what we are doing right now is the house is working its will. the house republican conference, we just met an hour ago, with all the members. there are lots of ideas on the table how to address these issues. we will. we'll do our duty on that matter. and all that begins in ernest right now. we have to -- earnest right now. we have to solve the problems. and not just take political posturing as has happened in some of these other corners. reporter: what about government shut down. will you get the spending bills done in time? [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2024] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is respons >> house democrats election. this is about 20 minutes.

>> good morning. two bits of very important news this week, obviously the first full week of spring training for those baseball fans. vice chair and i are rooting for our dodgers. i will be in glendale, arizona. i knowal all of you are focused on that as well. more importantly the house democratic caucus is so pleased to welcome back to congress tom suozzi after his successful election last night. it's a great day for the country, the people of new york's 3rd congressional district. it's a return to replacing someone in that seat, placing someone in that seat with the dignity to solve problems and to work in a bipartisan way to get things done rather than a sideshow that was george santos. dignity to solve problems and to work in a bipartisan way to get things done rather than a sideshow that was george santos. one less vote for maga extreme republicans to advance their

abortion bans. one less vote for their desire to slash social security and medicare. one less vote for them to help billionaires cheat on their taxes. those are the things that the public knows and are important for house democrats. this victory was made possible because of the leadership of our dccc field general, suzan delbeney. leader j-leadership team, they made start, strategic decisions and investments down the home stretch that led to success. but this election also shows that the economic agenda is working. people are beginning to reap the benefit of landmark legislation that we helped pass together. and that tom suozzi helped pass with us. because of leadership of president biden and vice president harris we have created 14.8 million jobs throughout the country. inflation is cooling. and wages are rising.

we know that there is more work to do to ensure that everybody feels in that economic success and we are build ago resilient economy that -- building a resilient economy that works for everyone. we are excited to see this result. we are excited to see around the country the benefit that those pieces of legislation provide. there is no doubt that we continue to put people over politics. we always have and we always will. we welcome back tom suozzi who will do just that. with that i'll introduce the vice chair of the house democratic caucus, ted lieu. mr. lieu: thank you, chairman aguilar. this year started off with a series of great economic reports. consumer sentiment is up. wages are up. we had a blowout jobs report last night. far above expectations. the dow jones is about 38,000. if you have a retirement account, or education savings

plan, your account is higher now than four years ago. at the same time we know prices are high. some people are having trouble making ends meet. that's why democrats passed the inflation reduction act to reduce inflation and cap the costs of drugs such as insulin. it's also why we passed infrastructure law to create jobs. and why we passed the chips and science act, to bring back high-tech chip manufacturing to america. what are republicans focused on? stupid stuff. like baseless impeachments with no evidence. stopping a national security package that's going to improve america's national security. and doing things that no one in america wants them to do, such as holding a hearing on u.f.o.'s. that's why tom suozzi flipped a new york special election district last night. the american people want a change. they want a congress that actually does something. this is a completely do-nothing congress in the hands of the republicans.

and the american people want to have us work on kitchen table economic issues as chairman aguilar has said. i also want to note new york 3 had a high asian american population. and the aanpi community showed up. one reason is because donald trump mocks asian americans. he makes fun of people with funny sounding last names like elaine chao. he mocks and disrespects asian americans and republicans remain silent and the asian american community notices. we'll see you in november. mr. aguilar: incredible members of our new york delegation, grace meng, greg meeks, also vice chair lieu was knocking on doors and helping out in new york 3 as well. questions? reporter: obviously with democrats trying to get this foreign aid package across the finish line, one of the issues you run into whether a discharge petition or other avenues, the fact you have a number of

progressives within your own party who have issues with the aid to israel and can't support this. how do you navigate that? mr. aguilar: the overwhelming majority of the house democratic caucus is ready to vote for this bill. give us a vote. it's that simple. give us a vote on the national security package to provide aid to ukraine and israel and indo-pacific region, as well as robust humanitarian assistance that is in that package. there is a bipartisan path forward. the senate has just given us that. all we are asking for is a vote. by the way, over 300 members would vote for a package like that. the question isn't for house democrats. the question is for speaker johnson. what is he afraid of to put national security first, to help our country, to push back against putin, and make sure that our country is pro-- protected, what is his concern? give us a vote.

house democrats will be focused on bipartisan solutions working in a way that will help deliver that piece of legislation. that's what we'll do. until we get it done. that's what we have heard loud and clear from our members. and that's what we plan to do. reporter: i agree with -- mr. lieu: i agree with what chairman aguilar said. speaker johnson said let the house work its will. the way the house works its will is to vote. we are asking for speaker johnson to let us vote. if there is a vote on the floor of the senate package, it would pass with overwhelming bipartisan support. unfortunately, speaker johnson seems to be captured by their marjorie taylor greene extreme faction of the party. the putin caucus. there is no other explanation for why he wouldn't let a vote happen on this bipartisan bill. reporter: do you think that president biden -- sorry.

do you think it would be wise for president biden to sit down in a one-on-one meeting with speaker johnson as he has requested? order to move ahead on the supplemental aid package? mr. aguilar: i'll let the president speak to his calendar. i can tell you that the legislative leaders did sit down weeks ago. they talked about these issues. i don't know substantively what the speaker wants to get -- feels he can accomplish with that type of setting. i think it's very clear. if he wants advice, we are happy to give him some. put this bill on the floor. that's what he can do to help our country. that's what he can do to have some bipartisanship to support bipartisanship. it's very clear if you want to pushback against putin, if you want to help our national security, put this bill, this bipartisan bill on the floor. let's fund our national security priorities. do it in a bipartisan way. that's what the senate d we

don't know what speaker johnson is afraid of. reporter: democrats are not that far from having the majority now. you have such a narrow margin. in recent years, frankly, you all have been bert at counting votes. my question to you is, right now speaking about all these dynamics, discussing them with your caucus, what do you think the prospects are any money for ukraine ultimately passes here? mr. aguilar: woo continue -- we continue to be hopeful. leader jeffries has indicated all options are on the table. our focus and our goal is to make sure that we fund ukraine. fund israel. fund humanitarian assistance. fund indo pacom priorities. that's what the president has asked us to do. to meet the national security seeds of this country -- needs of this country. we need it's important. the timing is also incredibly important when it comes to

ukraine. we have all had various briefings. the importants of this moment, we have heard, senator mcconnell speak on the senate floor. we have heard other legislative leaders talk about this importance. we feel that. we understand that. members, some members just came back from a trip to ukraine as well. taking in their thoughts, their reflexes of what -- reflections of what they saw on the ground. this is important not just for the united states, this is important for the world. this is important for nato. and that comes back to why republicans are pushing back. donald trump criticizes nato, and house republicans carry his water to try to kill this bill and torpedo this bill. that's what's going on. let's be very clear about the ukraine funding specifically. donald trump is the leader of their party and donald trump has said, not to fund this. it's a concern that every american should have when it comes to national security and what exactly the former president's motivations are.

we stand ready and willing to put up votes to get this done. that's what we are focused on. take the theatrics aside. take the personalities aside. how do we get this done? that's what house democrats are focused on. max? reporter: subject of tphorbg 3, how much of game plan do you think can be replicated nationwide that other candidates should have. is it concerning that his message was in many ways not embracing joe biden? noncommitle about his re-election? he also criticized democrats for not doing enough for talking at the border issue. mr. aguilar: we watched the arc of the entire campaign. tom suozzi was a key part, he was a vote for a lot of these pieces of legislation. he can talk about it in a very genuine way like a lot of our members currently can talk about it. the creation of jobs, inflation reduction act.

chips and science. bipartisan infrastructure bill. he has the ability, one to connect with voters because he's done this job. he brings local government experience that he had as well. but he also has a track record that he can talk to and point at. i do think that where that is possible for our colleagues as they go about campaigning, campaigning on our track record. of course we give credit to the administration for their role, leadership they played. a lot of us voted for these landmark pieces of legislation that have created jobs. so it's important to also talk about that. tom suozzi also has a track record of voting for the dream and promise act and working in a bipartisan way to deliver immigration reform. i'm not worried about positions he took or things that he said. i'm confident he's going to be a friend and colleague on these issues and will help us chart a path toward bipartisan success in the future.

mr. lieu: i think the frame of your question is not correct. tom suozzi ran on comprehensive immigration reform. he supports that. he also said he supports a senate bill. it was the republicans that tanked that senate bill on the orders of donald trump. voters in new york 3 know this. in addition, tom suozzi ran on saying he's not going to ban abortion. he's not going to support a national abortion ban. the voters in new york 3 also noticed that as well. and i think those are messages that will resonate in every single district. reporter: several times yesterday that one of the reasons he's not going to put the supplemental on the floor is he wants to focus on the appropriations deadline. you understand how this process works. is there anything about this process that would reincluded him from putting this bill on the floor? what's your reaction to him saying one of the reasons he's not it in a hurry to put the supplemental on the floor he wants to focus on the appropriations deadline.

mr. aguilar: democrats also believe in on-the-job training. that's clearly where speaker johnson is right now. you have to be able to do two things as once. nancy pelosi did 12 things. i understand doing two is hard for him. but that's what the job entails. we have to if he cuss -- we have multiple -- we have to focus. we have multiple priorities. the appropriations committee should be working on. they have their numbers. they should be marking up those bills. we still have ample time on the floor this week and in two weeks. that we can take up a national security supplemental if the speaker was truly intent on delivering this. for what we are finding out is he wants to carry donald trump's water. we have to do multiple things at once here. he's shown incapable of that. reporter: if i could follow up on new york 3 anti-immigration of that and tom suozzi's message. are there lessons democrats can take from that going into the

fall? or was that election too unique to draw lessons from? mr. aguilar: on the immigration frame, we read articles, we understand new york is -- has a lot of thoughts on this issue. i think that's fair. i think the vice chair is correct asle with. tom suozzi has a rich record of voting and supporting comprehensive immigration reform. i mentioned the dream and promise act. the modernization bill. those are bipartisan pieces of legislation. and tom suozzi talked about this openly. he also talked about the senate bipartisan bill. when it included the border component before, just a reminder, before donald trump exercised his senatorial veto. and got the house and republican senators to oppose that portion. they walked away from a bipartisan solution that they themselves negotiated.

i think that's the lesson here. whatever donald trump says is where house republicans are going to land. from our perspective, people like tom suozzi and members who have a track record on these issues have leaned in and will continue to lean in on being problem solvers, working in a bipartisan way. that's what the public want us to do. solve issues. that means working to find common ground. leader jeffries has said we are going to continue to find that common ground wherever we can with our colleagues on the other side of the aisle. that's what we plan to do on national security. and that's what we plan to do on other issues of importance. reporter: i want to ask about the discharge petition. have you worked on that on your staff on immigration, came up short. does it say anything about the limits of this particular procedural move?

mr. aguilar: that's super insider-y for -- questions for this room. thank you for bringing up my failed discharge. i appreciate it. i'll have to seek more help. talking about that. i think it is one -- leader jeffries has said this is one tool we are considering to pass our national security priorities. at the end of the day the american public is focused on us doing our job. they see the united states senate working through a process over the weekend in a bipartisan way and voting up or down on a bill. and people having differing viewpoints on both sides of the aisle. that's what they expect. that's what they expect out of their leaders. that's what they should expect out of their house. out of the house of representatives. i think what's changed to your question is, so few people, i

think, on the other side of the aisle, are willing to tell their leadership no. we have 20-plus members who are willing to sign a discharge petition for a path to citizenship for daca, that was six years ago. the environment's changed a little bit. so finding our republican colleagues who are committed to funding ukraine, committed to funding humanitarian aid. committed to funding our closest alley in israel -- ally in israel. to the extent they want to work with us. we are happy to find a way to work together with them. but that's the importance of the moment is to solve this national security prerogative. we'll figure out the method and manner to do that.

mr. lieu: talk about the substance of what is happening. putin attacked crimea and he was victorious. he attacked again, he attacked georgia, and he was victorious. he then attacked again. if he is victorious in ukraine, he will attack again. and at that point it's going to cost the u.s. even more money to poe -- and potential risk our men and women in our armed forces. it should not be lost on people that donald trump basically said that russia should invade europe. i didn't say that. he said that. it's on video. and i can tell you putin is listening to that. that's why it's so important that we make sure putin is not victorious in ukraine. and the simplest way to do that is for speaker johnson to let us vote. let us vote on this supplemental national security bill. it's going to help america.

it's going to prevent future conflicts. and simply give us a vote. reporter: the f.b.i. just came out and said that they thwarted an imminent terrorist attack thanks to fisa. with that deadline approaching in april, i'm wopbdering if that increases the urgency to get something on this done. and if any of the three options that are out there, whether it be judiciary, intelligence, or senate versions may have a bert chance in your mind? mr. aguilar: stay tuned. over the next 48 hours i expect there to be some discussion in the rules committee and on the house floor about re-authorizing fisa. fisa.

we plan to have that discussion and debate on the floor and in committee. we hope we can pass that by the end of the week. we'll see. the administration has had conversations with a number of members. we appreciate their viewpoints, the individuals who are the practitioners of fisa but we play a important oversight role as well and we want to get it right and that's the importance of the discussions we've been having and will have this week. thank you very much. >> mark green, chair of the home d community is planning to retire from congress coming on

the heels of leading the republic ph to impeach homeland security secretary alejano yorkas. according to capitol hill reporter jamie dupree, when keabout his retirement following his impeachment, representative greene stated, i accomplish what i wanted to accomplish, scott long at nbc news pointed out that congressman greene is now the fifth republican german to be leading congress following previous announcements from mike gallagher, patrick mchenry and kay granger. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government, funded by these television companies and more, including mediacom. at mediacom, we believe that will happens here or right here where we ate -- way out in the middle of anywhere should have access to fast, reliable internet. >> mediacom supports c-span as a public service, along with these

other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> c-spanshop.org is c-span's online store. browser our latest collection of c-span products, apparel, books, home to core and accessories. there's something for every c-span fan that every purchase helps support our nonprofit operation. shop now or anytime at c-spanshop.org. >> national security advisor jake sullivan briefed reporters on the senate approved foreign aid package for ukraine, israel and taiwan. he repeated president biden's request to speaker mike johnson to take the bill to the house for for a vote. he responded to a tweet from congressman mike turner, calling on the president to declassify information about a national security threat. his remarks