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- [00:00]
Joe Matthew
So have you heard the story about the prescription plan? With savings automatically built in, it's where a family of any size can feel confident the cost of their medication won't hold them back. Go to CMK CO Stories to learn how CVS Caremark helps members save just by being members. That's CMK CO Stories.
- [00:27]
Bloomberg Announcer
Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts Radio news. You're listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast. Catch us live weekdays at noon and 5pm Eastern on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg business app. Listen on demand wherever you get your podcasts or watch us live on YouTube.
- [00:50]
Joe Matthew
As we track the bead on Capitol Hill. There's not much to track today. There are lawmakers in town. The leadership is here, but there are no votes on this Yom Kippur. They will resume tomorrow. Thune suggesting that we'll get two votes again, one on the Republican version, another on the Democratic version. They did this yesterday. They both failed on this shutdown day. There are big questions, though, about what comes after the weekend and whether a deal will come together. The president's on the horn today with Russ Vote, as we've told you, talking about potential cuts in the meantime, whether or not they are permanent. And the speaker of the House is in town even though the House is out of session. He spoke earlier with reporters.
- [01:29]
Republican Congressman Brian Stile
Listen, don't ask the Republicans what we should be doing or what we should be negotiating.
- [01:33]
Rick Davis
I don't have anything to negotiate. I sent them in good faith exactly.
- [01:38]
Republican Congressman Brian Stile
What they had voted for before.
- [01:39]
Rick Davis
We did not put any Republican provisions in that. And we tried to make this very.
- [01:43]
Republican Congressman Brian Stile
Simple in good faith so the appropriations.
- [01:46]
Rick Davis
Process of the people can continue.
- [01:49]
Joe Matthew
If we can't ask the speaker of the House, then we'll ask Eric Wasson, Bloomberg congressional reporter, is back on the Hill today, as if he ever left. It's great to have you here, Eric. What's the mood up there? It's a quiet day and I suspect one of reflection. Will it lead to any different outcomes tomorrow?
- [02:04]
Eric Watson
You know, we could see some back channeling. You know, Mike Rounds is one of the Republicans, Shelley Moore, capito. These are people who are very interested in the Obamacare subsidies being extended. They're reaching out on Olive Brand saying maybe we can get some kind of process going. But they're also holding the line saying we can't insert these health care policy changes into the stopgap spending bill. And that's the line that Mike Johnson was just saying right there. But inflaming all this potentially are these mass layoffs that the Trump administration may start conducting, may start announcing, you know, the White House spokesperson saying they could be in the thousands. There's a lot of legal questions about that, whether they could be carried out without violating appropriations laws. And so far, Democrats are digging in saying, you know, Republicans, we're going to try to do these layoffs anyhow. We're not going to be intimidated. So it could actually make it harder to get to a final deal because they don't want to seem to be bullied.
- [02:56]
Tyler Kendall
Eric, can you give us a sense on where leadership discussions are right now, our counterparts talking to each other. Any idea on if there's going to be another White House meeting, considering that we heard the Democratic leadership come out of the meeting earlier this week saying that President Trump's going to be the ultimate decision maker here?
- [03:15]
Eric Watson
Yeah, I don't see any sign of a White House meetings. You know, there could be a meeting between Thune, the majority leader in the Senate, the Republican, and Chuck Schumer when he returns from the Gabor holiday on Friday. We'll be sticking that out, seeing if there's any kind of movement. One thing that I'm looking for, one potential solution is, you know, Democrats getting some kind of commitment on an up or down vote on an ACA extension bill. You know, something stronger than just vague promises of a conversation later. But so far, the speaker of the House is saying, yeah, yeah, we'll talk about this before the end of the year. Democrats say that's just not enough. You know, just pledging to talk in the future. They need something more. So there's, there's ways to bridge that gap. Maybe the up or down vote on a bill by Jennifer Higgins, one of the vulnerable House Republicans who's put forward a one year extension or some version of that.
- [04:02]
Joe Matthew
You put your finger on it there, Eric, as we heard a number of senators acknowledge your point last evening, that that guarantee not have pass message, but an up or down vote, bring it to the floor, might in fact be enough to get the gears turning again here. I just want to ask you while you're with us, Eric, because you've been very deliberate in your reporting on some of the talking points that we've heard. One of them from Republicans is that Democrats want to give health care to illegal aliens. This is something that's been batted around every day on cable news and in the halls of Congress and in the briefing room at the White House where J.D. vance yesterday, in fact spoke to that talked about how that was working when undocumented immigrants, for instance, show up at the emergency room for care, they're obviously not going to just bleed out. So somebody has to pay for that care. There are some other untruths, though, when it comes to people who are considered presently lawful, like those who are on TPS or in the DACA program. Are there some truths and untruths to this?
- [05:01]
Eric Watson
It's a really complicated issue. What we can definitely say for sure is that the president, when he says $1.4 trillion in the Democratic proposal for illegal alien, that's a complete exaggeration. It's a tiny fraction of that. The most solid thing they're standing on is this emergency services Medicaid match, which is reduced in the Republican tax bill. You know, some states do cover emergency services for the undocumented. This would reduce that from a 90% match to a lower rate. So in some ways you could say, because money is fungible at the state level, you know, this is reducing potential health care for undocumented immigrants, and repealing that would cause an increase. The gray area really is around parolees and asylum seekers. These people do have documentation to be here. They were previously able to get Obamacare subsidies. The law bans that. Republicans continue to call these people illegal aliens, mostly referring to the way that they likely entered the country. But nonetheless, they did have papers. So Democrats are saying it's a lie. So it's kind of a mixed bag, which certainly we can say is an exaggeration. And I think in the end of the day, Democrats are not insisting on this provision. It was in their offer. But the key thing for them is this Obamacare subsidies, which will see, you know, millions of people see their premium skyrocket, and that's where the deal lies.
- [06:15]
Joe Matthew
I really appreciate you delineating that for us, Eric. Thank you for continuing your great reporting on the Hill. ERIC Watson, BLOOMBERG CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER look for him on the terminal and of course, online. That is just another reminder, Tyler, of, you know, it's not often what you hear from the politicians, but there's frequently an element of truth to what they're talking about. Sometimes you have to do a little bit of digging, though, to see where it is.
- [06:36]
Tyler Kendall
Right. Really important context there from our Eric Watson. And I sort of feel like I'm almost having deja vu because we're hearing a lot of the same conversations that we were having over the summer as we got closer to passing the one big beautiful bill related to these provisions when it comes to Medicaid. But then also importantly, the idea that the administration was trying to streamline bureaucracy, make these spending cuts that some in the House Freedom Caucus, for example, really wanted to see. This whole idea that we're seeing perhaps emerge from the omb, right, reminds me of the negotiations that we saw hardline conservatives having with the Senate over the summer.
- [07:11]
Joe Matthew
That's true. If only we could get some negotiations started now. That seems to be the point. As Eric Watson mentioned, the two leaders could in fact get together tomorrow. If we, in fact saw John Thune and Chuck Schumer in the same room, you would tend to think that maybe the ball is starting to roll again because they haven't been together since that meeting in the Oval Office that not only ended poorly, but resulted in the meme videos that President Trump was sending out and so forth about Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries has been about a lot of bad blood in this conversation.
- [07:42]
Tyler Kendall
It feels like we are really past the breaking point when it comes to trust. That is something that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle really do keep telling us. And there's pressure really coming from the White House on Republicans on multiple fronts when it comes to this issue, including, of course, threading the needle when it comes to potential permanent firings. That's something that we're going to be watching really close.
- [08:04]
Joe Matthew
We'll see. Maybe we get headlines on that today as the president speaks with Russ Vote. As we mentioned this hour, we're going to be speaking with members from both sides of the aisle. Bit later, Congressman Brian Style, the Republican from Wisconsin, and right now, Congressman Joe Morelli, the Democrat from New York's 25th district, is with us live from Capitol Hill. And Congressman Rally, it's great to have you on Bloomberg TV and radio. I think this is your debut on Balance of Power and we appreciate that very much. What are you doing in town? Everybody was, I thought, going to going to head out for Yom Kippur today. There's there does seem to be this element of wanting to be present on both sides of the aisle, for that matter, in case something happens. What's happening to you on Capitol Hill?
- [08:42]
Democratic Congressman Joe Morelli
Yeah, well, I sadly, I'm going to be not sadly that I'm going home, but I'm going to be going home in a little while. I had some meetings this morning. I wanted to make sure that I was present for so long. Not much happening here, though. We were here in the House and House Republicans didn't come back to Washington. So after a few days, it seemed prudent to go back and talk to folks who are going to be impacted by all of, all of what's going on.
- [09:05]
Tyler Kendall
So, Congressman, can you give us any sort of inside view? Are there any negotiations happening right now behind closed doors? Are we any closer to solving this to get the government reopen?
- [09:18]
Democratic Congressman Joe Morelli
Yeah, I don't think we are very much closer than we were the last day or two. I think what will happen is people will go home, they're going to talk to constituents. I think they're going to get a feel for how people feel impacted by that. And hopefully next week our friends on the Republican side will recognize that if you want people to compromise, you have to sit down and find common ground. And we are very committed to the idea that the health care changes that have been made over the last several months where nearly 20 million Americans will be either have no health insurance any longer or will be paying double or triple what they're currently paying in premiums is untenable. And we want our Republican friends to understand that destroying the health care system and frankly using that money instead to benefit the literally the wealthiest of Americans isn't something that's in the interest of the American people.
- [10:11]
Joe Matthew
You're, of course on the Appropriations Committee, Congressman. If somehow there's a deal and we get a CR through Thanksgiving, roughly, would it be possible to come out of that period of time with an actual budget based on spending bills looking something like regular order?
- [10:27]
Democratic Congressman Joe Morelli
You know, Joe, it's a great question. I mean, I marvel at this. Unfortunately, Congress is rarely in the last 30 years been able to pass appropriation bills which is the true spending plan. And instead we have these continuing resolutions which kick the can down the road. Frankly, if I had my druthers, we'd be working on the 12 appropriation bills which fund the government full time. That's really what we ought to be focused on. Instead, we're here on a short term spending plan that doesn't meet anyone's needs and we get caught up. That's it's kind of the Washington inside the Beltway problem. And I think we need to address the structural long term issues of getting spending plans done at the start of the fiscal year.
- [11:08]
Tyler Kendall
So in order to get that on track and ultimately reopen the government, I want to go back to what you were saying about Democrats holding firm when it comes to health care priorities. What specific enforcement mechanism are you looking for from the GOP in order to agree to a deal that would ultimately reopen the government and lead to those negotiations? Or does all this have to be sorted before that can happen?
- [11:32]
Democratic Congressman Joe Morelli
Yeah, Tyler, it's a great question. I think there's two things that concern us. One is the actual cuts. I mean, the reconciliation bill basically jeopardizes 15 million Americans health insurance, the bill before us right now that we're being asked would probably add another 4 million Americans to the roles of the uninsured. So there is that issue in how we deal with it. Second is that the administration seems to do whatever it wants without regard to what Congress says. So Congress has the power of the purse. We talk about it all the time. Article 1 of the Constitution gives that authority to the Congress. But even when Congress appropriates with the president money in accordance with the law, the president has impounded money. He's done pocket rescissions. So the second part of it is once we reach a deal on substance, how do we guarantee that the president doesn't renege on the things that we all agree to? He is notoriously bad at upholding his end of the deal whenever he reaches a bargain. And that's a real problem, not just for now, but that's a real problem going forward.
- [12:29]
Tyler Kendall
Well, I'm glad that you brought up the timeline there because realistically, these are complex issues that need to be hammered out. What sort of timeline do you think that this could actually get done?
- [12:40]
Democratic Congressman Joe Morelli
Well, look, I think when people of goodwill are committed to it, you can move mountains and I think we need to do that. The problem is we're so far apart right now. And look, I don't even think this is Democrat values. These are American values. I think people back in our communities, they want us to fight for lower costs and lower cost means lower health insurance premiums. It means being able to provide health care for your family, for your children if something goes wrong. And by the way, whether you have health insurance or not, you're going to go to a hospital if you have a child who's sick. But that what that does is it impacts the ability of hospitals to do their job well and puts them on the brink and sometimes of insolvency. So this isn't just a problem of people on Medicare or Medicaid or on the Affordable Care act insurance plans. It really affects all Americans and that's why we're so committed to this. But I do think if people of goodwill sit down, we can work this out. But you have to have the will to do it.
- [13:34]
Joe Matthew
What's going on in your office, Congressman? Are you able to take constituents you in calls? Is your staff showing up without being paid?
- [13:41]
Democratic Congressman Joe Morelli
They are showing up and they're all essential in my mind. They do all the great work that we need to do. So we're working. We've talked to them about what to expect, but they're working hard and they know how important this moment is. And I'm kind of anxious to be back in Rochester, to be at Wegmans or to be at the dry cleaner. And in, in addition, all the official meetings we have, of course, just to hear what people have to say and what their concerns are and what their fears are. This is an important moment. And look, we're going to have to figure out a way in this moment to bring people together in Congress and in the country. I am deathly afraid of what's happening in America where people are picking sides before they even know the facts, just based on what they think their tribe has to say or their team has to say based on their political views. This is really, I think, a troubling point in American history. And I would look to the President. He has the opportunity to unify people, bring people together. But I don't think you can do it by demonizing people. I don't think you can do it by saying, I hate my enemies, I hate my opponents in this moment. I just think that is such a divisive and frankly, counterproductive position to take.
- [14:51]
Tyler Kendall
In the final minute. We have with you, Congressman, you mentioned Rochester. You represent New York's 25th district. We have seen the White House pull some federal funding for projects in New York City. Are you concerned at all about the administration making similar moves in your district?
- [15:06]
Democratic Congressman Joe Morelli
Yeah, look, he has canceled in the last 24 hours, 223 projects across the United States. You know, 216 are in blue states, seven are in states that he won. So, I mean, the president is really weaponizing this and using it as a way to go after after both political enemies. He perceives adversaries. He uses the government in a way no president of any party has ever done before. And I think when Americans see that that's not what we're about as Americans. We're about fair play. We're about trying to get together and making this thing work. And so I'm definitely concerned. I mean, the Second Avenue subway and other projects are on hold or have been canceled. So we got a lot of work to do.
- [15:48]
Tyler Kendall
All right. Democratic Congressman Joe Morelli represents New York's 25th district. Thanks so much for joining us here. On Balance of Power. We'll have more up ahead. And our political panel is on their way in next. This is Blooper.
- [16:00]
Joe Matthew
Stay with us. On Balance of Power. We'll have much more coming up after this.
- [16:07]
Public Investing Advertiser
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- [17:09]
Bloomberg Announcer
You'Re listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast. Catch us live weekdays at noon and 5pm Eastern on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg business app Listen on demand wherever you get your podcasts or watch us live on YouTube.
- [17:25]
Joe Matthew
We make our way through the Thursday edition of Balance of Power here on Bloomberg TV and Radio. I'm Joe Matthew alongside Tyler Kendall in Washington. Thanks for spending part of your day with us here, Tyler. We're not doing great with deadlines this week. We missed one a couple of days ago with the fiscal year. That's why this is day two of a government shutdown and if we take the President at his word, this is also deadline day for Hamas. Remembering you pointed out earlier that was just on Monday when Benjamin Netanyahu was in town, which seems like a month ago at this point. But it was on that day that the President and the Prime Minister rolled out a 20 point peace plan. Remember they promised a news conference and they took no questions on this. But in his remarks, President Trump said he would give Hamas three to four days to respond. This would be day four as the Israeli military tightens its siege now on Gaza City, right?
- [18:14]
Tyler Kendall
This was the fourth in person meeting between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. High stakes talks taking place behind the scenes at the White House. We got the details of this 20 point plan, including that it would include the immediate release of all remaining hostages as well as the remains of those that died in captivity. And then we would see a gradual Withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
- [18:38]
Joe Matthew
It doesn't look like that's about to happen, as the Israeli military issues warnings now that it will stop any Palestinians from returning to the north of the enclave, calling anyone who remains a militant and supporter of terrorists. We assemble our political panel for their take on all of this. Bloomberg Politics contributor Rick Davis is with us, partner at Stone Court Capital, Republican strategist alongside Democratic strategist Caitlin Legacy, senior fellow at Third Way. Rick, is this peace plan already in the past or should we not be surprised that Israel is not wasting time to move further into Gaza City?
- [19:18]
Rick Davis
Yeah, I think Israel's attitude, and probably rightly so, is that until, at which point in the time they get a signature from Hamas on this deal, they don't have a deal. And in the meantime, he's going to continue to prosecute every effort he can to destroy and rid Gaza of Hamas. And so this, this shouldn't surprise anybody. It's pretty much been his attitude on all previous cease fires and peace plans. Hamas has not taken the opportunity to get the high ground, say, yeah, we're actually willing to stop fighting, we're actually willing to release hostages. And we still don't know if they're going to. I mean, we, I believe Donald Trump on Tuesday gave Hamas 72 hours to respond. I guess we're getting toward the end of that and, and, and, and so we'll see. But I think really the ball is still in Hamas's court to make this happen. All these other Arab countries, eight different countries, all with majority Muslim and Arab communities, citizens, have put on pressure for Hamas to act. And I think this is just Israel's way of continuing the pressure campaign.
- [20:28]
Tyler Kendall
Well, actually, I'm really glad that you brought that up, Rick, because, Caitlin, we have this great story out on the Bloomberg Terminal today that says that Hamas is being pressed by Arab and Muslim states to accept President Trump's Gaza plan. Can you talk to us about how we've seen the administration leverage partnerships in the region? What has that meant to this White House's foreign policy goals when it comes to ending this war?
- [20:51]
Caitlin Legacy
Yeah, I mean, I think it is an extension of the same kind of thing that the Biden administration tried to do, which is that we know that those other countries in the region are trusted partners. They are clearly invested in the Palestinian people and making sure that they have a chance to survive. And so it does create a little bit of a healthy tension in that they are trusted messengers on these issues about what is good for the Palestinians, what is good for Muslims. Throughout the world. And so I think it's a smart thing for the Trump administration to do. I think it is the best possible course to get something resolved. But as Rick said, until Hamas agrees to this, we're in a little bit of a stalemate.
- [21:39]
Joe Matthew
You know, the plan was endorsed after this was released Monday night, Rick, by the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the uae, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar, and Egypt. Does regional pressure mean anything at this point with what's left of Hamas?
- [21:58]
Rick Davis
Absolutely. Really? The one name that's not on there is Iran. That's probably the most influential. We don't know where their heads are as far as wanting to see peace in this, in this part of the region. But at the end of the day, this group has been funding the Palestinian governments in the west bank and in Gaza for decades. They are the financial muscle that has kept these folks politically above water financially. And so they have a lot of influence within the Arab community, but also in. In the finances of the Palestinian Authority and even Hamas. We remember only a few years ago a lot of us outcry on Qatar for having funded Hamas, a terrorist organization. You know, these are people with deep seated relationships in that community, and the fact that they're all acting in concert is a first, and that does warrant a lot of attention by everybody in that region.
- [23:05]
Tyler Kendall
Caitlin, I'm wondering what you make of the negotiating coalition that we've seen come together that ultimately helped to craft this plan, including U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, the president's son in law, Jared Kushner, but also the former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. There's a lot of different players here, and I'm curious your thoughts on how this administration has approached this plan leading up to today.
- [23:29]
Caitlin Legacy
Yeah, I mean, you know, the one place where I think this administration really excels, among others, is their willingness to get to yes on a deal is pretty unprecedented. I think previous administrations would have found process reasons or, you know, ideological reasons to not move forward with the broad cast of characters that we see here. But I also think it speaks to the. The extent to which everyone, regardless of which side of this issue they're on, thinks it has gone too far. And so I'm hopeful that it represents a coalition of responsible adults who are eager to put an end to this, because what is happening is horrifying. It's a humanitarian disaster, but it's a geopolitical problem. And, you know, I think the fact that Wyckoff is able to get all of those people in a room and look for ways to get to yes, is a huge benefit. Whether we actually find a way to get to yes on this deal obviously remains to be seen. But I think it's important that they're willing to just hash it out and look for a solution that ends the violence, because it's has really gone too far.
- [24:49]
Joe Matthew
Does the government shutdown mean anything to all of this? Rick, when we're talking geopolitics, are our intelligence apparatus, our national security apparatus all considered essential? Are there other elements that we should be considering?
- [25:05]
Rick Davis
I would say humanitarian activity maybe takes a step back, but there's limits to what they can do today anyway. So I think that for the purposes of this exercise, trying to bring peace to Gaza, it probably isn't a factor, probably doesn't weigh heavily on any of the principles trying to execute on this plan. So I don't think the government shutdown is much. I do think it's a distraction. Right. We left last week, you know, at the beginning of this week, it was all about an amazing visit by Bibi Netanyahu to the Oval Office, getting on the phone with the Qatari Amir apologizing for having attacked the country. There are many who think that, that, that that attack spurred on September 5th a a reaction that has brought us to this unification of the Arab states in support of getting a deal done. So, I mean, like, this is what we would be talking about if there were not a government shutdown. And so it does take some of the oxygen out of the room.
- [26:13]
Tyler Kendall
Well, Caitlin, I do want to stick on the shutdown and talk about some of the actual potential policy we might see out of it. We know that the longest shutdown was 2018, 34 days. Have we ever seen shutdowns used as negotiating tactics to actually get tangible policy out once the government reopens?
- [26:35]
Caitlin Legacy
No. Typically, it is not a good lever to pull to achieve policy outcomes. I think what's unique here is that with Republicans in a unified government, there are so few opportunities that the Democrats have to negotiate for important provisions like the Obamacare subsidies that they really have to take this. And I think the good news is that Democrats are not gleeful about this shutdown the way that I think historically, when you saw the Republicans shutting down the government over Obamacare, defunding Democrats have a very clear objective. They have a very clear request. They are taking a posture that we want to get to yes on a deal, and this is what it's going to take. And I think it helps their case that at the exact same time this is happening, millions of Americans are getting notifications that their health care costs are going to double or triple. And so as we see more of that, it is only going to strengthen the hand that Democrats have to play. And frankly, they're increasingly in a position to say to Republicans, help us help you, because if these costs triple, we're going to make sure that every single voter knows who was in charge of the government when that happened.
- [27:56]
Joe Matthew
Rick, Jeanne Shaheen made the point, as we discussed yesterday, that we're actually closer than a lot of people are making this out to be, that in many cases, Republicans want to see a deal for these Obamacare subsidies in our remaining moment in change here. I just wonder where your gut is at this point and what it's going to feel like by the middle of next week when we're talking about a week long shutdown, staffers aren't getting paid. Doesn't that bring everybody to the, the table?
- [28:25]
Rick Davis
Probably not. Look, we saw one of these go 35, 34 days in Trump's first term. It's, it's, look, let's not kid ourselves. This is going to revolve around Donald Trump's interest in getting a deal. He's calling the shots in Congress. He has an agenda in the White House driven by Russ Vote who wants to accomplish certain things in the reduction in the scale and size of the federal government. If they think they can survive politically in this process, they'll continue this shutdown till they accomplish their goals and only then, I think, will they give permission to the GOP leadership.
- [29:08]
Joe Matthew
Ended.
- [29:11]
Tyler Kendall
All right, our political panel today, Rick Davis and Caitlin Legacy, thank you both so much for joining us here and stick with us because after the break we'll have a conversation with Republican Congressman Brian Style of Wisconsin. You won't want to miss it. This is Bloomberg.
- [29:25]
Joe Matthew
Stay with us. On balance of power. We'll have much more coming up after this.
- [29:33]
Public Investing Advertiser
You're thoughtful about where your money goes. You've got your core holdings, some recurring crypto buys, maybe even a few strategic options plays on the side. The point is you're engaged with your investments and Public gets that. That's why they built an investing platform for those who take it seriously. On public, you can put together a multi asset portfolio for the long haul. Stocks, bonds, options, crypto, it's all there. Plus an industry leading 3.8% APY high yield cash account. Switch to the platform built for those who take investors seriously. Go to public.com and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com paid for by public investing. All investing involves the risk of loss, including loss of principal. Brokerage services for U S listed registered securities options and bonds in a self directed account are offered by Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC. Crypto trading provided by Backed Crypto Solutions, LLC. Complete disclosures available@public.com disclosure you're listening to.
- [30:34]
Bloomberg Announcer
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- [30:52]
Joe Matthew
We're still in Washington talking politics. For those who are still here, it's day two of a government shutdown and no voting. As we've told you today on Capitol Hill because of the Jewish holiday, lawmakers in some cases are still in town. We spoke with one a short time ago, in fact, the gentleman from New York, Congressman Morelli, bringing us the Democratic point of view on this day, too. We do expect more voting tomorrow and the same result, reminding us that both parties are still pretty far apart. Here's the congressman from earlier this hour.
- [31:25]
Democratic Congressman Joe Morelli
I don't think we are very much closer than we were the last day or two. I think what will happen is people will go home, they're going to talk to constituents. I think they're going to get a feel for how people feel impacted by that. And hopefully next week our friends on the Republican side will recognize that if you want people to compromise, you have to sit down and find common ground. And we are very committed to the idea that the health care changes that have been made over the last several months, where nearly 20 million Americans will be either have no health insurance any longer or will be paying double or triple what they're currently paying in premiums is untenable.
- [32:05]
Tyler Kendall
Congressman Joe Morelli speaking to us earlier this hour on Balance of Power. But now for the view from the other side of the aisle, we're joined by Republican Congressman Brian Stile. He represents Wisconsin's first District. Congressman, it's good to see you and thanks so much for joining. So you just heard from your Democratic colleague saying that there's really not much more movement. What's your take here? Take us inside these negotiations. Is there anything that we can glean that would be fruitful towards opening up the government?
- [32:35]
Republican Congressman Brian Stile
Well, the fact that we're here in the first place is absolutely ridiculous. The spending process in Washington is absolutely broken. I actually carry legislation that would end all federal government shutdowns and remove the partisan brinksmanship that we have seen in Washington time and again for decades. The fact that Republicans put forward a clean CR mean adding no additional policy, simply funding the government for a stopgap period of time for seven weeks. It was only a radical position by those on the left that are rejecting that. That would give us the window to actually negotiate out fiscal 26 spending as well as other policy priorities that members have. And so what we should do is cooler heads hopefully do prevail as many folks are home on the Jewish holiday today or over the weekend. And we come back and we see the Senate have the courage to reopen the government, allowing us that period of time to finish negotiations on fiscal year 26 appropriations as well as other policy priorities.
- [33:36]
Joe Matthew
Thanks for coming on to see us. Congressman, I think you're referring to the Eliminate Shutdowns Act. And we just in the last 24 hours talked to Dusty Johnson and Senator Ron Johnson. They both helped to craft this piece of legislation. It would basically do what the title says. Any time we had a lapse in funding it would trigger, I believe it's a 14 day continuing resolution. So it would end shutdowns as we know it. What would compel lawmakers to make a deal if there was never a deadline?
- [34:07]
Republican Congressman Brian Stile
Well, I view this as actually, I call it the Wisconsin idea. It's exactly the underlying law here in the state of Wisconsin where it's a hyper partisan environment with divided government. The difference is we don't shut down. Why? Because we actually have this law in the state of Wisconsin, what is effectively an automatic continuing resolution which forces the parties to come to the table to better negotiate how to spend taxpayer dollars. And if we actually look at what's been going on since the current process has been in place since 1974, it can't get worse. And so this would simply just remove the brinksmanship from being part of the negotiations. Things would go in fund at the current levels that they are going forward until a new appropriations law would be put in place. I think it would dramatically improve the process in Washington and allow us to actually go through and determine whether or not there is waste, fraud and abuse in programs, remove those programs and then identify what the priorities are and spend on those priorities. The entire spending process is broken. And I think the most significant change we can make would be putting in place this legislation that would end these federal government shutdowns which are just wildly unproductive for everyone.
- [35:21]
Tyler Kendall
Well, you perhaps alluded to there the idea of streamlining bureaucracy and perhaps adding a little bit of pressure to this round of the Negotiations around keeping the government opened now reopened, perhaps is the idea the threat of permanent layoff. And I'm wondering what you make of this. President Trump set to have this meeting today with the OMB director, Russ Vogt. Is this a negotiating tactic for the administration or is this part of something bigger?
- [35:50]
Republican Congressman Brian Stile
Well, I think there's always an opportunity to look about how we root out waste, fraud and abuse inside the giant federal bureaucracy. I'd rather do that through the legislative process while the federal government is open and operational. Frustratingly, while Republicans passed the seven week stopgap measure to allow us to continue the negotiations, Democrats led by Chuck Schumer in the Senate have rejected that overture. And so this is really our opportunity to pass that legislation in the Senate, reopen the government for the 7, 7 week gap period and avoid all the ramifications that a shutdown has across the board. Would be far better off to have the federal government open rather than closed as it currently is.
- [36:36]
Joe Matthew
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says you have about 18,000 federal workers in Wisconsin. Do you consider them all essential? Congressman?
- [36:45]
Republican Congressman Brian Stile
The federal government should have no one that's not essential. Right. And that's a broad understanding. There's a technical term as to what that means inside a federal bureaucracy. But this is about getting the federal government open and operational to do the people's work. Yes, we should always be working to root out waste, fraud and abuse. But there's also incredibly essential roles that the federal government plays, some of them more urgently essential than others. So it could be as simple as processing a passport. Many of those offices are now closed, but it could be as essential as the United States military, which is open, although the next paycheck for our service members is at risk if Chuck Schumer and Democrats in the Senate continue to refuse to reopen the government. And so, so we only want essential workers, our federal government. But at a period of time when funding has lapsed, the federal government is making decisions about who is and who is not coming to work at this period of time.
- [37:39]
Democratic Congressman Joe Morelli
Mm.
- [37:40]
Tyler Kendall
I do want to stick on on the labor market because tomorrow the Bureau of Labor Statistics is going to delay what was expected to be the September jobs report. This, of course, is considered to be a leading indicator for the health of the jobs report market. CNN is reporting that Senator Elizabeth Warren is calling for the BLS jobs data to be released despite the shutdown. Do you think that data collection should be deemed essential amid a closed government?
- [38:07]
Republican Congressman Brian Stile
Well, again, the easy answer is reopen the government and let the federal government operate as it is intended. To be operating. And so the fact that Chuck Schumer and Democrats in the Senate shut the government down and didn't simply fund the government for this seven week stopgap period of time creates all these challenges and problems. The OMB Russ votes and others in the administration are making really tough decisions about how to operate at a period of time when funding has lapped as a result of Chuck Schumer and Democrats in the Senate. The easy answer to all of this is to pass the stopgap measure. Give us that seven weeks of breathing room to finish the negotiations on fiscal year 26 appropriations and other policy priorities.
- [38:50]
Joe Matthew
When you consider those tough decisions that Russ Vote is making. Congressman, I was struck by the words of Senator Mike Lee last evening on fox. He said Russ Vote has been dreaming about this moment, preparing for this moment since puberty. This is going to be the Democrats worst nightmare. What's motivating him right now? Balancing the books or firing as many workers or eliminating agencies as he can in this period of time?
- [39:16]
Republican Congressman Brian Stile
Well, I've known Vote for a number of years. He is a strong fiscal conservative and a good man. I think the broader point here is many of us on the conservative side do believe that there is bloat inside the federal government, that there's programs that should not be prioritized as they are. That said, I have the belief that the best way to root this out is through the traditional legislative process of the of the appropriations committees doing their job and weeding out the waste, fraud and abuse that does exist inside the federal government. To allow that to occur, what we need to do is to reopen the government. When we close the government, as the Democrats did. By failing to vote for this 7, 7 week stopgap measure, they significantly empowered the administration to make determinations as to what is and what is not essential. Again, if people have concerns with that, the easy answer is to reopen the government and allow Congress and elected leaders to engage appropriately in that debate.
- [40:20]
Tyler Kendall
Congressman, could you give us a sense of what other priorities might be on the chopping block here? For example, we saw in a post on X yesterday vote saying that they're going to pull some funding federal funds from clean energy projects in states that ultimately didn't vote for President Trump during the 2024 election?
- [40:40]
Republican Congressman Brian Stile
Well, the challenge that any administration has faced in a period of time of a shutdown is making determinations about what is and what is not essential and what funds in different programs are available. I'll tell you, I'm most concerned about making sure our troops Our men and women in uniform, who are often stationed in dangerous locations around the globe, receive a paycheck when their pay is due, most likely for many of them on the 15th coming up in less than two weeks. And so all of these decisions are being made by the administration. I'm of the belief that let's turn the spigot back on. Let's reopen the federal government, let's end the brinksmanship, let cooler heads prevail and avoid the process of exactly what's going on right now where the administration is in a very difficult position of making decisions about how to utilize the remaining funds that are available. The answer to all of this is pretty simple. And the brinksmanship pass the clean CR that the House has already passed, reopen the government and get on with the work and the negotiations that do need to occur between now and the end of the year.
- [41:43]
Joe Matthew
Of course, we should remind everybody you are chairman of the House Admin Committee, Congressman. That gives you a certain purview over elements of the federal government, including the Smithsonian. As I understand it, the Smithsonian last evening said government shutting down. It does have prior year funds to remain open until at least October 6th. I don't know if you have any further insights on that, but do tourists need to worry about their plans to travel to Washington, the school, field trips and so forth?
- [42:15]
Republican Congressman Brian Stile
Yeah, everybody is hurt when the federal government's closed is why I'm so darn frustrated about what took place in the United States Senate when Chuck Schumer led his colleagues to vote against this seven week clean cr. And so, as funds expire and draw are drawn down to zero, many of these agencies, the federal government, are forced to close. And whether or not the Smithsonian closes on any specific day, I can tell you that a whole host of important federal government functions can't operate without an ongoing appropriations from Congress. And so people are being hurt. It's darn frustrating. And those of us that are actually trying to do the job of legislating and moving this country forward are just incredibly frustrated with the position that Chuck Schumer and Democrats in the Senate have taken by rejecting a clean CR that is simply saying, let's just continue the funding as we have it while we complete these negotiations.
- [43:18]
Tyler Kendall
Congressman, just in the last 30 seconds, we have you to pick up on Joe's point. In all seriousness, we've actually seen some outrage about what could potentially be the shutdown of the panda cams at the National Zoo. I'm wondering if you have any sort of assurances to Americans that are looking at this because they actually were shut down during the last government shutdown.
- [43:40]
Republican Congressman Brian Stile
Yeah, you know, it's, there's all sorts of programs that people realize the federal government is involved. And I have no knowledge of Panda camps or anything else that's sometimes playing out online. But I can tell you that people are impacted in small ways. Maybe, maybe it is by the Panda camps, but I can tell you my focus is on what I would view as the big ways. And there is to me, nothing more important than making sure that our men and women in uniform are paid while they're out sacrificing in risking their lives on our behalf for our freedoms and liberties. There's nothing to me more important than that, but there are so many essential programs that have been put in jeopardy by Democrats in the Senate.
- [44:20]
Joe Matthew
He did not take the opportunity to say that Chuck Schumer hates the Pandas. Congressman, it's great to have you back. Brian Stile, Republican from Wisconsin. Maybe we'll be back open next time we speak. Thanks for listening to the Balance of Power podcast. Make sure to subscribe if you haven't already at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And you can find us live every weekday from Washington, D.C. at noontime eastern@bloomberg.com.
- [44:44]
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