Congressman Calls For Bipartisan Fix To Health Care | Morning Joe

IT MIGHT BE A DIFFERENT GAME. WE'LL SEE.
WE LEARNED LAST NIGHT THAT SENATOR McCAIN WOULD RETURN TO
WASHINGTON FOR TODAY'S VOTE. THE NEWS COMES LESS THAN A WEEK
AFTER THE SENATOR WAS DIAGNOSED WITH AN AGGRESSIVE BRAIN TUMOR.
ACCORDING TO "THE NEW YORK TIMES" MAJORITY LEADER MITCH
McCONNELL WILL PUT FORWARD THE SAME BILL THAT NARROWLY PASSED
THE SENATE. IF IT SSUCCEEDS, THE HOUSE WOUL
TAKE IT MULTIPLE AMENDMENTS. JOINING US FROM CAPITOL HILL,
CONGRESSMAN DENT. HE WAS ONE OF THE FEW REPUBLICAN
NO VOTES ON THE HOUSE GOP'S HEALTH CARE BILL TO REPLACE
OBAMACARE THAT PASSED IN MAY. JOE, I'LL GIVE YOU THE FIRST
QUESTION. >> HEY, GOOD TO SEE YOU,
CONGRESSMAN. IT'S SO FASCINATING HEARING THE
PRESIDENT TALKING ABOUT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE BEING OR THE
TORTURED BY OBAMACARE, THE NIGHTMARE THAT'S BEEN OBAMACARE.
YOU'VE SEEN THE POLLS, WE'VE SEEN THE POLLS.
OBAMACARE IS MORE POPULAR NOW THAN IT'S EVER BEEN.
PEOPLE SUPPORT IT BECAUSE IT'S SEEN AS THE ALTERNATIVE TO THE
HOUSE AND THE SENATE BILLS WHICH MAYBE 15, 20% OF AMERICANS
SUPPORT. WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN?
ANY IDEA WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IN THE SENATE TODAY, AND WHAT
ARE YOU HEARING FROM YOUR CONSTITUENTS IN PENNSYLVANIA
ABOUT THE REPUBLICAN HEALTH BILLS?
>> WELL, FIRST, LET ME TELL YOU THIS, JOE.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IN THE SENATE, BUT I'LL
TELL YOU I THINK THE FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEM IS THAT THE SENATE IS
USING THE HOUSE BILL. THE HOUSE BILL IS STRUCTURALLY
SIMILAR TO WHAT THE SENATE
PROPOSED. I THINK THAT'S BEEN A BIG
MISTAKE. SENATOR McCAIN GOT IT RIGHT THE
OTHER DAY WHEN HE SAID WE SHOULDN'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKES
THE DEMOCRATS DID TRYING TO MUSCLE HEALTH CARE REFORM
THROUGH ON A PARTISAN BASIS. THERE ARE THINGS WE CAN FIX IN
THE EMPLOYER MANDATE AND CHANGES WE CAN MAKE.
I THINK DOING IT ON A PARTISAN BASIS IS A MISTAKE AND CONTINUES
TO BE A MISTAKE. >> WELL, I THINK AT THIS POINT
THERE'S A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PRESIDENT'S TWEET THIS
MORNING, EVEN ABOUT HIS OWN ATTORNEY GENERAL.
I THINK IT'S COMPLETELY FAIR TO ASK THIS QUESTION.
DO YOU HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THE PRESIDENT AND HIS ABILITY TO
LEAD AT THIS POINT? >> WELL, I'M VERY CONCERNED
ABOUT THE CONTINUING DRAMA, CHAOS, INSTABILITY, AND
DYSFUNCTION COMING OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE.
I HAVE COME TO EXPECT A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF DYSFUNCTION IN
GOVERNMENT, BUT THEY'VE TAKEN THE FUN OUT OF DYSFUNCTION.
THIS IS REALLY TOUGH. THIS IS NOT EASY FOR ANY OF US.
TALKING ABOUT THE FBI DIRECTOR GETS FIRED NOW TRYING TO PUSH
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OUT. AND THERE WAS DISCUSSION LAST
WEEK ABOUT PUSHING OUT OR FIRING MUELLER.
I MEAN, YOU CAN'T FIRE THE FBI. THE INVESTIGATIONS ARE GOING TO
CONTINUE. I JUST DON'T -- I DON'T
UNDERSTAND WHY ALL THIS INTERFEERN.
IT'S NOT HELPFUL, AND IT'S VERY DISTRACTING.
WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO ON CAPITOL HILL, BUT WE DEAL WITH
THIS DAILY DRAMA, AND IT DOESN'T MAKE YOUR JOB EASIER.
>> HAROLD FORD, CHARLIE DENT GAVE THE DEMOCRATS THEIR SLOGAN
FOR 2018. DONALD TRUMP, TAKING THE FUN OUT
OF DYSFUNCTION. >> YEAH.
IN A BIG WAY. YOU WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THAT
SLOGAN, HAROLD. THERE YOU GO.
>> I THINK THE BETTER DEAL PIECE IS NOT THE RIGHT THING, BUT WE
CAN COME BACK TO THAT. CHARLIE, LET ME ASK YOU THIS.
ARE YOU HEARING FROM OTHER REPUBLICANS IN THE HOUSE, THE
SENTIMENT YOU EXPRESSED AND THE FRUSTRATION YOU EXPRESSED NOT
ONLY AROUND HEALTH CARE, BUT HAS IT FILLED OVER TO NOT GETTING
THE TAXES AND INFRASTRUCTURE AND OTHER PARTS OF THE AGENDA THAT
MAY HAVE ATTRACTED REPUBLICANS TO PRESIDENT TRUMP?
>> YEAH. LOOK, I HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH
MY COLLEAGUES PRIVATELY. THEY'RE FRUSTRATED AND CONCERNED
TOO. THIS WEEK WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE
DEALING WITH THE APPROPRIATIONS BILL.
MY BILL IS MOVING THIS WEEK, MILITARY CONSTRUCTION VA.
BUT WE'RE NOT ABLE TO DEAL WITH THE BASIC ELEMENTS OF GOVERNING.
WE HAVE TO GET APPROPRIATIONS BILLS PASSED AND THE DEBT
CEILING PASSED. I'D LIKE TO GET INTO A
BIPARTISAN BUDGET AGREEMENT. THAT FREES UP TIME AND SPACE TO
DEAL WITH ISSUES LIKE TAX REFORM OR INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND SO I THINK -- BUT WE'RE DEALING WITH DRAMA DOWN THE
STREET AT THE WHITE HOUSE, IT'S HARD TO FOCUS ON OUR AGENDA AND
NOBODY IS PAYING ATTENTION TO IT WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE
TWEETS ALL DAY. >> CONGRESSMAN, OBVIOUSLY THE
SUBJECT OF GREAT INTEREST THE IS THE HEALTH CARE VOTE.
THE PRESIDENT, THERE'S LACK OF CLARITY ABOUT THE PRESIDENT'S
FOCUS IS. WE HAVE A TWEET FROM HIM THIS
MORNING WHERE HE SAYS THE DEMOCRATS FOOLED PEOPLE LONG
ENOUGH. REPEAL OR REPEAL AND REPLACE.
I HAVE PEN IN HAND. I JUST ASK YOU AS A MATTER OF
JUST CONSTRUCTIVE LEADERSHIP, IS IT NOW HELPFUL TO HAVE THE
PRESIDENT EXPRESSING THAT POSITION WHICH IS BASICALLY I'LL
TAKE EITHER? >> NO.
IT'S NOT. FRANKLY, I THINK ONE OF THE
FAILURES OF THE HEALTH CARE DEBATE IS WE NEED STRONG
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR A
PRESIDENT TO LAY OUT HIS PRINCIPLES OR HIS BILL.
AND LET CONGRESS CHOP ON IT, I THINK IT'S HARD TO MAKE A CASE
THAT I'LL SIGN A REPEAL AND REPLACE BILL OR REPEAL ONLY
BILL. WHAT ARE THE PRESIDENT'S
PRINCIPLES? HE NEVER LAID THEM OUT.
HEALTH CARE HAS BEEN OUTSOURCED TO CONGRESS.
PRESIDENT OBAMA OUTSOURCED THE HEALTH CARE ISSUE TO CONGRESS AS
WELL. I DON'T THINK THIS IS AT ALL

IT ISN'T. THAT'S BEEN THE FRUSTRATION I
THINK FOR A LOT OF US. THE STRONG EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP
DEMANDS THAT THE PRESIDENT PUT A PROPOSAL ON THE TABLE, AND
CONGRESS SHOULD CHOP ON IT. THE PRESIDENT SHOULDN'T BE
CRITIQUING EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS
CRITIQUEING EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS IN CONGRESS.
>> ALL RIGHT, CONGRESSMAN, THANK YO

Congressman Calls For Bipartisan Fix To Health Care | Morning Joe | MSNBC

Latest Posts