Do you want to be an American?
Scot Will On Friday morning, seven hundred w Alwan, we're nearing the end of our second full week of shutdown theater. Republicans are screaming at Democrats that they're forcing a shutdown to score political points. Democrats are screaming at Republicans saying they just don't want to sit down and negotiate. And of course a shutdown because Republicans Democrats can't agree to pass a funding bill. Republicans still need them to support any resolution to spend and they're holding them hostage.
The result, and we have the shutdown.
So Greg Lansman is here, our representative, and what are we paying you for?
Exactly? Landsman? Right now, you're not doing anything.
What I mean, I'm trying. I'm negotiating. We're trying to negotiate with the folks. You know, I'm in the problem forverish cock It. So there's a bunch of Democrats who
Republicans they're working through at the sticking plants. This healthcare question and and and these affordable care access they're to expire at the end of the year and open enrollment starts in a few weeks, and you know, they're are those of us who want a resolution to this now, so those extensions happen, and others should say, you know,
reopen the government and then we'll talk about healthcare. But you know that that that's the crux of this is trying to get a deal done where we reopen the government and protect people's health care.
Yeah, and I think for well a lot of us anyway, who are not political kool aid drinkers to look at and just throw our hands up and go, I just know, you know one point that we're pointing. It's I almost stupid. You're both wearing the same T shirt and that's essentially with us is.
And we know how we are.
Okay, So Democrats, you guys have forced the government shutdown because it's the only way to bring about the negotiations because you don't hold any juice, you don't have the power. So you know, I look at that and go, can we extend it? Well, I mean it's going to cost us like a trillion and a half dollars over the next seven weeks to just simply kick the can down the wrong and go, okay, we'll pass another continuing resolution.
And that's the frustrating part all of this, at least the greg it's just it's continuing to add to our thirty seven trillion dollar national debt, and neither side's talking about that.
I mean, I think that's that's right. And the deficit is a huge part of this too, right, So I do take an exception with the sort of you know, the forcing of the shutdown. I mean, the challenge was, you know, Republicans knew they needed Democratic votes to pass a budget, and they were told by Trump not to negotiate. Now, in previous years, there has been bypartson negotiation since I produced it, bypartson budget or continuing resolution. They did not
do that, and that that's what forced the shutdown. That would be my argument. That's the way it played out, in the way I thought it was. It would have been super easy to sit down and negotiate, and had their enough been told don't negotiate, I think they would have.
But the deficit is a huge, huge piece of this fight too, because remember this all started the mess, you know, several months ago with the this this massive spending and tax bill that added you know, trillions of dollars to the deficit, and then and then cut healthcare by over trillion dollars all to pay for these tax cut, tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefit folks at the top. Now, have they not done that, we would not be in this mess and we would not have added trillions of dollars
to the deficit. But I'm I'm a firm believer that
none of that matters. No one really cares. You do not have to get in a room and sort it out and in this case, reopened the government while also protecting healthcare, just just because this is relevant to my job as a member I represent you know, eight hundred thousand constituents in our districts in southwest Ohio, thirty two thousand people are going to see their healthcare beingum skyrocket if we don't do something now, and fourteen thousands folks
here will lose their healthcare altogether. I can't. I can't just punt on that, you know what I mean. I've got to get that result. I got to get right, and I.
Get the short term necessity for this, Greg Lansman. So the fact that so the substantes expire and the premiums for those in the Affordable Care Act, the marketplace right would more than double on app goes up for like, I think I saw eight hundred and almost nine hundred dollars to nineteen hundred dollars a year for individuals, it's like one hundred plus percent increase. I'm bad at math, forgive me, but that's a hell of a lot of money, right so, and that's going to hit tens of thousands
of people in the district. And I look at that, go, Okay, that's real money. It's going to affect real people, and that is a that's a huge problem. And I guess the thing is the fact that that why isn't anyone just talking about how we're just extending more subsidies, like it's not really affordable, We're just taking money from a different pile and moving it to this pile to help people out. When you look at it, you go, wow, why does it cost so much for healthcare in this country?
Why why aren't we addressing that?
Is you're rather than saying, hey, we can't socialized medicine like Republicans claim to, you know, you guys, they very least have a plan. It's Affordable Care Act and you know, patchwork Medicare, Medicaid and everything else, and it's we know that doesn't really work, because subsidy is just transferring more money and covering up the problem. It shouldn't cost thirteen thousand dollars per person in the United States for just
basic level healthcare. The other side, you know, Republicans don't really have an alternative solution to the healthcare crisis here. Why don't we ever address that as opposed to just band aids?
Because it's hard, right, and politicians don't usually like to do the hard work. That's that's the stuff I love the most. I actually think that the healthcare complexity is what the and that's one of the reasons why I joined Energy and Commerce because that's where we take on the healthcare fight. And ultimately this gets back to who's paying for healthcare? And so for a long time, you know, employers did, and most employers would cover your health care costs.
And that's not the case anymore. You have more and more people who are working who don't get healthcare through their employees, so we have to go buy it separately. And it's it's just too expensive for most people based on what people are earning. And so you know, the question is do you want those folks to have no health insurance? Which screws everybody, right, because healthcare costs go up across the board. Or an't it bad to just, you know, have people running around without health insurance.
Yeah, you work two or three jobs and it's part time, and you know, the again the engine that drives American economy. Of course, small business and those who went with the vast material businesses employ less than two hundred people and fewer, and fear of those businesses are offering healthcare mefoits because it.
Costs too much.
Yeah, and so then there are two places that a lot of folks go. I mean, you know, there's obviously Medicare, there's Medicaid if you're you're working and you're not making enough money to buy health insurance in the private marketplace, and your employer does not give you health care, which is the case for these lower wage jobs. And then and then you have a lot of middle class folks
who are working really hard. They can't cover They can pay maybe you know, five six hundred dollars a week, but they can't a month, But they can't pay the thousand dollars are being asked to pay. So the subsidy helps to cover that and keep people ensured that helps small businesses because you know somebody's helping, so they're stick around and they're they're not losing employee.
Right, I understand that. My point.
My point is, Greg, it doesn't. Okay, you're just taking more tax pair money and subsidizing it. And I know we're in a nation of subsidies, but the point is it's it's so expensive because of the system that's in place right now. You said this is a hard problem. I don't think it's that hard To'll be honest with you. Hear me out for second. Okay, so you've got these enhanced subsidies that were started in twenty twenty one from COVID nineteen and we got them through twenty twenty five,
which I don't know. We're far moved from COVID right now. And it's been a cover for a long time to say, well it's COVID. Well no, it's a yeah. You know, this has to do with the Inflation Reduction Act. And by the way, all those things were passed like Trump's doing right now with executive order. So Congress has literally been rendered at gelding here in this case, because you guys, you know, if we're going to have executive decree in an executive branch and the President just signed away an
executive order everything. This is what we wind up getting, and this is why the government shut down because Congress is kind of feckless. So I look at the failures in healthcare in the market and go, you know, I buy life insurance. You have a hearing complain well life insurance policy. I got car insurance. I buy that on the market. I have homeowners or I have renters insurance. We buy stuff on the open market all the time.
Healthcare doesn't work like that. And I think if you just simply it really is it for Congress too, goes, Listen, if you're an employer, you can offer healthcare benefits anymore. We're going to open it up to insurance companies from around the country. They're going to bid on it. It's innovative, the lowest cost wins. And then all the money that we spend on bureaucracy and compliance and share all that stuff, all that money can go and help people who fall between the cracks, who really need it.
And look at the gig economy.
So many people are stuck in jobs they hate or they're underpaid because they have health care benefits. If we freed people from employment and health care benefits and liberated them, the economy would explode.
Why aren't we doing that?
It's the easiest thing in the world for you guys to go no your business. You can't offer health insurance. You're not giving me car insurance. You're not taking care of my homeowners insurance. You're not by my pet insurance or my renters insurance. Why are we doing little of health care?
Are you as sure as I'm sorry? Are you making an arguments for a single pair?
I'm out?
Yeah, here's the thing, right, So here's the thing, and it's based on and there's still going to be subsidy, of course, because there's people that again, but you said, you know, if you make the standard what eight hundred, I forget what the percentage is, but a percentage your income goes to healthcare costs, just like it does for
everything else. And if you can't meet that, the government can come in and help you there, and we'll have more than enough money to not only put that towards the deficit, greg but also help people who really need it. That's good for Republicans and Democrats, isn't it.
I mean, I do. I do believe that the current patchwork does not work, and and and sort of taking away from that is just going to create this crisis, right, So that that that I agree with, which is, you know, there I believe there should be a single payer or at least a public option where people can buy into Medicaid, which is an incredibly efficient, uh you know, healthcare system, and it's got the lowest overhead. I'm not I'm not a big believer that everything should be uh, you know,
for profit. Like I just don't think that these healthcare companies should be running a big profit.
You're in the wrong country then, buddy.
But yes, and no, like there are certain places where we don't say okay, like we say, look, we want the profits or any additional resources here to go into people's care. Like people should not be making you know, billions and billions of dollars, you know, running these healthcare companies or pharmaceutical companies when in fact you have all of these people who are struggling to pay for their health care. So I don't think that the current system works.
But we're not going to obviously we're not going to say that.
The question is it's like, you know, this this is being negotiated or worked on simultaneously with the President announcing a twenty billion dollar subsidy for Argentina. Now that went under the radar screen radar for most people. But like, why are we sending twenty billion dollars to our Tina? I mean seriously, yeah, when it could easily solve this problem and reopen the government. You know, I just don't
get it. Like I I agree that, like, you can't subsidize everything, but so far this administration has picked a few things until uh, you know, maybe some additional companies as really this TikTok deal and some other things. We're not entirely sure and Argentina, but you can't help people pay their health care. That doesn't make any sense to me. Zero.
Right, He's Greg Landsman, a representative here this morning with slowly on seven hundred WLW.
How long do you perceive this?
Guy?
I mean, you know you're kind of get inside You're hearing stuff too. Is how long does this drag on?
At?
What point is enough enough? When is the point made?
When I mean, like at least for me, like I've got to I've got to keep fighting for the healthcare piece just because I've got so many constituents who are going to leave for healthcare if we don't get this done. I suspect that one of two things will happen. Either Trump finally gets involved. I've never seen this happen where the presidents are sort of unplugged, like you do need the president to step in and say, okay, we're going to get a deal done, and he has not done
that yet. They had an hour meeting in the White House a couple of weeks ago. He mostly just kind of listened. I don't I think he was getting caught up based on my you know, understanding of the meeting, like you need a president, Like if you were president or I was president, we would we would lock a couple of people in a room and just say get a deal done. That's right, yeah, and it would get resolved.
That's the other option is that it's sort of you know, from the bottom up, which is that there's a group.
Of Senators.
Jane Shaheen and Lisa mccowski and a few others, you know, Republicans and Democrats and a group of us on the House side who have been pushing this notion that you have to just open things up get the he's done, and maybe with some reform, capping it, for example, at a certain income level, and and and then live to fight another day. And if that happens, I think that forces that forces in the sea.
Well, well here's what and and and I think, okay, it may force And then in seven weeks do we do this all over again?
No, I wouldn't. Like I'm I'm a big fan of saying like, we're not doing this for like, we're not going to do this every couple of weeks. So if we pass a continuing resolution that also includes these healthcare provisions that should be for the year, and if we can get a budget done, an actual budget, great, then put that on the floor and and that can.
Be incredibly I got an actual budget done at this point. He's Representative Greg LANs.
Greg.
Before I let you go real quick, I want to pivot to another issue here, and that would be the peace in Israel. Hamasa President may fly this weekend to the Middle East to Egypt. As a hand, it looks like we've got a deal. How optimistic are you that this is going to be a lasting piece based on what you've seen.
In her I'm cautiously optimistic. I mean, you know, I know the reason why I know these players. Well, I've been there, you know, a con in the last thirty months year, you know, two years, three years, and work there for years. This is something I've cared about for decades, right and working on like I desperately want there to be a lasting piece. It does sound like there's a deal to get the hostages home and to end the war,
which I have been a big proponent of. What happens next is it is still a question for me, you know, what happens with Tamas, because I think you have to free Gaza of Hamas, both for Palestinians and for Israelis and for the region, like they can't. They can't stay there and continue to dig tunnels and kill innocent people
and and start start wars. And so this comes back to this coalition of Arab countries and if if the administration can lock in and dedicate more staff to that coalition and formalizing that coalition so that they are there as a permanent you know, uh, a permanent leadership. Uh you know source right, you know.
That one of the so to speak, there's gonna be a lot of people.
Then I think you have to have a big coalition, particularly of Arab countries, which is how they got this deal done. Right. They got this steal done because they pulled this group together, which is what I spent with cops. This you know, not to toot my own horn, but this is this was the plan I sent to with cop months ago, which is like the path to this is through these airs, through the air of nations. Once they declared they were done with Hamas, the door was opened.
That was three or four or five months ago, and uh, now you've got to pull them together, which they've done to get this deal done. But then you have to keep them together in order to get to that lasting piece.
Yeah, my fear is as long as you have a ran around, you're going to have some It may not be Hamas, it maybe a host light or a different group in Tyre, but you're going to that's the problem.
Right.
So anyway, he is a representative, Greg Lance, can you go cut? Can some constituents lawns? I feel like you know we're doing you're doing something for the people, Greg, because the sitting around is not a good look for You're an active guy coming.
I'm still yeah, but like I have really been and like desperately trying to you know, get get something resolved here. I also suspended my pay. Yeah, and and and and I go back to DC next week, no matter whether, no matter if the speaker calls us back, I'm going back to just keep plugging along to try to get this what you can do, I mean, yeah.
All right, Well, hey man, I appreciate sciated friend, thanks again for checking in. He is our represent Greg Landsman on The Scotsland Show on seven. Half a great weekend, Okay, be well, appreciate it as always, although we disagreed somewhat there, but that's that's actually how it should be, right without screaming at each other. Yeah, I just uh, well, there's a lot of problems with this. I'm running late, and we could kick as the why and how we got here.
And a lot of this has to do with executive orders because Biden did it and then Trump said, hold hold my died Coke. This is how you do executive orders, and this is how we now govern. The executive order in Congress does nothing, and here we go again. Slanely seven hundred w