrat on the Energy 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:38.000 and Natural Resource Committee 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:40.000 Senator Wyden is the senior 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:41.000 US senator from Oregon since 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:46.000 Democratic Party he previously served 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:49.000 in the House from 1981 to 1996 00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:51.000 he's currently -- he's the 00:02:51.000 --> 00:02:52.000 longest serving member of 00:02:52.000 --> 00:02:55.000 our delegation in Washington 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:56.000 Wyden recently was one of twenty-six 00:02:56.000 --> 00:02:58.000 senators who introduced 00:02:58.000 --> 00:02:60.000 the Clean Energy for America Act 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:01.000 he's a steadfast advocate 00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:03.000 for bipartisan approaches 00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:06.000 to infrastructure investment he 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:07.000 continues to support access to higher 00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:09.000 education and support policies 00:03:09.000 --> 00:03:10.000 that will minimize college graduate 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:13.000 student debt economy on the 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:14.000 recent 2020 spending 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:16.000 bill Senator Wyden stated 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:18.000 and I quote generating jobs 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:20.000 throughout Oregon is a common theme 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:21.000 in these federal resources 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:22.000 whether supporting the big role 00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:24.000 played by our state's small ports 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:26.000 or investing in a green energy 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:28.000 opportunities please join me in 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:30.000 welcoming Senator Ron Wyden to Polk County 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:36.000 applause 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:38.000 thank you all 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:40.000 President Fuller thank you so much for the 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:42.000 chance to be with you again and be at 00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:44.000 this wonderful campus where 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:45.000 you all are doing such good 00:03:45.000 --> 00:03:48.000 work I heard all those majors all of them really 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:50.000 provide opportunities for 00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:51.000 students and I know that's 00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:53.000 your priority and I really 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:55.000 want to thank Mayor Koontz 00:03:55.000 --> 00:03:59.000 as well for handling today's meeting she was 00:03:59.000 --> 00:03:60.000 talking about the challenge 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:02.000 of dealing with peacocks and the 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:04.000 like thereby illustrating 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:09.000 that all government is local because I must say 00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:12.000 that as your United States Senator I have never 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:13.000 been faced with the peacock 00:04:13.000 --> 00:04:17.000 challenge before so how many of you 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:20.000 have never been to one of our town meetings before 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:22.000 so we got a fair number of newcomers that's 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:25.000 great well what we usually do 00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:27.000 is I start with a few remarks 00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:29.000 like maybe forty minutes or 00:04:29.000 --> 00:04:35.000 so and -- it's really a lot of fun and 00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:36.000 this gentleman over 00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:40.000 here thinks I'm serious 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:41.000 he's never been to one of our meetings and 00:04:41.000 --> 00:04:47.000 he's going what have I gotten myself into 00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:48.000 but that is not what we're 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:50.000 doing so you will be spared of that -- this 00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:53.000 is part of the pledge that I 00:04:53.000 --> 00:04:55.000 made to Oregonians we were choosing 00:04:55.000 --> 00:04:56.000 our first new United States 00:04:56.000 --> 00:04:59.000 senator in more than thirty 00:04:59.000 --> 00:04:64.000 years and I said if I have the honor to be chosen 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:06.000 I will throw open the doors 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:08.000 of government and I will go to 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:12.000 every county in Oregon every 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:13.000 year that I have the privilege 00:05:13.000 --> 00:05:14.000 of representing Oregon in the 00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:17.000 Senate and I will have an open 00:05:17.000 --> 00:05:20.000 to everybody community meeting 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:24.000 every year and nobody had ever 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:27.000 done this this had never been done in the history 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:31.000 of Oregon government and most people said fat chance well 00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:33.000 we've been doing it every year so 00:05:33.000 --> 00:05:34.000 I've had the honor to represent 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:39.000 you and today for the next 90 minutes or 00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:41.000 so I'm not going to be using 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:45.000 any teleprompters I'm not gonna be giving any speeches 00:05:46.000 --> 00:05:51.000 said well what's the agenda I said you set the agenda 00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:53.000 not me I'm gonna be responding 00:05:53.000 --> 00:05:55.000 and so for the next 90 00:05:55.000 --> 00:05:58.000 minutes we will be having 00:05:58.000 --> 00:05:60.000 town hall meeting here 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:02.000 at Western number 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:13.000 just saying there are no subjects that are off limits 00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:14.000 we have the good fortune 00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:16.000 of having the mayor here 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:20.000 to navigate -- everything and 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:21.000 let's just go right to your 00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:22.000 questions there are a couple things 00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:24.000 going on back in DC and 00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:27.000 now let's talk about what you're 00:06:27.000 --> 00:06:30.000 interested in I have a question 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:33.000 and I know your answer already 00:06:33.000 --> 00:06:36.000 so I'm going to phrase it in a different way 00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:41.000 Washington is you go there fight for 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:43.000 what we want and you run into 00:06:43.000 --> 00:06:44.000 opposition so you take what 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:47.000 you get what you can get and this is our 00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:49.000 reality our reality is we're 00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:51.000 dealing with medical bankruptcy 00:06:51.000 --> 00:06:53.000 medical debt we're dealing 00:06:53.000 --> 00:06:55.000 with -- inflating housing 00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:58.000 costs stagnant wages policies 00:06:58.000 --> 00:06:59.000 that separate children from 00:06:59.000 --> 00:06:61.000 their parents at the border 00:07:01.000 --> 00:07:04.000 and -- wildfires exasperated 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:07.000 exacerbated by climate change and a 00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:08.000 president that feels that he can do 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:11.000 anything he wants regardless 00:07:11.000 --> 00:07:12.000 of what the Constitution 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:15.000 says so this is the reality 00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:17.000 that we're facing and it's 00:07:17.000 --> 00:07:20.000 untenable it's not acceptable and 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:22.000 so what we're doing is we're 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:24.000 asking you as our senator to 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:26.000 go to Washington and change 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:29.000 reality there so our reality 00:07:29.000 --> 00:07:32.000 becomes acceptable and -- we 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:34.000 can't do that by just taking 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:37.000 one pill you give us you have to fight for what we 00:07:37.000 --> 00:07:43.000 want and we want Medicare for all 00:07:43.000 --> 00:07:47.000 great point great way to start let 00:07:47.000 --> 00:07:51.000 me if I might -- I gather 00:07:51.000 --> 00:07:53.000 would you like to start talking about health care 00:07:53.000 --> 00:07:54.000 because you talked about enough subjects 00:07:54.000 --> 00:07:56.000 it would keep us entertained 00:08:01.000 --> 00:08:02.000 there's a lot to do you bet 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:04.000 we'll talk probably about all of it 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:05.000 but let me start with 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:11.000 healthcare okay healthcare for me has always 00:08:11.000 --> 00:08:14.000 been far and away the most 00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:17.000 important issue in other words I put 00:08:17.000 --> 00:08:21.000 healthcare up here and I put everything else as 00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:26.000 important as it is really far -- 00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:29.000 in a far different place and that's because 00:08:29.000 --> 00:08:30.000 if you and your loved ones 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:32.000 don't have your health care 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:34.000 everything else goes by the 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:37.000 board in other words this is the 00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:39.000 defining kind of thing 00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:42.000 and I kind of come to this 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:44.000 issue I was director of the Gray Panthers 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:45.000 you may not know this sir 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:47.000 for about seven years before I 00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:49.000 was elected you know to Congress 00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:51.000 and we took on the insurance companies 00:08:51.000 --> 00:08:52.000 and stopped the rip offs 00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:54.000 to Medigap health insurance 00:08:54.000 --> 00:08:55.000 nobody thought we could do 00:08:55.000 --> 00:08:58.000 that we took on the drug companies 00:08:58.000 --> 00:08:60.000 to get generic medicine which 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:02.000 is at least a little bit cheaper than the 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:04.000 brand names so I spent my whole life 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:07.000 taking on big interest big 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:09.000 powerful you know interests in 00:09:11.000 --> 00:09:13.000 executives showed up when I was 00:09:13.000 --> 00:09:16.000 a young member of congress held up their hand 00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:20.000 and when I asked them that nicotine wasn't about 00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:21.000 whether nicotine was addictive 00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:24.000 they all said no under oath 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:26.000 and that question that I asked 00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:28.000 that nobody had asked led to a 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:31.000 two hundred and fifty billion 00:09:31.000 --> 00:09:33.000 dollars settlement against the big 00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:38.000 tobacco companies I spent my whole life taking on big interests 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:41.000 now the question is what do we 00:09:41.000 --> 00:09:44.000 do now which is essentially what you're asking 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:46.000 I think on healthcare you heard I 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:51.000 think it's the most important issue the defining kind of 00:09:51.000 --> 00:09:54.000 line for an elected official every elected official should 00:09:54.000 --> 00:09:58.000 take a position on this do you 00:09:58.000 --> 00:09:60.000 think healthcare in America 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:03.000 should be a basic human 00:10:03.000 --> 00:10:08.000 right my answer to that question is absolutely 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:10.000 absolutely and everything I 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:15.000 do in healthcare is designed to push 00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:20.000 us in that kind of direction so how 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:24.000 do you go about doing that first thing you say is we are 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:28.000 spending enough money on healthcare 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:30.000 we don't spend it in the right 00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:33.000 places this year we'll spend three 00:10:33.000 --> 00:10:36.000 point five trillion dollars okay there's 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:40.000 three hundred twenty five million of us divide three 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:42.000 hundred twenty five million 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:44.000 into three point five trillion and 00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:47.000 you could send every family of four in America a check for 00:10:47.000 --> 00:10:51.000 forty thousand dollars sounds 00:10:51.000 --> 00:10:53.000 pretty good huh get a check for 00:10:53.000 --> 00:10:54.000 forty thousand dollars to buy 00:10:54.000 --> 00:10:56.000 your healthcare coverage I think most 00:10:56.000 --> 00:10:59.000 people would say it sounds good well 00:10:59.000 --> 00:10:62.000 what's the problem then the 00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:06.000 problem is these powerful interests try to 00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:09.000 get their priorities rather 00:11:09.000 --> 00:11:13.000 than yours so you bet I've got 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:17.000 kind of two tracks I go out there and I push 00:11:17.000 --> 00:11:20.000 big to take on powerful 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:23.000 interests but I also say to myself 00:11:23.000 --> 00:11:25.000 I've got to reduce suffering to 00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:30.000 the greatest extent I possibly can today and let me give you 00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:33.000 an example I have been able to 00:11:33.000 --> 00:11:38.000 persuade the only Republican in the Senate 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:41.000 the only one the Chairman of the 00:11:41.000 --> 00:11:42.000 Finance Committee I'm their 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:46.000 ranking Democrat to join me in 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:51.000 the first ever legislated cap on 00:11:51.000 --> 00:11:54.000 pharmaceutical price gouging 00:11:54.000 --> 00:11:57.000 all right we defied the odds got it passed 00:11:57.000 --> 00:11:60.000 onto Senate Finance Committee 00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:03.000 the pharmaceutical lobby they're spending 00:12:03.000 --> 00:12:06.000 enormous sums of money 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:09.000 trying to block it so 00:12:09.000 --> 00:12:12.000 I'm getting around and I'm saying hey 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:17.000 folks who are we gonna choose are we gonna 00:12:17.000 --> 00:12:19.000 choose the consumer who gets 00:12:19.000 --> 00:12:22.000 mugged at the pharmacy counter 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:25.000 or are we gonna side with big pharma 00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:26.000 and by the way 00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:29.000 the same people opposing 00:12:29.000 --> 00:12:31.000 my healthcare legislation are the people 00:12:31.000 --> 00:12:35.000 who are opposing the legislation you're talking about 00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:38.000 because of these approaches 00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:40.000 are going to restrict 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:42.000 their ability to pretty much 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:44.000 do whatever they want because that's 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:48.000 the way it works with pharmaceuticals right now that's 00:12:48.000 --> 00:12:51.000 the way it works right now 00:12:51.000 --> 00:12:54.000 thousands of Oregonians depend on insulin 00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:59.000 for their medicine insulin prices have gone up 00:12:59.000 --> 00:12:63.000 thirteen fold in recent years 00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:06.000 and the insulin is not thirteen times 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:09.000 better it's pretty much the same insulin we've had 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:11.000 for the last 50 years 00:13:11.000 --> 00:13:13.000 well under what 00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:16.000 Senator Grassley and I are doing we grain that in 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:19.000 and had our bill become law 00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:26.000 have seen would have been very modest 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:30.000 a few hundred dollars so you bet 00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:31.000 I'm trying to get everything 00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:37.000 I can to stop suffering today and I'm 00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:40.000 looking down the road at the future now let's 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:41.000 talk about legislation 00:13:41.000 --> 00:13:46.000 in terms of where it is as 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:47.000 the senior Democrat on the Finance 00:13:47.000 --> 00:13:51.000 Committee we've got jurisdiction over two trillion dollars 00:13:51.000 --> 00:13:56.000 Medicare Medicaid the state's changes 00:13:56.000 --> 00:13:58.000 children's health insurance program two trillion 00:13:58.000 --> 00:13:61.000 dollars now on our committee 00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:05.000 we just give you a sense of it 00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:08.000 the person who sits next to me is 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:11.000 Senator Debbie Stabenow she's from Michigan 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:14.000 she's one of the Senate's leaders 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:16.000 determines the progressive legislation 00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:18.000 she does not share 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:22.000 your view on Medicare for all what does 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:25.000 Senator Stabenow want to do pretty good 00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:28.000 idea let's make Medicare available now 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:31.000 to people over fifty darn good 00:14:31.000 --> 00:14:34.000 idea people between fifty and 00:14:34.000 --> 00:14:37.000 sixty five a lot of them are women with small 00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:41.000 income faced job discrimination good on 00:14:41.000 --> 00:14:44.000 Senator Stabenow couple seats away 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:47.000 from Senator Stabenow is 00:14:47.000 --> 00:14:50.000 Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio 00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:56.000 probably the most popular populist 00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:59.000 in the entire Midwest he's 00:14:59.000 --> 00:14:64.000 the only Democrat standing in Ohio 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:07.000 Senator Brown also does not 00:15:07.000 --> 00:15:10.000 share your view Senator Brown doesn't 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:12.000 share your view because his 00:15:12.000 --> 00:15:16.000 labor unions in Ohio don't share 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:21.000 your view then a couple of seats away 00:15:21.000 --> 00:15:24.000 is Senator Bennet of Colorado 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:27.000 who would also call himself a populist 00:15:27.000 --> 00:15:29.000 and he wants a public option 00:15:29.000 --> 00:15:31.000 because he thinks that a public option 00:15:31.000 --> 00:15:35.000 is the way to have real 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:38.000 competition with the healthcare system 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:39.000 and there are a couple of others 00:15:39.000 --> 00:15:40.000 who have their own approaches 00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:42.000 but that's just in the Finance Committee off 00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:47.000 senators with lots of other good ideas 00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:49.000 senators who for example 00:15:49.000 --> 00:15:50.000 want people to be able to 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:54.000 buy into Medicaid on a 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:58.000 public basis so these are 00:15:58.000 --> 00:15:60.000 all the approaches I'm gonna 00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:03.000 have to try to reconcile 00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:07.000 one the big lobbies who are fighting 00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:12.000 the Sanders bill will find all of the things that I just mentioned 00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:14.000 just as hard it's not like they're gonna go oh 00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:17.000 great you know let's be for Medicare at fifty 00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:23.000 just as hard on those things because they don't 00:16:23.000 --> 00:16:26.000 want Medicare type choices they don't want 00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:28.000 what my colleagues are talking about where Medicare and 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:31.000 Medicaid type of choices 00:16:31.000 --> 00:16:33.000 so I'm gonna have to find a way 00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:37.000 to bring people together and I'll 00:16:37.000 --> 00:16:39.000 just leave this because we're 00:16:39.000 --> 00:16:40.000 talking about healthcare 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:43.000 planning over the course of the afternoon 00:16:43.000 --> 00:16:47.000 number one the days when single payer 00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:50.000 folks aren't at the table in the 00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:52.000 debates if I'm chairman of 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:54.000 the Senate Finance Committee those days 00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:57.000 are over period full stop as you 00:16:57.000 --> 00:16:59.000 know in the past there's been 00:16:59.000 --> 00:16:61.000 lot's of instances where folks weren't 00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:05.000 participating and couldn't testify and all the rest 00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:06.000 well those days are over 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:08.000 if I'm Chairman of the Finance Commitee 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:10.000 In 2021 I do 00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:16.000 want us to recognize that we've got to 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:18.000 talk through some issues to each 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:20.000 other that are gonna have to 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:25.000 be reconciled and I'm gonna be diplomatic about that 00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:27.000 many of the people who were for 00:17:27.000 --> 00:17:30.000 Medicare for all quoting 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:32.000 Senator Sanders 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:35.000 stand up and say there should be no premiums 00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:37.000 on Medicare there should be no copays 00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:42.000 there should be no deductibles right 00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:45.000 Sir respectfully Medicare 00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:47.000 does have premiums now 00:17:47.000 --> 00:17:51.000 that's something in Medicare 00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:54.000 It's improved Medicare without premiums 00:17:54.000 --> 00:17:56.000 I think all of that is very ma'am 00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:59.000 but that's not what Senator Sanders 00:17:59.000 --> 00:17:62.000 who I work with I want people to hear 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:05.000 a little thing about Senator Sanders 00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:06.000 Senator Sanders was on the campaign 00:18:06.000 --> 00:18:09.000 trail a couple months ago and the 00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:11.000 far right the budget committee 00:18:11.000 --> 00:18:12.000 where he's the senior guy 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:16.000 like I am on finance they'd 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:18.000 came up with this idea that 00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:21.000 said after they gave these big tax cuts to all the powerful 00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:23.000 people they could go out and cut 00:18:23.000 --> 00:18:24.000 the domestic programs and 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:27.000 can change the budget rules to cut 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:29.000 healthcare and education 00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:33.000 and housing and the rest and Senator Sanders was faced 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:35.000 with the decision to come off 00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:38.000 the campaign trail and share this hearing 00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:41.000 which would have gotten in the way of some of 00:18:41.000 --> 00:18:43.000 the things that were on his schedule 00:18:43.000 --> 00:18:46.000 Senator Sanders told his people 00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:50.000 let's get Ron Wyden in there to take 00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:54.000 that position and carry out our agenda which 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:55.000 is we're not gonna give tax breaks to 00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:58.000 people at the top and then cut the vulnerable 00:18:58.000 --> 00:18:61.000 so there's plenty of agreement 00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:06.000 but I don't do people I represent a service 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:08.000 if I don't tell you about these kinds of things 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:11.000 that if we stand up and say there aren't going 00:19:11.000 --> 00:19:15.000 to be any premiums and all the rest and then somebody 00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:17.000 who don't agree with us 00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:20.000 about healthcare being a human right stands up 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:22.000 they're gonna say what are you guys talking about 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:25.000 Medicare has premiums 00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:27.000 today you said you're for Medicare so we're gonna 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:31.000 have to work together on these kinds 00:19:31.000 --> 00:19:33.000 of issues that's why I feel 00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:35.000 so strongly in terms of making sure that 00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:37.000 Medicare for all people are 00:19:37.000 --> 00:19:39.000 at the table and are part of 00:19:39.000 --> 00:19:41.000 the discussion because I'm 00:19:41.000 --> 00:19:43.000 quite sure that that nice person 00:19:43.000 --> 00:19:46.000 who's filming everything I have to say 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:47.000 believes that healthcare should be a 00:19:47.000 --> 00:19:49.000 basic human right make sure 00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:50.000 you get that on the camera 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:53.000 too I think healthcare should be a basic human right in 00:19:53.000 --> 00:19:56.000 America and it's as important as 00:19:56.000 --> 00:19:60.000 anything I'm trying to do in public service 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:04.000 applause 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:09.000 and I want you all to know that you should really feel 00:20:09.000 --> 00:20:12.000 free to ask your question this is just 00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:16.000 a conversation and one of the other 00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:19.000 I think it as one of the high schools wasn't a university 00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:23.000 but a bunch of students had clearly been called and they were 00:20:23.000 --> 00:20:25.000 just shy and didn't want to 00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:27.000 ask their question questions and finally 00:20:27.000 --> 00:20:29.000 there were a couple of them right up in front 00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:33.000 and I heard one of them whisper we better 00:20:33.000 --> 00:20:35.000 ask our question this dude is 00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:40.000 so serious do you think he'll 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:44.000 come to our house ask us all these questions so 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:45.000 we're just having a 00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:47.000 conversation here and you're gonna educate me and I want 00:20:47.000 --> 00:20:50.000 everybody to feel comfortable participating 00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:52.000 okay this is not a policy 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:54.000 question what this is about is 00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:57.000 we donate to of course our Oregon 00:20:57.000 --> 00:20:59.000 politicians our couple Oregon candidates 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:03.000 we receive a lot of messages 00:21:03.000 --> 00:21:05.000 via email for others you know their 00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:08.000 states right now my feeling and 00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:09.000 a lot of other people's feeling 00:21:09.000 --> 00:21:11.000 is we have to take back the 00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:13.000 Senate and so have 00:21:13.000 --> 00:21:15.000 to stop being insular about holding 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:18.000 promoting and giving to the 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:20.000 candidates on our slate in 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:22.000 our state but to help those 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:24.000 in other states that could 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:27.000 turn the Senate what's your 00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:29.000 opinion on endorsing that way 00:21:29.000 --> 00:21:31.000 so folks 00:21:31.000 --> 00:21:34.000 we decided about nine hundred 00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:39.000 and sixty town hall meetings ago that these 00:21:39.000 --> 00:21:43.000 meetings we would make sure 00:21:43.000 --> 00:21:47.000 were not partisan you know meetings 00:21:47.000 --> 00:21:49.000 in other words it's not for the 00:21:49.000 --> 00:21:51.000 Democratic Committee or the 00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:53.000 Republican Committee and you know this kind 00:21:53.000 --> 00:21:57.000 of thing this is for everybody 00:21:57.000 --> 00:21:60.000 to feel comfortable talking 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:02.000 I feel especially for those 00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:04.000 here who support the president 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:07.000 or support the policy that the president 00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:11.000 supports you will be treated 00:22:11.000 --> 00:22:15.000 with maximum respect and dignity -- we have lots 00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:19.000 of people with Make America Great hats -- couple 00:22:19.000 --> 00:22:22.000 days ago and they all said well nobody's 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:24.000 gonna let me talk and they're all gonna be critical and I said 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:26.000 not on my watch on my 00:22:26.000 --> 00:22:29.000 watch everybody gets to talk and everybody 00:22:29.000 --> 00:22:31.000 is treated with respect 00:22:31.000 --> 00:22:32.000 and that's because that's 00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:35.000 the Oregon way you know we believe 00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:37.000 in it it's what Mark Hatfield and Tom Golf 00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:39.000 did before they were Republicans 00:22:39.000 --> 00:22:42.000 and by the way it's what Vera Katz 00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:45.000 the late mayor of Portland who was plenty liberal 00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:48.000 that's what she stood for too 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:51.000 and our rural areas they love Vera Katz 00:22:51.000 --> 00:22:53.000 because she treated them with respect and dignity 00:22:53.000 --> 00:22:55.000 so that's what these meetings 00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:58.000 are and anybody who came in fact a couple 00:22:58.000 --> 00:22:61.000 of the campaigns have come to take pictures I'm happy 00:23:01.000 --> 00:23:04.000 to talk politics with everybody outside 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:06.000 and take pictures with political 00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:08.000 people outside and all that kind of stuff but it's easier 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:10.000 but in here 00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:12.000 for nine hundred and sixty one 00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:16.000 or two make sure I have fact answer 00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:18.000 because the staff is gonna come correct me 00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:19.000 nine hundred and sixty two 00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:21.000 what we're gonna do is we're gonna keep 00:23:21.000 --> 00:23:23.000 this this is about issues and by the way 00:23:23.000 --> 00:23:26.000 if you want my opinion the best politics is to come up 00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:29.000 with sensible ways to build 00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:32.000 coalitions and get things done 00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:35.000 which is what the gentleman in the back was touching on 00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:37.000 there's a lot of folks hurting -- right 00:23:37.000 --> 00:23:39.000 right now can't pay the 00:23:39.000 --> 00:23:42.000 rent get clobbered by healthcare costs 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:46.000 can't save for retirement my take is if you 00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:47.000 want to do well in politics 00:23:47.000 --> 00:23:49.000 come up with some answers to those things and a way 00:23:49.000 --> 00:23:50.000 to get them done 00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:52.000 I keep expecting my 00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:55.000 anxiety level to decrease ever 00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:57.000 since this man was elected to 00:23:57.000 --> 00:23:61.000 the Oval Office and I find that it 00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:04.000 just continues to increase and the fact 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:06.000 that it seems as though the 00:24:06.000 --> 00:24:08.000 Republicans don't even want 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:10.000 to follow our rules anymore 00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:11.000 don't even really care about 00:24:11.000 --> 00:24:13.000 the country aren't going to turn 00:24:13.000 --> 00:24:15.000 over things the courts say 00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:20.000 that they should and -- now 00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:21.000 the President went ahead with 00:24:21.000 --> 00:24:24.000 an assassination telling Putin 00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:30.000 and his friends and the Saudi Arabians 00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:31.000 what he was going to do but 00:24:31.000 --> 00:24:33.000 neglected to tell the gang of 00:24:33.000 --> 00:24:35.000 eight who should know about 00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:38.000 these things do the Republicans not care at all about 00:24:38.000 --> 00:24:40.000 our government are they just 00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:42.000 throwing the whole thing away 00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:49.000 let me give you my take on Iran 00:24:49.000 --> 00:24:51.000 in particular because I think 00:24:51.000 --> 00:24:53.000 that's really the center piece 00:24:53.000 --> 00:24:55.000 of what your you know what 00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:56.000 you're talking about you know 00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:61.000 obviously -- the rhetoric has 00:25:01.000 --> 00:25:04.000 gotten a lot more menacing in 00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:09.000 the last twenty four hours and 00:25:09.000 --> 00:25:10.000 I will tell you I am on the 00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:12.000 Intelligence Committee my older 00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:14.000 child calls it the so called 00:25:14.000 --> 00:25:18.000 Intelligence Committee I'm not going to 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:19.000 get into classified matters 00:25:19.000 --> 00:25:21.000 but I mean Iran has a 00:25:21.000 --> 00:25:26.000 history of being unpredictable 00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:28.000 which certainly ought to give 00:25:28.000 --> 00:25:31.000 everyone pause they use 00:25:31.000 --> 00:25:33.000 militias they use proxies they 00:25:33.000 --> 00:25:36.000 have a lot of ways to carry out 00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:44.000 saw the big pictures of Mr full 00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:46.000 of money it -- being held 00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:53.000 up at various ceremonies and the like so the 00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:56.000 Iranians are the country with a 00:25:56.000 --> 00:25:59.000 history of being unpredictable 00:25:59.000 --> 00:25:61.000 unsupportive asymmetrical 00:26:01.000 --> 00:26:05.000 warfare and unusual strategies 00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:13.000 pretty unpredictable particularly 00:26:13.000 --> 00:26:19.000 in the foreign policy you know arena now the law 00:26:19.000 --> 00:26:22.000 allows me and the Congress to 00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:27.000 do something about Donald Trump's unpredictability 00:26:27.000 --> 00:26:32.000 and it's called the War Power's Act 00:26:32.000 --> 00:26:34.000 and it is a piece 00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:37.000 of federal legislation and it says 00:26:37.000 --> 00:26:40.000 that the president can't take 00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:43.000 our country to war without the 00:26:43.000 --> 00:26:46.000 Congress first voting consent because 00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:48.000 the Congress has the power 00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:52.000 of the purse and I will tell 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:54.000 you because I'm going back 00:26:54.000 --> 00:26:56.000 first thing on Monday and we're 00:26:56.000 --> 00:26:58.000 still working on the processes 00:26:58.000 --> 00:26:61.000 for -- the impeachment 00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:04.000 trial and we'll probably next week be 00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:06.000 dealing with an issue that's 00:27:06.000 --> 00:27:07.000 really important to Oregon which 00:27:07.000 --> 00:27:09.000 is trade and I'll be managing 00:27:09.000 --> 00:27:12.000 that for the Democrats in committee 00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:13.000 and on the floor it goes to the 00:27:13.000 --> 00:27:16.000 Finance Committee I can tell 00:27:16.000 --> 00:27:20.000 you what I have been hearing at town hall meetings and 00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:23.000 this is my sixth in -- 00:27:23.000 --> 00:27:27.000 the last three days what Oregonians want me 00:27:27.000 --> 00:27:30.000 to do is go back there and make 00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:34.000 sure that the War Powers Act is 00:27:34.000 --> 00:27:36.000 finally carried out that this is 00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:40.000 the time to draw a line in 00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:42.000 the sand and for the Congress 00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:45.000 to stop surrendering 00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:50.000 their legal obligations 00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:54.000 to do various oversight and that's what I'm gonna 00:27:54.000 --> 00:27:56.000 do so we can start with that 00:27:56.000 --> 00:27:58.000 I wanna go 00:27:58.000 --> 00:27:59.000 in a couple different directions but I'll 00:27:59.000 --> 00:27:62.000 stick with -- a big issue with 00:28:02.000 --> 00:28:04.000 me here with education you're 00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:07.000 you you focus on -- student 00:28:07.000 --> 00:28:10.000 debt student loan debt -- my 00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:13.000 generation came into college out of 00:28:13.000 --> 00:28:15.000 high school with this thought that 00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:16.000 you have to go to college to 00:28:16.000 --> 00:28:18.000 be successful without it you 00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:20.000 can't be successful -- with 00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:23.000 that came gargantuan amounts 00:28:23.000 --> 00:28:25.000 of student loan debt including 00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:27.000 student loan debt for myself and 00:28:27.000 --> 00:28:28.000 my wife my wife's a teacher 00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:34.000 in town -- I got my degree in education and we 00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:35.000 will be saddled with debt for 00:28:35.000 --> 00:28:38.000 the next hopefully only ten years 00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:39.000 fifteen years but the only reason 00:28:39.000 --> 00:28:41.000 being is because of the rule 00:28:41.000 --> 00:28:44.000 and -- initiative that working 00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:46.000 in a rural community however 00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:48.000 from what I'm seeing at the 00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:50.000 national level that idea of 00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:52.000 getting student loans forgiven 00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:57.000 is disappearing or is literally not being 00:28:57.000 --> 00:28:59.000 held up -- so what is 00:28:59.000 --> 00:28:60.000 happening there and my next 00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:03.000 question is why is it that 00:29:03.000 --> 00:29:04.000 the government the federal 00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:08.000 government seems to think that 00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:10.000 two to seven and a half percent 00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:13.000 interest on my student loans 00:29:13.000 --> 00:29:16.000 up to eight I think on one is 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:18.000 okay and why is it that the 00:29:18.000 --> 00:29:19.000 government feels the need to 00:29:19.000 --> 00:29:21.000 make money off of the people 00:29:21.000 --> 00:29:23.000 that they expect to be the main 00:29:23.000 --> 00:29:25.000 part of the economy and the 00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:26.000 main people that are being held 00:29:26.000 --> 00:29:29.000 back in our economy due to student loan 00:29:29.000 --> 00:29:33.000 debt -- how is it possible that 00:29:33.000 --> 00:29:34.000 the government's wanting to make 00:29:34.000 --> 00:29:38.000 money off of those folks 00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:40.000 thank you for bringing it up 00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:43.000 let me talk about debt the people 00:29:43.000 --> 00:29:46.000 already have and what we need 00:29:46.000 --> 00:29:48.000 to do about that and then we'll 00:29:48.000 --> 00:29:51.000 talk about debt -- and paying 00:29:51.000 --> 00:29:53.000 for college you know going -- 00:29:53.000 --> 00:29:56.000 going forward -- first of all 00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:58.000 I think if anything you have 00:29:58.000 --> 00:29:62.000 understated the problem I have 00:30:02.000 --> 00:30:05.000 had to introduce federal legislation 00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:07.000 because we have jurisdiction 00:30:07.000 --> 00:30:10.000 over social security to 00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:13.000 keep people from having their 00:30:13.000 --> 00:30:17.000 social security payments taken 00:30:17.000 --> 00:30:19.000 away because they have been 00:30:19.000 --> 00:30:22.000 paying student debt forever and ever 00:30:22.000 --> 00:30:24.000 and ever so people are just 00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:27.000 up to their eyeballs in debt 00:30:27.000 --> 00:30:33.000 and -- it doesn't just go on for three five 00:30:33.000 --> 00:30:36.000 six years you can have people you know 00:30:36.000 --> 00:30:38.000 who were hoping to have some 00:30:38.000 --> 00:30:40.000 measure of dignity in retirement 00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:41.000 losing their social security 00:30:41.000 --> 00:30:44.000 as well so -- if anything I 00:30:44.000 --> 00:30:46.000 think you've understated -- the 00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:50.000 problem now we have to start 00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:51.000 with the fact that those of 00:30:51.000 --> 00:30:54.000 us who think that this is wrong both the 00:30:54.000 --> 00:30:58.000 interest rates and the debt we're 00:30:58.000 --> 00:30:62.000 playing defense Betsy DeVos 00:31:02.000 --> 00:31:04.000 the Secretary of Education is 00:31:04.000 --> 00:31:07.000 trying to make it harder for 00:31:07.000 --> 00:31:10.000 people to pay off their student debt 00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:14.000 with public service I want to make it easier 00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:15.000 I want to make it easier for 00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:19.000 people to give back to their community and discharge the 00:31:19.000 --> 00:31:21.000 debts without spending decades 00:31:21.000 --> 00:31:24.000 and being faced with the prospect of 00:31:24.000 --> 00:31:26.000 losing their social security 00:31:26.000 --> 00:31:29.000 so we're playing defense on 00:31:29.000 --> 00:31:34.000 that that's number one number two for the future 00:31:34.000 --> 00:31:36.000 apropos of finance I want 00:31:36.000 --> 00:31:38.000 people to be making payments 00:31:38.000 --> 00:31:41.000 in relation to the income that 00:31:41.000 --> 00:31:44.000 they make so that that would 00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:46.000 be a new consideration and 00:31:46.000 --> 00:31:49.000 finally I wanna hold down the 00:31:49.000 --> 00:31:52.000 cost of college in the first 00:31:52.000 --> 00:31:54.000 place your president knows about this 00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:57.000 I'm the author with Senator Marco Rubio 00:31:57.000 --> 00:31:61.000 you don't every day see a piece of legislation 00:32:01.000 --> 00:32:04.000 with myself and Marco Rubio 00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:06.000 but we are for something 00:32:06.000 --> 00:32:11.000 called Know Before You Go and what this stimulates 00:32:11.000 --> 00:32:14.000 is that students would be able to see what 00:32:14.000 --> 00:32:17.000 graduation rates were in remedial education 00:32:17.000 --> 00:32:19.000 and what people would be likely 00:32:19.000 --> 00:32:20.000 to earn and they could compare 00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:22.000 one university against another 00:32:22.000 --> 00:32:25.000 in one place and Mr. Fuller 00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:27.000 President Fuller and others in 00:32:27.000 --> 00:32:29.000 Oregon to their credit have been supportive 00:32:29.000 --> 00:32:31.000 of getting this kind of information 00:32:31.000 --> 00:32:34.000 out and this would inject a little 00:32:34.000 --> 00:32:37.000 bit of competition into this 00:32:37.000 --> 00:32:39.000 whole question of paying for 00:32:39.000 --> 00:32:41.000 education because right now other than 00:32:41.000 --> 00:32:43.000 buying a house there's nothing 00:32:43.000 --> 00:32:45.000 that you're buying that's close to -- if you're paying 00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:47.000 for an education and yet this is 00:32:47.000 --> 00:32:51.000 so price insensitive because people 00:32:51.000 --> 00:32:53.000 can't even figure out how to 00:32:53.000 --> 00:32:55.000 use their leverage all this 00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:56.000 and they're gonna be spending all this 00:32:56.000 --> 00:32:59.000 money to get an education so 00:33:02.000 --> 00:33:03.000 to the point the gentleman 00:33:03.000 --> 00:33:07.000 made is -- who's gonna take on these 00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:09.000 powerful interests the banks 00:33:09.000 --> 00:33:12.000 and the special interests have a big interest 00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:15.000 in the status quo they like 00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:16.000 the way the system works and 00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:18.000 I think it needs to be changed 00:33:18.000 --> 00:33:21.000 at least in the areas I mentioned that 00:33:21.000 --> 00:33:23.000 ought to have bipartisan support 00:33:23.000 --> 00:33:25.000 my name is Gregory Camp I'm a 00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:28.000 retired doctor and I practiced 00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:30.000 thirty years here in Oregon 00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:36.000 encounters with the prescribing 00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:38.000 of medications to people and 00:33:38.000 --> 00:33:39.000 with some of the problems 00:33:39.000 --> 00:33:42.000 that people have not affording their medicines 00:33:42.000 --> 00:33:46.000 and that has -- are you still practicing 00:33:46.000 --> 00:33:48.000 doctor or you've retired no I'm retired now 00:33:48.000 --> 00:33:51.000 but I wanna go and reach the conclusion 00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:53.000 that the drug companies are 00:33:53.000 --> 00:33:56.000 always greeting and often 00:33:56.000 --> 00:33:63.000 untruthful and devious you think 00:34:03.000 --> 00:34:06.000 drug sales in our country annually are around 00:34:06.000 --> 00:34:09.000 about four hundred and fifty 00:34:09.000 --> 00:34:12.000 billion dollars a year -- just 00:34:15.000 --> 00:34:17.000 the -- the prices we pay for 00:34:17.000 --> 00:34:21.000 our drugs are two to four times 00:34:21.000 --> 00:34:23.000 higher than any other developed 00:34:23.000 --> 00:34:32.000 country in the world -- 00:34:36.000 --> 00:34:38.000 the -- the -- drug companies through the 00:34:38.000 --> 00:34:41.000 the world get all of their 00:34:41.000 --> 00:34:43.000 sales throughout the world 00:34:43.000 --> 00:34:45.000 sixty five to seventy five 00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:47.000 percent of their total profits 00:34:47.000 --> 00:34:49.000 are made by sales in America 00:34:49.000 --> 00:34:51.000 so we are really supporting 00:34:51.000 --> 00:34:54.000 the drug company's big time the drug 00:34:54.000 --> 00:34:55.000 companies of course because 00:34:55.000 --> 00:34:58.000 of these huge amounts of money 00:34:58.000 --> 00:34:60.000 are hugely powerful and for 00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:03.000 decades they've been able to 00:35:03.000 --> 00:35:05.000 avoid having to do anything 00:35:05.000 --> 00:35:09.000 major about the problem -- you 00:35:09.000 --> 00:35:12.000 and Senator Grassley have proposed 00:35:12.000 --> 00:35:16.000 a bill -- to address the 00:35:16.000 --> 00:35:19.000 problems of drug prices and some 00:35:19.000 --> 00:35:22.000 parts of that may improve the 00:35:22.000 --> 00:35:24.000 problem modestly but I think the 00:35:24.000 --> 00:35:28.000 only way to have a drastic 00:35:28.000 --> 00:35:31.000 reduction down to where we are 00:35:31.000 --> 00:35:34.000 paying fair drug prices comparable 00:35:34.000 --> 00:35:36.000 to other countries in the world is 00:35:36.000 --> 00:35:39.000 to have a government deal and 00:35:39.000 --> 00:35:41.000 negotiate have to but having them require 00:35:41.000 --> 00:35:42.000 the government to deal 00:35:42.000 --> 00:35:44.000 with new and negotiate directly 00:35:44.000 --> 00:35:46.000 with drug companies that 00:35:46.000 --> 00:35:50.000 is not contained in your bill 00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:52.000 And I noticed that Senator 00:35:52.000 --> 00:35:54.000 Grassley gets large amounts 00:35:54.000 --> 00:35:56.000 of contributions from the 00:35:56.000 --> 00:35:60.000 pharmaceutical companies and he 00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:03.000 has voted against the Affordable Care Act 00:36:03.000 --> 00:36:05.000 he's voted in favor 00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:07.000 of repealing the Affordable Care Act 00:36:07.000 --> 00:36:09.000 which gives me -- 00:36:09.000 --> 00:36:13.000 concern about his attitudes about healthcare 00:36:16.000 --> 00:36:19.000 of -- of -- do you see a way 00:36:19.000 --> 00:36:21.000 to you believe that it should 00:36:21.000 --> 00:36:23.000 be done that -- that the 00:36:23.000 --> 00:36:25.000 government would be required 00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:27.000 to negotiate with the companies 00:36:27.000 --> 00:36:31.000 yeah great great question 00:36:31.000 --> 00:36:35.000 and it really speaks to the point 00:36:35.000 --> 00:36:39.000 the gentleman the room at the beginning I 00:36:39.000 --> 00:36:44.000 think my friend yeah she's patting him on the shoulder 00:36:44.000 --> 00:36:45.000 made with respect to the power 00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:46.000 of the special interests and I want 00:36:46.000 --> 00:36:48.000 to tell you exactly what 00:36:48.000 --> 00:36:50.000 happened then you tell me if you would have 00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:56.000 dealt with it any differently so 00:36:56.000 --> 00:36:61.000 take who was the senator who 00:37:01.000 --> 00:37:04.000 offered the bill the last time 00:37:04.000 --> 00:37:07.000 it came up in the Senate to 00:37:07.000 --> 00:37:08.000 get rid of the restriction 00:37:08.000 --> 00:37:09.000 and let the government 00:37:09.000 --> 00:37:14.000 negotiate prices Medicare the like what senator 00:37:14.000 --> 00:37:17.000 you think offered that I was the 00:37:17.000 --> 00:37:19.000 one who offered it all right 00:37:19.000 --> 00:37:24.000 pharma went out and fought it morning noon and night 00:37:24.000 --> 00:37:27.000 okay so that's a matter of 00:37:27.000 --> 00:37:29.000 public record be glad to send it to you 00:37:29.000 --> 00:37:31.000 I never negotiated away 00:37:31.000 --> 00:37:33.000 anything by the way I was a junior member 00:37:33.000 --> 00:37:35.000 so I wasn't even in charge of negotiating anything 00:37:35.000 --> 00:37:37.000 but I certainly never 00:37:37.000 --> 00:37:40.000 what I have always said you know it's 00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:42.000 a question of either get what 00:37:42.000 --> 00:37:44.000 you want or make a judgment 00:37:44.000 --> 00:37:45.000 about whether you're going 00:37:45.000 --> 00:37:47.000 to get started and that's why I wanna tell you what 00:37:47.000 --> 00:37:49.000 happened with Senator Grassley 00:37:49.000 --> 00:37:53.000 because I think it's instructive 00:37:53.000 --> 00:37:55.000 so we sat down nobody 00:37:55.000 --> 00:37:57.000 thought there would be a bipartisan 00:37:57.000 --> 00:37:60.000 bill we now have a bipartisan 00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:02.000 bill that cleared the committee 00:38:02.000 --> 00:38:04.000 pharma is spending huge sums of 00:38:04.000 --> 00:38:06.000 money against it the senior citizens 00:38:06.000 --> 00:38:10.000 groups the conservative groups are all very much for it 00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:12.000 that's a matter of public record 00:38:12.000 --> 00:38:16.000 we can get that to you so 00:38:16.000 --> 00:38:19.000 I said to Senator Grassley 00:38:19.000 --> 00:38:21.000 you know you've shown some 00:38:21.000 --> 00:38:23.000 independence on this healthcare 00:38:23.000 --> 00:38:26.000 issue with pharmaceuticals 00:38:26.000 --> 00:38:28.000 what am I gonna tell people at a town 00:38:28.000 --> 00:38:33.000 hall meeting who wanna negotiate 00:38:33.000 --> 00:38:35.000 you say well you know the 00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:37.000 Republicans won't go there 00:38:37.000 --> 00:38:41.000 and everybody said well that's just gonna be it 00:38:41.000 --> 00:38:44.000 and -- he said I wanna do a bill 00:38:44.000 --> 00:38:47.000 I said you gotta give people something 00:38:47.000 --> 00:38:48.000 that's going to actually hold 00:38:48.000 --> 00:38:53.000 down prices and he said to me well 00:38:53.000 --> 00:38:55.000 he's a farmer from Iowa I'm a straight 00:38:55.000 --> 00:38:59.000 shooter you're a smart guy think of something 00:38:59.000 --> 00:38:64.000 and so I went and I spent 00:39:04.000 --> 00:39:06.000 a lot of time looking at all 00:39:06.000 --> 00:39:10.000 of the options and I came 00:39:10.000 --> 00:39:12.000 up with two or three things 00:39:12.000 --> 00:39:14.000 that I thought he'd go along with 00:39:14.000 --> 00:39:16.000 going after the middle men the 00:39:16.000 --> 00:39:18.000 pharmaceutical benefit managers 00:39:18.000 --> 00:39:19.000 which is something that 00:39:19.000 --> 00:39:22.000 Senator Sanders feels very strongly 00:39:22.000 --> 00:39:24.000 about going after middle 00:39:24.000 --> 00:39:29.000 men we were able to agree on 00:39:29.000 --> 00:39:32.000 a catastrophic cap so that seniors wouldn't lose their 00:39:32.000 --> 00:39:36.000 home over an expensive medicine that put 00:39:36.000 --> 00:39:38.000 some pressure on insurance 00:39:38.000 --> 00:39:41.000 companies I didn't know for he'd go 00:39:41.000 --> 00:39:43.000 along with it but I think he knew 00:39:43.000 --> 00:39:45.000 that I'd offer it and be hard 00:39:45.000 --> 00:39:48.000 to oppose a catastrophic cap 00:39:48.000 --> 00:39:49.000 and then I said we've got to have 00:39:49.000 --> 00:39:51.000 something that holds down prices 00:39:51.000 --> 00:39:53.000 now he said what do you 00:39:53.000 --> 00:39:55.000 have in mind and I said 00:39:55.000 --> 00:39:58.000 how about if we say if these 00:39:58.000 --> 00:39:60.000 companies go over a target 00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:03.000 and I suggested inflation 00:40:03.000 --> 00:40:05.000 that what we do if they 00:40:05.000 --> 00:40:07.000 go over a target is we take away their 00:40:07.000 --> 00:40:10.000 subsidies all the money when they 00:40:10.000 --> 00:40:13.000 charge over inflation and that 00:40:13.000 --> 00:40:15.000 money is given to the Medicare 00:40:15.000 --> 00:40:18.000 program to help people so I basically 00:40:18.000 --> 00:40:22.000 invented a new cost containment theory which 00:40:22.000 --> 00:40:24.000 is that the pharmaceutical 00:40:24.000 --> 00:40:25.000 people who get billions of 00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:27.000 dollars in subsidies billions 00:40:27.000 --> 00:40:31.000 and billions of dollars in subsidies would lose 00:40:31.000 --> 00:40:32.000 that money starting with when 00:40:32.000 --> 00:40:35.000 they went over -- the price 00:40:35.000 --> 00:40:39.000 of medicine and he thought 00:40:39.000 --> 00:40:41.000 about it he said I got to think about 00:40:41.000 --> 00:40:43.000 it for a few days I went and talked with consumer 00:40:43.000 --> 00:40:45.000 groups the senior groups 00:40:45.000 --> 00:40:47.000 and others and I remember 00:40:47.000 --> 00:40:48.000 one conversation he said 00:40:48.000 --> 00:40:50.000 you're gonna be able to legislate 00:40:50.000 --> 00:40:54.000 a cap on any price increase over 00:40:54.000 --> 00:40:57.000 inflation that's what I'm talking to him about 00:40:57.000 --> 00:40:60.000 for Medicare and he said 00:41:00.000 --> 00:41:03.000 where can we sign up 00:41:03.000 --> 00:41:06.000 so those are the kinds of 00:41:06.000 --> 00:41:08.000 questions and that's why I 00:41:08.000 --> 00:41:11.000 mentioned insulin if we had 00:41:11.000 --> 00:41:13.000 had what I've been able to 00:41:13.000 --> 00:41:15.000 get out of the Finance Committee a decade ago 00:41:15.000 --> 00:41:18.000 people wouldn't be talking about insulin 00:41:18.000 --> 00:41:20.000 prices right now you know that doctor 00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:25.000 they wouldn't be talking about them so those are the 00:41:25.000 --> 00:41:28.000 issues of our time and the 00:41:28.000 --> 00:41:32.000 bottom line is the pharmaceutical companies 00:41:32.000 --> 00:41:34.000 are spending enormous sums of 00:41:34.000 --> 00:41:38.000 money trying to defeat now what 00:41:38.000 --> 00:41:39.000 I have gotten through the 00:41:39.000 --> 00:41:41.000 finance committee which is the 00:41:41.000 --> 00:41:44.000 first ever legislative cap on price gouging 00:41:44.000 --> 00:41:47.000 they're obviously against the Sanders 00:41:47.000 --> 00:41:49.000 bill they'll be against Senator Stabenow's bill 00:41:49.000 --> 00:41:51.000 they'll be against Senator Brown's bill 00:41:51.000 --> 00:41:54.000 they'll be against Senator Bennet's bill but 00:41:54.000 --> 00:41:57.000 every day I'm gonna show up I'll 00:41:57.000 --> 00:41:59.000 welcome your participation 00:41:59.000 --> 00:41:62.000 and Medicare for all people's participation 00:42:02.000 --> 00:42:04.000 and every day I'm gonna show up 00:42:04.000 --> 00:42:06.000 trying to get as much as 00:42:06.000 --> 00:42:11.000 I possibly can on the path to making it clear 00:42:11.000 --> 00:42:13.000 that in the richest 00:42:13.000 --> 00:42:16.000 strongest country on Earth yeah 00:42:16.000 --> 00:42:18.000 we have universal coverage healthcare is a 00:42:18.000 --> 00:42:21.000 basic human right and I won't 00:42:21.000 --> 00:42:23.000 stop until I'm done in public service 00:42:23.000 --> 00:42:28.000 applause 00:42:28.000 --> 00:42:32.000 what it means is that the companies for 00:42:32.000 --> 00:42:34.000 purposes of Medicare which is 00:42:34.000 --> 00:42:36.000 the big buyer and the Congressional 00:42:36.000 --> 00:42:37.000 Budget Office said that because 00:42:37.000 --> 00:42:39.000 Medicare is such a big buyer it 00:42:39.000 --> 00:42:41.000 would start rippling over to 00:42:41.000 --> 00:42:43.000 the private sector in a hurry 00:42:43.000 --> 00:42:44.000 they couldn't raise their 00:42:44.000 --> 00:42:47.000 prices more than inflation 00:42:47.000 --> 00:42:50.000 and if they did we basically 00:42:50.000 --> 00:42:52.000 take away their subsidies that's the 00:42:52.000 --> 00:42:54.000 enforcement to it so it's 00:42:54.000 --> 00:42:57.000 not my first choice and by the 00:42:57.000 --> 00:42:60.000 way in the committee so you'll know the history 00:43:00.000 --> 00:43:02.000 I asked Senator Stabenow 00:43:02.000 --> 00:43:08.000 my seat mate let's have a vote on 00:43:08.000 --> 00:43:09.000 whether or not to lift the 00:43:09.000 --> 00:43:11.000 restriction on bargaining power 00:43:11.000 --> 00:43:13.000 and I voted to lift the restriction on 00:43:13.000 --> 00:43:15.000 the bargaining power and I'll always 00:43:15.000 --> 00:43:17.000 vote to lift the restriction on bargaining power 00:43:17.000 --> 00:43:19.000 whether it's today tomorrow the next 00:43:19.000 --> 00:43:21.000 day the next day and the next day 00:43:21.000 --> 00:43:23.000 because I think it's absolutely crucial 00:43:23.000 --> 00:43:26.000 but I don't think I'm representing 00:43:26.000 --> 00:43:29.000 Oregon with what Oregonians deserve 00:43:29.000 --> 00:43:30.000 to say that's the only thing I'm going 00:43:30.000 --> 00:43:33.000 to do to really try to turn this around 00:43:33.000 --> 00:43:36.000 Would we pay what the 00:43:36.000 --> 00:43:39.000 rest of the world pays if we get the Grassley 00:43:39.000 --> 00:43:43.000 Wyden bill no but you would not have 00:43:43.000 --> 00:43:45.000 price hikes over inflation 00:43:45.000 --> 00:43:48.000 and when I talk to people at 00:43:48.000 --> 00:43:50.000 these meetings and I've asked them 00:43:50.000 --> 00:43:52.000 this question do you want me 00:43:52.000 --> 00:43:54.000 to try to get a bill that doesn't raise your 00:43:54.000 --> 00:43:56.000 price more than inflation and 00:43:56.000 --> 00:43:57.000 people look up at the stars 00:43:57.000 --> 00:43:59.000 and say God almighty get 00:43:59.000 --> 00:43:64.000 it anybody who tries to 00:44:04.000 --> 00:44:06.000 game the system the way you're 00:44:06.000 --> 00:44:10.000 talking about is A. probably 00:44:10.000 --> 00:44:12.000 gonna have some competitor because that 00:44:12.000 --> 00:44:15.000 person is going to be embarrassed in 00:44:15.000 --> 00:44:18.000 the court of public opinion 00:44:18.000 --> 00:44:19.000 and they also said after a 00:44:19.000 --> 00:44:22.000 short time of the drug being 00:44:22.000 --> 00:44:24.000 on the market the inflation 00:44:24.000 --> 00:44:29.000 rate cap kicks in so again you're 00:44:29.000 --> 00:44:33.000 talking about things that would be ideal 00:44:33.000 --> 00:44:37.000 put me down to say I want the ideal 00:44:37.000 --> 00:44:40.000 no question about it but the idea 00:44:40.000 --> 00:44:42.000 of saying that Oregon's guy on the 00:44:42.000 --> 00:44:44.000 Senate Finance Committee 00:44:44.000 --> 00:44:47.000 is not going to take the first ever 00:44:47.000 --> 00:44:50.000 legislated cap on pharmaceutical 00:44:50.000 --> 00:44:53.000 prices that senior citizens groups 00:44:53.000 --> 00:44:56.000 are pleading with me to get 00:44:56.000 --> 00:44:59.000 I don't think it's a close call 00:44:59.000 --> 00:44:62.000 In the 2006 bankruptcy bill that Joe Biden 00:45:02.000 --> 00:45:04.000 and the Republicans passed 00:45:04.000 --> 00:45:06.000 through that outlawed discharging 00:45:06.000 --> 00:45:07.000 this private student loan 00:45:07.000 --> 00:45:08.000 debt for the first time in 00:45:08.000 --> 00:45:09.000 American history real simple 00:45:09.000 --> 00:45:11.000 will you repeal that please 00:45:11.000 --> 00:45:13.000 we're dead we are dying 00:45:13.000 --> 00:45:15.000 with the student loan debt 00:45:15.000 --> 00:45:16.000 my wife and I are ready to go to our 00:45:16.000 --> 00:45:18.000 graves five hundred grand in 00:45:18.000 --> 00:45:21.000 debt cosigning our 00:45:21.000 --> 00:45:23.000 kid's student loans this is 00:45:23.000 --> 00:45:25.000 evil BS and it's hard to -- I want to 00:45:25.000 --> 00:45:26.000 make sure I heard that 00:45:26.000 --> 00:45:27.000 because I may want 00:45:27.000 --> 00:45:30.000 to use that really quickly 00:45:30.000 --> 00:45:32.000 in the Senate did you just tell 00:45:32.000 --> 00:45:35.000 me you all have five hundred 00:45:35.000 --> 00:45:37.000 thousand dollars of student 00:45:37.000 --> 00:45:40.000 loan debt from cosigning our kid's student loans 00:45:40.000 --> 00:45:43.000 Eddie and I Eddie and Will Manster have 00:45:43.000 --> 00:45:45.000 have a million dollars of student loan debt 00:45:45.000 --> 00:45:47.000 here's the funny part they didn't 00:45:47.000 --> 00:45:49.000 go to Harvard they went to 00:45:49.000 --> 00:45:52.000 to local -- to schools in Pennsylvania 00:45:52.000 --> 00:45:53.000 that are relatively cheap 00:45:53.000 --> 00:45:54.000 that's right you can mark that down 00:45:54.000 --> 00:45:56.000 that's the truth they're never going 00:45:56.000 --> 00:45:57.000 to get the money this is the 00:45:57.000 --> 00:45:59.000 irony Wells Fargo and skank 00:45:59.000 --> 00:45:60.000 of America are never going 00:46:00.000 --> 00:46:03.000 to get their money I mean I meant to say bank 00:46:03.000 --> 00:46:05.000 I apologize because we 00:46:05.000 --> 00:46:07.000 don't have it so at least if we get 00:46:07.000 --> 00:46:10.000 we could discharge it in bankruptcy 00:46:10.000 --> 00:46:11.000 we'll get a piece of it so this is 00:46:11.000 --> 00:46:13.000 yeah I've been supportive of that so this is 00:46:13.000 --> 00:46:16.000 and thanks Joe Biden sorry for 00:46:16.000 --> 00:46:17.000 doing that and the Republicans 00:46:17.000 --> 00:46:19.000 this and we're hardly the only ones 00:46:19.000 --> 00:46:22.000 we are getting killed with this 00:46:22.000 --> 00:46:24.000 that's good enough 00:46:24.000 --> 00:46:27.000 and there have been several bills 00:46:27.000 --> 00:46:30.000 that have specifically spoken 00:46:30.000 --> 00:46:32.000 to the question that people 00:46:32.000 --> 00:46:35.000 have gotten some of the way -- 00:46:35.000 --> 00:46:36.000 down the road from 00:46:36.000 --> 00:46:38.000 paying bills off and then 00:46:38.000 --> 00:46:40.000 they just can't survive 00:46:40.000 --> 00:46:42.000 unless they're discharged in bankruptcy 00:46:42.000 --> 00:46:45.000 I'm for that relief from those 00:46:45.000 --> 00:46:48.000 kinds of crushing debts if 00:46:48.000 --> 00:46:52.000 yeah if you'll get to -- if you 00:46:52.000 --> 00:46:54.000 can get this gentleman's phone number 00:46:54.000 --> 00:46:59.000 and -- -- email we'll leave your name off it 00:46:59.000 --> 00:46:61.000 in other words we'll 00:47:01.000 --> 00:47:03.000 not put your name on it but I 00:47:03.000 --> 00:47:05.000 will tell you if I could have 00:47:05.000 --> 00:47:08.000 an example or I could say 00:47:08.000 --> 00:47:10.000 we had a town hall meeting 00:47:10.000 --> 00:47:13.000 guess what town hall meetings don't have a lot 00:47:13.000 --> 00:47:16.000 of bankers coming talking about how they make 00:47:16.000 --> 00:47:18.000 money on student loans but 00:47:18.000 --> 00:47:20.000 I heard from citizen 00:47:20.000 --> 00:47:23.000 in Polk County about what they're up against 00:47:23.000 --> 00:47:24.000 that'll help me 00:47:24.000 --> 00:47:26.000 change it okay you can use your names great 00:47:26.000 --> 00:47:29.000 even better no great 00:47:29.000 --> 00:47:33.000 I'm -- perfect 00:47:33.000 --> 00:47:35.000 what we'll do is we'll get 00:47:35.000 --> 00:47:37.000 an email and a phone and 00:47:37.000 --> 00:47:38.000 that tall gentleman over there 00:47:38.000 --> 00:47:41.000 will come over or -- you want to come get this 00:47:41.000 --> 00:47:43.000 and we're gonna work on it right thank 00:47:43.000 --> 00:47:45.000 you for speaking out 00:47:45.000 --> 00:47:47.000 I live in Polk County and have for several 00:47:47.000 --> 00:47:49.000 years -- but I work in Salem 00:47:49.000 --> 00:47:52.000 and so I'm I see more of the 00:47:52.000 --> 00:47:56.000 homeless -- issue and I work for a ecumenical group 00:47:56.000 --> 00:47:59.000 that assists people to to get 00:47:59.000 --> 00:47:62.000 or stay into in their housing 00:48:02.000 --> 00:48:05.000 after some kind of crisis 00:48:05.000 --> 00:48:07.000 my concern is that since the 00:48:07.000 --> 00:48:10.000 Reagan era there's been a 00:48:10.000 --> 00:48:13.000 constant erosion of any 00:48:13.000 --> 00:48:15.000 attempt to make housing more 00:48:15.000 --> 00:48:17.000 affordable and of course Polk 00:48:17.000 --> 00:48:19.000 County may or may not see that 00:48:19.000 --> 00:48:21.000 as much as Portland for instance 00:48:21.000 --> 00:48:27.000 but it's here and my concern is 00:48:27.000 --> 00:48:30.000 is there any priority at all in 00:48:30.000 --> 00:48:33.000 Congress to try to address 00:48:33.000 --> 00:48:35.000 these issues of insufficient 00:48:35.000 --> 00:48:37.000 and unaffordable housing one of the 00:48:37.000 --> 00:48:40.000 first bills that I'd take up if I 00:48:40.000 --> 00:48:42.000 had the opportunity in 00:48:45.000 --> 00:48:48.000 because this housing crunch 00:48:48.000 --> 00:48:50.000 is not just a city 00:48:50.000 --> 00:48:53.000 thing this is not just Portland 00:48:53.000 --> 00:48:57.000 and Eugene and Oregon and Seattle 00:48:57.000 --> 00:48:61.000 and San Francisco and Chicago 00:49:01.000 --> 00:49:05.000 and the like this is in every nook and cranny 00:49:05.000 --> 00:49:08.000 in the state in the country and let 00:49:08.000 --> 00:49:10.000 me tell you what I've been 00:49:10.000 --> 00:49:14.000 working on first time on the committee I've been 00:49:14.000 --> 00:49:16.000 one of the ringleaders in spanning the low income 00:49:16.000 --> 00:49:18.000 housing tax credit which has been 00:49:18.000 --> 00:49:20.000 something that's been a real value to 00:49:20.000 --> 00:49:22.000 a lot of communities clearly 00:49:22.000 --> 00:49:25.000 it's not anything or far from 00:49:25.000 --> 00:49:27.000 what is needed 00:49:27.000 --> 00:49:29.000 Senator Merkley got additional money 00:49:29.000 --> 00:49:31.000 for homeless services in this 00:49:31.000 --> 00:49:34.000 big budget deal at the end of 00:49:34.000 --> 00:49:37.000 the year that will help some but let me tell you 00:49:37.000 --> 00:49:38.000 what I'm gonna do early 00:49:38.000 --> 00:49:40.000 on if I have the opportunity 00:49:40.000 --> 00:49:42.000 in 2021 I'm gonna introduce 00:49:42.000 --> 00:49:46.000 this bill called the DASHA the decent affordable 00:49:46.000 --> 00:49:50.000 Safe Housing Act For All 00:49:50.000 --> 00:49:53.000 legislation and what we're 00:49:53.000 --> 00:49:57.000 gonna do is we're gonna take back some of the 00:49:57.000 --> 00:49:61.000 tax breaks that the folks got at the top 00:50:01.000 --> 00:50:05.000 of the ladder in 2017 and you may have seen the 00:50:05.000 --> 00:50:08.000 stories they got even more than anybody thought 00:50:08.000 --> 00:50:11.000 because they're milking the system 00:50:11.000 --> 00:50:15.000 so we're gonna take some of those breaks back 00:50:15.000 --> 00:50:18.000 and what we're gonna say 00:50:18.000 --> 00:50:21.000 is that every two years the 00:50:21.000 --> 00:50:23.000 Congress as part of the Decent 00:50:23.000 --> 00:50:25.000 Affordable Safe Housing bill 00:50:25.000 --> 00:50:29.000 would set out an objective for 00:50:29.000 --> 00:50:31.000 what it's gonna do to deal 00:50:31.000 --> 00:50:34.000 with the homeless in particular 00:50:34.000 --> 00:50:37.000 and the first two years I will 00:50:37.000 --> 00:50:42.000 stipulate in the bill we'll go to 00:50:42.000 --> 00:50:45.000 making sure that every child in 00:50:45.000 --> 00:50:50.000 America has a roof over their head 00:50:50.000 --> 00:50:52.000 that will be the objective for 00:50:52.000 --> 00:50:54.000 the first two years and the 00:50:54.000 --> 00:50:60.000 reason that I'm saying that and 00:51:00.000 --> 00:51:01.000 it sounds like you're pretty 00:51:01.000 --> 00:51:02.000 knowledgeable on these housing 00:51:02.000 --> 00:51:05.000 issues Margaret Salazar is the 00:51:05.000 --> 00:51:07.000 head of the housing effort for 00:51:07.000 --> 00:51:09.000 the state of Oregon maybe you 00:51:09.000 --> 00:51:12.000 know her -- she told me not 00:51:12.000 --> 00:51:15.000 long ago that some government 00:51:15.000 --> 00:51:19.000 agencies were sending busses 00:51:19.000 --> 00:51:23.000 to the parks and they would 00:51:23.000 --> 00:51:24.000 go out in the morning to pick 00:51:24.000 --> 00:51:28.000 up children who were sleeping 00:51:28.000 --> 00:51:31.000 in the woods who did not have 00:51:31.000 --> 00:51:34.000 a place during a cold rainy 00:51:34.000 --> 00:51:36.000 Oregon winter so that's 00:51:36.000 --> 00:51:39.000 why I picked the goal for the 00:51:39.000 --> 00:51:40.000 first two years and I think 00:51:40.000 --> 00:51:42.000 that a country as strong and rich 00:51:42.000 --> 00:51:44.000 and good as our oughta be able 00:51:44.000 --> 00:51:47.000 to say after a period of time 00:51:47.000 --> 00:51:49.000 and I think two years is the 00:51:49.000 --> 00:51:53.000 right target every homeless 00:51:53.000 --> 00:51:55.000 child in America should 00:51:55.000 --> 00:51:61.000 have a roof over their head period 00:52:43.000 --> 00:52:45.000 that I'm talking about 00:52:45.000 --> 00:52:49.000 controlling healthcare costs for example 00:52:49.000 --> 00:52:53.000 that's the single most important 00:52:53.000 --> 00:52:56.000 path to reducing the debt if we 00:52:56.000 --> 00:52:60.000 could get healthcare costs 00:53:00.000 --> 00:53:03.000 even close to going up 00:53:03.000 --> 00:53:07.000 only by inflation we'd be 00:53:07.000 --> 00:53:09.000 on our way to making a serious 00:53:09.000 --> 00:53:13.000 dent in the debt so that's why 00:53:13.000 --> 00:53:14.000 I picked that when Senator Grassley 00:53:14.000 --> 00:53:16.000 and I were sitting down on 00:53:16.000 --> 00:53:18.000 the Pharma piece which as the good 00:53:18.000 --> 00:53:21.000 doctor said that's involving 00:53:21.000 --> 00:53:25.000 hundreds of billions of dollars of costs 00:53:25.000 --> 00:53:27.000 if you look at the national 00:53:27.000 --> 00:53:31.000 debt and the challenge healthcare costs 00:53:31.000 --> 00:53:34.000 are up here and basically 00:53:34.000 --> 00:53:37.000 everything else is down here that's 00:53:37.000 --> 00:53:41.000 because ten thousand people become 00:53:41.000 --> 00:53:44.000 eligible for Medicare every 00:53:44.000 --> 00:53:48.000 single day and will be for 00:53:48.000 --> 00:53:50.000 years to come there are no 00:53:50.000 --> 00:53:54.000 costs going up like healthcare costs and Medicare 00:53:54.000 --> 00:53:59.000 so that's why I have focused on debt 00:53:59.000 --> 00:53:63.000 I also think that we oughta 00:54:03.000 --> 00:54:07.000 say as part of the tax changes 00:54:07.000 --> 00:54:08.000 that we can use some of that 00:54:08.000 --> 00:54:10.000 money to stabilize social 00:54:10.000 --> 00:54:13.000 security and I'll give you my example I think 00:54:13.000 --> 00:54:17.000 one of the biggest rip offs in our tax 00:54:17.000 --> 00:54:21.000 law is that cops and nurses 00:54:21.000 --> 00:54:23.000 have their taxes taken out 00:54:23.000 --> 00:54:25.000 every paycheck we've got all these 00:54:25.000 --> 00:54:29.000 wonderful law enforcement folks in the back 00:54:29.000 --> 00:54:32.000 law enforcement gets paid once twice a month 00:54:32.000 --> 00:54:36.000 whatever the rule is taxes come out every 00:54:36.000 --> 00:54:38.000 paycheck that's not the way it 00:54:38.000 --> 00:54:40.000 is for the high flyers if they 00:54:40.000 --> 00:54:41.000 make their money on capital 00:54:41.000 --> 00:54:46.000 gains they get to defer and defer 00:54:46.000 --> 00:54:48.000 and defer and defer and 00:54:48.000 --> 00:54:50.000 very often pay hardly anything at all 00:54:50.000 --> 00:54:55.000 except when they want to and after doing it for 00:54:55.000 --> 00:54:58.000 a number of years they can pass 00:54:58.000 --> 00:54:60.000 everything on to Johnny and Mary 00:55:00.000 --> 00:55:02.000 and they can get the stepped up bases 00:55:02.000 --> 00:55:04.000 and they can keep doing it. 00:55:04.000 --> 00:55:07.000 So I think everybody ought to pay taxes 00:55:07.000 --> 00:55:13.000 the same way, even Steven. No freeloading. 00:55:13.000 --> 00:55:14.000 So I've proposed that, 00:55:14.000 --> 00:55:18.000 and that money be used for social security. 00:55:18.000 --> 00:55:22.000 so containing the cost, tax fairness 00:55:22.000 --> 00:55:24.000 that's my view on how we 00:55:24.000 --> 00:55:26.000 oughta get started lowering 00:55:26.000 --> 00:55:28.000 the debt and dealing with social security 00:55:28.000 --> 00:55:30.000 and I'm telling you this social security 00:55:30.000 --> 00:55:35.000 situation is one serious 00:55:35.000 --> 00:55:39.000 Immediate concern because 00:55:43.000 --> 00:55:44.000 security according to the trustees 00:55:44.000 --> 00:55:46.000 is gonna only be able to pay 00:55:46.000 --> 00:55:50.000 eighty percent of what people are gonna get and 00:55:50.000 --> 00:55:53.000 that's coming at people like a 00:55:53.000 --> 00:55:56.000 freight train right now because -- a lot 00:55:56.000 --> 00:55:57.000 of those folks have done hard 00:55:57.000 --> 00:55:60.000 physical manual labor 00:56:00.000 --> 00:56:04.000 they can't just kinda jump up tomorrow 00:56:04.000 --> 00:56:07.000 say I'm gonna get a job at Google 00:56:07.000 --> 00:56:11.000 that's just not -- realistic so 00:56:11.000 --> 00:56:14.000 this is serious stuff both in terms of controlling 00:56:14.000 --> 00:56:17.000 the debt and -- in terms 00:56:17.000 --> 00:56:20.000 of dealing with social security and I just 00:56:20.000 --> 00:56:21.000 told you what I'm working on 00:56:21.000 --> 00:56:23.000 because I think in fact 00:56:23.000 --> 00:56:26.000 I'll just tell you if somebody shows up 00:56:26.000 --> 00:56:28.000 they're talking about the federal budget 00:56:28.000 --> 00:56:30.000 they're talking about national debt 00:56:30.000 --> 00:56:33.000 and they don't talk about Medicare and social security 00:56:33.000 --> 00:56:35.000 that's discussion is not on the level 00:56:35.000 --> 00:56:37.000 period it's just 00:56:37.000 --> 00:56:39.000 isn't good question 00:56:39.000 --> 00:56:40.000 my name's Ruth Anne Coush I'm a member of 00:56:40.000 --> 00:56:43.000 The National Act of Retired Federal Employees Association 00:56:43.000 --> 00:56:46.000 NARFE which I know you're familiar with 00:56:46.000 --> 00:56:48.000 and -- I want to thank you 00:56:48.000 --> 00:56:51.000 first of all for getting the appropriation 00:56:51.000 --> 00:56:53.000 bills passed and avoiding another 00:56:53.000 --> 00:56:55.000 government shutdown which I don't 00:56:55.000 --> 00:56:56.000 think we could've taken it was 00:56:56.000 --> 00:56:60.000 pretty painful last year so but -- 00:57:00.000 --> 00:57:04.000 I know that you on the finance committee that 00:57:04.000 --> 00:57:05.000 you deal with postal reform 00:57:05.000 --> 00:57:10.000 we we actually don't we don't 00:57:10.000 --> 00:57:12.000 have jurisdiction over the 00:57:12.000 --> 00:57:14.000 civil service retirement 00:57:14.000 --> 00:57:16.000 but obviously I know about 00:57:16.000 --> 00:57:18.000 those issues and I'm very 00:57:18.000 --> 00:57:20.000 supportive of what kind of 00:57:20.000 --> 00:57:22.000 fixes I think you guys are 00:57:22.000 --> 00:57:24.000 looking at in terms of retired 00:57:24.000 --> 00:57:26.000 federal employees on health 00:57:26.000 --> 00:57:27.000 care and pensions so why don't you 00:57:27.000 --> 00:57:29.000 go ahead and please make your 00:57:29.000 --> 00:57:31.000 presentation that is the 00:57:31.000 --> 00:57:33.000 only part of retirement that the 00:57:33.000 --> 00:57:35.000 finance committee does not have 00:57:35.000 --> 00:57:38.000 authority over oh okay I didn't realize that but 00:57:39.000 --> 00:57:42.000 in the postal reform proposals that were made 00:57:42.000 --> 00:57:45.000 last year -- we're requiring 00:57:45.000 --> 00:57:47.000 postal retirees to sign up 00:57:47.000 --> 00:57:49.000 for Medicare part B 00:57:49.000 --> 00:57:53.000 and it effects about seventy six thousand postal retirees 00:57:53.000 --> 00:57:56.000 because about seventy percent of 00:57:58.000 --> 00:57:59.000 for Medicare part B 00:57:59.000 --> 00:57:61.000 they have a choice though in this 00:58:01.000 --> 00:58:04.000 case if the -- the proposal 00:58:04.000 --> 00:58:06.000 is that they have the postal 00:58:06.000 --> 00:58:07.000 retirees have to sign up 00:58:07.000 --> 00:58:09.000 for Medicare part B 00:58:09.000 --> 00:58:10.000 and if they don't then they lose their 00:58:10.000 --> 00:58:11.000 federal benefits their federal 00:58:11.000 --> 00:58:13.000 health benefits and that's just 00:58:13.000 --> 00:58:16.000 not fair especially doing it 00:58:16.000 --> 00:58:19.000 after they retire -- they didn't 00:58:19.000 --> 00:58:21.000 plan for that so we 00:58:21.000 --> 00:58:23.000 hope you would oppose that yeah I 00:58:23.000 --> 00:58:25.000 I think that -- your case 00:58:25.000 --> 00:58:28.000 is particularly compelling if 00:58:28.000 --> 00:58:30.000 they have already been part of 00:58:30.000 --> 00:58:32.000 the other system in particular 00:58:32.000 --> 00:58:34.000 we'll work closely with you 00:58:34.000 --> 00:58:37.000 on it and -- in these kinds 00:58:37.000 --> 00:58:39.000 of instances the postal committee 00:58:39.000 --> 00:58:42.000 usually talks to us and I've 00:58:42.000 --> 00:58:43.000 had discussions with them and 00:58:43.000 --> 00:58:46.000 I think that -- your point 00:58:46.000 --> 00:58:49.000 about people having planned and -- 00:58:49.000 --> 00:58:51.000 operated under the theory that there 00:58:51.000 --> 00:58:52.000 would be a different system 00:58:52.000 --> 00:58:54.000 is a compelling argument 00:58:54.000 --> 00:58:56.000 so I'm in 7th grade and I have a 00:58:56.000 --> 00:58:58.000 science teacher who will not teach 00:58:58.000 --> 00:58:60.000 us about climate change or 00:59:00.000 --> 00:59:03.000 current events about the environment 00:59:03.000 --> 00:59:05.000 he says it's too controversial 00:59:05.000 --> 00:59:08.000 what can you do to help Oregon teachers 00:59:08.000 --> 00:59:09.000 to take the climate emergency 00:59:09.000 --> 00:59:11.000 seriously and how can you 00:59:11.000 --> 00:59:14.000 advocate for students like me 00:59:14.000 --> 00:59:19.000 in these kinds of situations is -- I make 00:59:19.000 --> 00:59:22.000 a private call I don't like 00:59:22.000 --> 00:59:24.000 putting somebody's name in a newspaper 00:59:24.000 --> 00:59:26.000 or something like that but I 00:59:26.000 --> 00:59:30.000 make a private call and what I would do 00:59:30.000 --> 00:59:33.000 in this kind of situation is I'd 00:59:33.000 --> 00:59:35.000 call the school probably the principal 00:59:35.000 --> 00:59:38.000 to start or the teacher 00:59:38.000 --> 00:59:41.000 and I'd just say can't we work 00:59:41.000 --> 00:59:44.000 something out so that the 00:59:44.000 --> 00:59:47.000 students can start learning 00:59:47.000 --> 00:59:49.000 about this issue that might 00:59:49.000 --> 00:59:55.000 affect their lives in such a dramatic way 00:59:55.000 --> 00:59:59.000 for years and years to come 00:59:59.000 --> 00:59:60.000 and usually I've got pretty 01:00:00.000 --> 01:00:03.000 good luck with something like that because I'm 01:00:03.000 --> 01:00:05.000 not interested in embarrassing 01:00:05.000 --> 01:00:07.000 somebody or putting their name in 01:00:07.000 --> 01:00:09.000 the newspaper and calling him up 01:00:09.000 --> 01:00:11.000 and hollering and saying I'm the senator you gotta 01:00:11.000 --> 01:00:14.000 do what I want and all that I just 01:00:14.000 --> 01:00:17.000 think it's a urgent issue and 01:00:17.000 --> 01:00:22.000 so let's see you're in 7th grade 01:00:26.000 --> 01:00:30.000 you're twelve okay 01:00:30.000 --> 01:00:32.000 so I don't know if you're 01:00:32.000 --> 01:00:36.000 aware but a big group of students is 01:00:36.000 --> 01:00:39.000 actually suing right now with 01:00:39.000 --> 01:00:42.000 the legal system to say that 01:00:42.000 --> 01:00:44.000 the students have a right to 01:00:44.000 --> 01:00:49.000 be able to work for climate change and 01:00:49.000 --> 01:00:51.000 applause 01:00:51.000 --> 01:00:53.000 and I very much support them I have been 01:00:53.000 --> 01:00:55.000 one of their supporters and 01:00:55.000 --> 01:00:58.000 there's a big legal issue coming up 01:00:58.000 --> 01:00:60.000 over whether students should 01:01:00.000 --> 01:01:03.000 have what's called standing and be 01:01:03.000 --> 01:01:04.000 able to sue I mean do they have a direct 01:01:04.000 --> 01:01:08.000 interest I'm a lawyer in name 01:01:08.000 --> 01:01:09.000 only my wife said she'd marry 01:01:09.000 --> 01:01:11.000 me because I was kinda not a good 01:01:11.000 --> 01:01:14.000 lawyer so 01:01:14.000 --> 01:01:17.000 and -- I'll just tell you if ever 01:01:17.000 --> 01:01:21.000 a group of students deserved 01:01:21.000 --> 01:01:24.000 standing or a group of Americans 01:01:24.000 --> 01:01:26.000 deserved standing it's students 01:01:26.000 --> 01:01:28.000 in 7th grade because this 01:01:28.000 --> 01:01:30.000 is your future and 01:01:30.000 --> 01:01:31.000 we've been seeing what's gonna 01:01:31.000 --> 01:01:34.000 happen with the fires 01:01:34.000 --> 01:01:35.000 we've seen what's gonna happen with the 01:01:35.000 --> 01:01:38.000 glaciers we're seeing what's 01:01:38.000 --> 01:01:41.000 gonna happen with fish runs 01:01:41.000 --> 01:01:43.000 we're out of any time to wait if you'd 01:01:43.000 --> 01:01:47.000 like I would work with you and 01:01:47.000 --> 01:01:49.000 your mom and your grandma and 01:01:49.000 --> 01:01:51.000 we'd make a private call 01:01:51.000 --> 01:01:53.000 we're not gonna do anything 01:01:53.000 --> 01:01:56.000 run around tell everybody -- person's 01:01:56.000 --> 01:01:57.000 gonna be embarrassed and 01:01:57.000 --> 01:01:60.000 all the rest and see if we can work 01:02:00.000 --> 01:02:02.000 something out because you know 01:02:02.000 --> 01:02:05.000 the argument well it's controversial 01:02:05.000 --> 01:02:07.000 we can't afford to do we can't afford 01:02:07.000 --> 01:02:11.000 not to and I'll tell you what 01:02:11.000 --> 01:02:14.000 I'm doing -- so you have a sense we got 01:02:14.000 --> 01:02:15.000 a lot of what are called tax laws 01:02:15.000 --> 01:02:17.000 you know what taxes are you know taxing 01:02:17.000 --> 01:02:19.000 people for stuff we have a lot 01:02:19.000 --> 01:02:22.000 of tax laws for energy but they're 01:02:22.000 --> 01:02:23.000 mostly for fossil fuels and 01:02:23.000 --> 01:02:25.000 dirty energy so there's 01:02:25.000 --> 01:02:27.000 forty four of them I'm gonna if I have the 01:02:27.000 --> 01:02:29.000 chance kick them all in the garbage 01:02:29.000 --> 01:02:31.000 can and then I'm gonna substitute 01:02:31.000 --> 01:02:34.000 forty four for three one for 01:02:34.000 --> 01:02:36.000 clean energy one for clean 01:02:36.000 --> 01:02:39.000 transportation fuel and one 01:02:39.000 --> 01:02:41.000 for fuel efficiency and you've 01:02:41.000 --> 01:02:44.000 been hearing we talked today about how 01:02:44.000 --> 01:02:45.000 the big money is going to be 01:02:45.000 --> 01:02:47.000 opposed just like my buddy 01:02:47.000 --> 01:02:49.000 there in the back started our 01:02:49.000 --> 01:02:52.000 conversation they're gonna oppose that too well 01:02:52.000 --> 01:02:54.000 I'm telling my Republican 01:02:54.000 --> 01:02:55.000 friends the either party hey 01:02:55.000 --> 01:02:57.000 guys don't we want to get rid of 01:02:57.000 --> 01:02:59.000 these subsidies these extra handouts 01:02:59.000 --> 01:02:61.000 don't we want to make things 01:03:01.000 --> 01:03:02.000 more efficient so there's more 01:03:02.000 --> 01:03:04.000 competition and let's go out 01:03:04.000 --> 01:03:07.000 and get more green for less 01:03:07.000 --> 01:03:10.000 green out of our wallets so that's 01:03:10.000 --> 01:03:11.000 what I'm going to be telling them 01:03:11.000 --> 01:03:16.000 and I just think we all oughta see how 01:03:16.000 --> 01:03:22.000 lucky we are to have a student who's in 01:03:24.000 --> 01:03:26.000 for everybody for this country 01:03:26.000 --> 01:03:29.000 to get serious and get urgent about 01:03:29.000 --> 01:03:32.000 dealing with climate change bravo 01:03:32.000 --> 01:03:36.000 applause 01:03:36.000 --> 01:03:37.000 you mentioned a little bit 01:03:37.000 --> 01:03:41.000 about drawing a line in the sand about 01:03:41.000 --> 01:03:44.000 this current administration 01:03:44.000 --> 01:03:47.000 ignoring our Constitution and 01:03:47.000 --> 01:03:49.000 I would like you to comment 01:03:49.000 --> 01:03:53.000 about what you can do to 01:03:53.000 --> 01:03:55.000 require some of these witnesses 01:03:55.000 --> 01:03:58.000 who are ignoring subpoenas in the 01:03:58.000 --> 01:03:60.000 impeachment process great great 01:04:00.000 --> 01:04:05.000 question I feel very strongly 01:04:05.000 --> 01:04:06.000 that we hear from these 01:04:06.000 --> 01:04:09.000 witnesses and I will tell you 01:04:09.000 --> 01:04:13.000 what really affected me in all 01:04:13.000 --> 01:04:15.000 of this I don't know if you had 01:04:15.000 --> 01:04:19.000 a chance to watch the hearings 01:04:19.000 --> 01:04:21.000 or some of them in the House 01:04:21.000 --> 01:04:23.000 of Representatives and the 01:04:23.000 --> 01:04:25.000 House of Representatives 01:04:25.000 --> 01:04:29.000 had all these civil servants 01:04:29.000 --> 01:04:33.000 testifying Fiona Hill and others 01:04:33.000 --> 01:04:36.000 about what they saw and what 01:04:36.000 --> 01:04:39.000 they heard and the like 01:04:39.000 --> 01:04:42.000 and as I was watching I was 01:04:42.000 --> 01:04:45.000 thinking I had the honor 01:04:45.000 --> 01:04:48.000 to represent Oregon in the Senate now 01:04:48.000 --> 01:04:51.000 for awhile those civil servants 01:04:51.000 --> 01:04:54.000 do not get up in the morning 01:04:54.000 --> 01:04:56.000 and say boy oh boy I'm looking 01:04:56.000 --> 01:04:61.000 forward to testifying in Congress 01:05:01.000 --> 01:05:03.000 they do not get up in the 01:05:03.000 --> 01:05:05.000 morning and say I'd really love 01:05:05.000 --> 01:05:07.000 to have all my neighbors see me 01:05:07.000 --> 01:05:10.000 on TV twenty five times giving 01:05:10.000 --> 01:05:13.000 my testimony in fact those people by 01:05:13.000 --> 01:05:17.000 and large do practically anything 01:05:17.000 --> 01:05:20.000 to do their professional 01:05:20.000 --> 01:05:24.000 responsible thorough work without 01:05:24.000 --> 01:05:27.000 anybody knowing their name without 01:05:27.000 --> 01:05:30.000 a shred of publicity and the 01:05:30.000 --> 01:05:34.000 fact that these civil servants 01:05:34.000 --> 01:05:37.000 were so disturbed about what 01:05:37.000 --> 01:05:40.000 they saw and heard I think 01:05:40.000 --> 01:05:42.000 it's very significant so I 01:05:42.000 --> 01:05:45.000 very much support having these 01:05:45.000 --> 01:05:51.000 witnesses -- what will go on is I hope it'll start 01:05:51.000 --> 01:05:52.000 next week Senator Schumer and 01:05:52.000 --> 01:05:53.000 Senator McConnell if they did it correctly 01:05:53.000 --> 01:05:55.000 the Republican leader will sit down 01:05:55.000 --> 01:05:58.000 I hope they can work this out 01:06:02.000 --> 01:06:04.000 whether to have witnesses I will 01:06:04.000 --> 01:06:08.000 certainly support that and I 01:06:08.000 --> 01:06:12.000 think every senator should be 01:06:12.000 --> 01:06:15.000 thinking about the prospect 01:06:15.000 --> 01:06:17.000 of if they oppose witnesses 01:06:17.000 --> 01:06:19.000 and more comes out in the next month 01:06:19.000 --> 01:06:20.000 or six weeks they'll probably 01:06:20.000 --> 01:06:23.000 have some trouble explaining to 01:06:23.000 --> 01:06:25.000 their constituents why they 01:06:25.000 --> 01:06:30.000 didn't want to have witnesses and 01:06:30.000 --> 01:06:33.000 a fair process I will also 01:06:33.000 --> 01:06:35.000 tell you I've heard all this talk why nobody's 01:06:35.000 --> 01:06:38.000 impartial and nobody's this and nobody's that 01:06:38.000 --> 01:06:40.000 I don't buy that for a second I 01:06:40.000 --> 01:06:43.000 know Democratic senators who 01:06:43.000 --> 01:06:45.000 have not made up their mind 01:06:45.000 --> 01:06:50.000 on how they're going to vote Doug Jones from 01:06:50.000 --> 01:06:52.000 Alabama is a pretty good 01:06:52.000 --> 01:06:54.000 example he's in a state Donald 01:06:54.000 --> 01:06:56.000 Trump won by a very large you 01:06:56.000 --> 01:06:60.000 know amount he's made it clear he's not making 01:07:00.000 --> 01:07:01.000 up his mind and if you want 01:07:01.000 --> 01:07:05.000 to really see a thoughtful essay he 01:07:05.000 --> 01:07:07.000 wrote an essay it's all online 01:07:07.000 --> 01:07:10.000 about why he's undecided and 01:07:10.000 --> 01:07:12.000 what he's going to do to make 01:07:12.000 --> 01:07:16.000 up his mind and he was very 01:07:16.000 --> 01:07:17.000 concerned about the witnesses 01:07:17.000 --> 01:07:21.000 issue as well so good point and -- 01:07:21.000 --> 01:07:25.000 I'm gonna leave it there and look I want 01:07:25.000 --> 01:07:28.000 thought and let everybody get 01:07:28.000 --> 01:07:31.000 get home for supper on a cold 01:07:31.000 --> 01:07:33.000 weekend night -- 01:07:33.000 --> 01:07:35.000 I'm sure you go home disagreeing with me 01:07:35.000 --> 01:07:38.000 about one subject or two subjects maybe go 01:07:38.000 --> 01:07:40.000 home disagreeing with me about 01:07:40.000 --> 01:07:43.000 everything okay which is your 01:07:43.000 --> 01:07:45.000 Constitutional right and I 01:07:45.000 --> 01:07:47.000 will tell you my God I do not 01:07:47.000 --> 01:07:50.000 have all the answers I can cast a 01:07:50.000 --> 01:07:51.000 vote on the floor of the Senate 01:07:51.000 --> 01:07:53.000 at eleven o'clock in the morning 01:07:53.000 --> 01:07:54.000 and I will get a call from 01:07:54.000 --> 01:07:57.000 Nancy Bass Wyden my wife and she'll say 01:07:57.000 --> 01:07:58.000 an hour later you sure blew 01:07:58.000 --> 01:07:60.000 that one buster that's a bad 01:08:00.000 --> 01:08:02.000 vote dumb vote 01:08:02.000 --> 01:08:06.000 foolish vote should have done this and that very often 01:08:06.000 --> 01:08:09.000 she's right and I'm not so I don't have all 01:08:09.000 --> 01:08:14.000 the answers but this is the way 01:08:14.000 --> 01:08:18.000 the founding fathers wanted it to look 01:08:18.000 --> 01:08:20.000 and here we are we haven't even talked 01:08:20.000 --> 01:08:23.000 about -- Citizen's United the 01:08:23.000 --> 01:08:25.000 Supreme Court suit that 01:08:25.000 --> 01:08:26.000 really green lights all this 01:08:26.000 --> 01:08:29.000 money going into campaigns 01:08:29.000 --> 01:08:31.000 and I've voted repeatedly to throw 01:08:31.000 --> 01:08:34.000 out the Citizens United case 01:08:34.000 --> 01:08:35.000 and Constitutional amendments and all the 01:08:35.000 --> 01:08:39.000 the rest if anything it makes what we're 01:08:39.000 --> 01:08:43.000 doing more important and I 01:08:43.000 --> 01:08:46.000 want people to know how much 01:08:46.000 --> 01:08:48.000 I appreciate everybody coming 01:08:48.000 --> 01:08:50.000 there has not been a bad question 01:08:50.000 --> 01:08:55.000 in the house today not a single bad 01:08:55.000 --> 01:08:58.000 question in the house good 01:08:58.000 --> 01:08:62.000 work Polk County what I 01:09:02.000 --> 01:09:07.000 want you to know is how honored 01:09:07.000 --> 01:09:08.000 I am to represent you in the 01:09:08.000 --> 01:09:13.000 Senate what a privilege it is I never thought a 01:09:13.000 --> 01:09:16.000 first generation Jewish kid 01:09:16.000 --> 01:09:18.000 like myself would have 01:09:18.000 --> 01:09:20.000 these kinds of opportunities for 01:09:20.000 --> 01:09:26.000 public service so I am deeply grateful 01:09:26.000 --> 01:09:28.000 to you for them a lot of 01:09:28.000 --> 01:09:31.000 things we didn't cover immigration my father 01:09:31.000 --> 01:09:35.000 fled the Nazis in the thirties not all got out 01:09:35.000 --> 01:09:37.000 my great uncle Max was one 01:09:37.000 --> 01:09:41.000 of the last gassed in Auschwitz so for 01:09:41.000 --> 01:09:44.000 what it's worth in Oregon 01:09:44.000 --> 01:09:46.000 if you aren't a Native American 01:09:46.000 --> 01:09:48.000 odds are pretty 01:09:48.000 --> 01:09:49.000 overwhelming that you're part 01:09:49.000 --> 01:09:52.000 of the immigrant experience 01:09:52.000 --> 01:09:53.000 so there are a lot of things 01:09:53.000 --> 01:09:55.000 we've got to talk about 01:09:55.000 --> 01:09:57.000 and that's why I want to 01:09:57.000 --> 01:09:60.000 close this meeting by saying 01:10:00.000 --> 01:10:03.000 thank you to Polk County thank you 01:10:03.000 --> 01:10:06.000 to the mayor who has been 01:10:06.000 --> 01:10:09.000 so kind to come to President Fuller 01:10:09.000 --> 01:10:13.000 who has as usual put Western -- on 01:10:13.000 --> 01:10:16.000 a side of the angels and saying 01:10:16.000 --> 01:10:19.000 we want to have fair and open debate 01:10:19.000 --> 01:10:21.000 our law enforcement folks are 01:10:21.000 --> 01:10:22.000 going home pretty happy because 01:10:22.000 --> 01:10:24.000 nobody's throwing 01:10:24.000 --> 01:10:26.000 punches or anything like that 01:10:26.000 --> 01:10:29.000 I'm glad about that I always ask them 01:10:29.000 --> 01:10:31.000 how'd it go and -- if it's 01:10:31.000 --> 01:10:32.000 a quiet meeting they think it went 01:10:32.000 --> 01:10:34.000 well well this was a 01:10:34.000 --> 01:10:36.000 meeting where everybody in 01:10:36.000 --> 01:10:40.000 Polk County had a chance to be 01:10:40.000 --> 01:10:43.000 heard I hope you felt you were treated with 01:10:43.000 --> 01:10:46.000 dignity and respect and as 01:10:46.000 --> 01:10:47.000 long as I have the honor to 01:10:47.000 --> 01:10:48.000 represent you in the United States 01:10:48.000 --> 01:10:50.000 Senate that's the way we'll do it 01:10:50.000 --> 01:10:51.000 thanks everybody 01:10:51.000 --> 01:10:59.000 applause