NPR’s Michel Martin speaks with Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., about how the beginning of medical insurance open enrollment and different points would possibly change his celebration’s shutdown technique going ahead.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
As we have been reporting on this more and more prolonged authorities shutdown, we have been speaking with each Democrats and Republicans in Congress in regards to the politics across the shutdown and in addition in regards to the substantive points that Selena simply instructed us about. This morning, Senator Chris Van Hollen is with us. He’s a Democrat. He’s the senior senator from Maryland, and he sits on the Senate appropriations and funds committees.
Good morning, Senator. Thanks for becoming a member of us.
CHRIS VAN HOLLEN: Michel, good morning.
MARTIN: In order we simply heard from Selena’s reporting, the Reasonably priced Care Act market open enrollment interval is underway, and hundreds of thousands of persons are about to see what their medical insurance goes to value them. The prediction is there’s going to be sticker shock. Do you suppose that this would possibly unlock the stalemate in Congress?
VAN HOLLEN: Effectively, I actually hope so. That is the ticking time bomb on well being care prices that we have been warning about, and now persons are seeing that sticker shock. And you’ll hope that that may get President Trump to lastly focus and are available to the desk to speak to Democrats to resolve these issues, as an alternative of spending all this time both at Mar-a-Lago or traipsing all over the world or offering a $20 billion taxpayer bailout to his buddy in Argentina or making an attempt to construct a brand new ballroom. We have been making an attempt, Michel, to get the president to the desk to speak about these items.
MARTIN: So I see that you simply’re bypassing your Republican colleagues. You are saying you need to go straight to President Trump, that he is the important thing to this. Is that what I am listening to you say?
VAN HOLLEN: President Trump is basically the one Republican in Washington, D.C., who issues as a result of, on the finish of the day, all the opposite Republicans do what he says to do – with one exception, which is his name to alter the supermajority on the filibuster. However with that one exception, Trump is the one Republican on the town who I believe we are able to – we hope to make a take care of. And that is why it is essential that he lastly come to the desk.
MARTIN: So President Trump instructed “60 Minutes” he’s prepared to work with Democrats on well being care. Let’s hear.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Obamacare is horrible. It is unhealthy well being care at far too excessive a value. We must always repair that.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And…
TRUMP: We must always repair it, and we are able to repair it with the Democrats. All they should do is let the nation open, and we’ll repair it.
MARTIN: So, Senator, I acknowledge that Democrats are annoyed that Republicans complain in regards to the Reasonably priced Care Act however, up to now, have not actually offered another, actually not within the present Congress. However having mentioned that, to start with, let me simply ask you – do you imagine that? Do you imagine that the president will negotiate when you do vote – if the Democrats do – if sufficient Democrats be part of Republicans in voting to finish the shutdown?
VAN HOLLEN: No, I do not imagine the president. And I’ve now voted, Michel, seven occasions to open the federal government, however do it with out giving Donald Trump a clean verify for lawless actions and to take care of this well being care disaster. And so this actually is the second that the president wants to come back to the desk, like all different presidents have carried out earlier than.
MARTIN: So – and to that different subject that Selena talked about in her reporting, the expiring ACA tax subsidies are simply a part of the difficulty that elevated medical insurance prices. Do Democrats even have a plan for subject just like the reimbursement cap that was eradicated by the Republican tax and spending invoice in the summertime?
VAN HOLLEN: Effectively, we might prefer to take care of that subject. However the quick subject is solely extending the prevailing tax cuts – proper? – that permit middle-class and working-class households to afford well being care. It is the one tax minimize that the – that Republicans refused to increase after they handed their so-called Massive Stunning Invoice, proper? They prolonged tax cuts for billionaires completely, however they’re permitting this one to lapse. So the precedence is to repair this. We’re completely happy to additionally focus on the cap and different points if the president needs to sit down down on the desk and get it carried out.
MARTIN: So, you realize, this shutdown is inflicting some actual ache, which you actually know. I imply, you’ve got lots of constituents who’re affected by it. Past rising well being care prices, federal employees are going unpaid. Individuals are shedding federal meals assist. Entry to the free early childhood growth program, Head Begin, for low-income households is likely to be, you realize, shut down. The top of AFGE, the American Federation of Authorities Staff, is now calling for Democrats to vote for a invoice to reopen the federal government. At what level does the juice not grow to be well worth the squeeze from prolonging this struggle?
VAN HOLLEN: Effectively, I would like to finish the struggle. And the way in which to do it’s to get Donald Trump to speak about it, as we have been discussing. Once more, there are massive points right here, and we have to resolve them. I’ve, as I mentioned, voted to reopen the federal government. The president is deciding to attempt to make this much more painful than it must be. I imply, they have been withholding meals help deliberately. They declare they’d to try this. Seems, as we mentioned, they didn’t should do it. In reality, a choose has mentioned that they are required by regulation to make use of the contingency funds. So, Donald Trump, give up making an attempt to extend the ache greater than essential and let’s get this carried out.
MARTIN: That’s Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. He is a Democrat. Senator Van Hollen, thanks a lot.
VAN HOLLEN: Thanks.
(SOUNDBITE OF THE AMERICAN ANALOG SET SONG, “DIANA SLOWBURNER II”)
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