tv U.S. House of Representatives U.S. House of Representatives CSPAN April 30, 2024 8:28pm-8:59pm EDT
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and reproductive rights. this news conference is about 20 minutes. mr. aguilar: good morning, we honored the life and friend of our colleague, donald payne jr. he was a warm and passionate person. deeply missed by all of us. many will be going to his home going ceremony in newark, new jersey, later this week. house democrats are proud that we finally broke the republican logjam to deliver critical resources to our allies in ukraine, israel, and taiwan. and humanitarian assistance to innocent civilians in gaza. the national security supplemental does not make it
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over the finish line without the steadfast leadership of democratic leader hakeem jeffries. our caucus is eager to continue efforts that will strengthen our national security and raise the quality of life for everyday americans. we need at this moment to address issues like the affordability crisis that countless americans face when it comes to housing and childcare. we should also extend the affordable connectivity program and tackle the situation at our southern border in a manner consistent with our values. democrats are ready to reach across the aisle to solve these important challenges ahead. and we cannot go back to partisan gridlock that defined the last seven months. we want to build on the progress to ensure the people's house continues to function. ted lieu. senator lujan: thank you -- mr. lieu lou: --
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mr. lieu: donald payne jr. was a wonderful member of congress. may he rest in peace. and my thoughts are with the eight officers that were shot in north carolina some of whom passed away. i want to thank you them for their courage and my thoughts are with them and their families. like chairman aguilar said, want to talk about the supplemental. the importance of passing a supplemental is it's the best way to achieve peace in ukraine. having served in act rfb duty and in the reserves, it's clear to me to get putin to the negotiating table is to stop him on the battle field. will he not negotiate if he believes he will advance in the ukraine. his goal is to take over ukraine and he's not going to try to negotiate anything until he is stopped. and what the supplemental
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that mike johnson played when the leadup to january 6. we saw that in our work on the januarycommittee and has not been forgotten by our members. however, we want to turn the page. we don't want to turn the clock back and have marjorie taylor greene to dictate the schedule and calendar of what's ahead. we want to turn the page and focus on the pressing issues that everyday americans care about and spending time on this, on just -- just doesn't make sense to us and so after hearing from our caucus both today and in the preceding weeks, we felt that was important to clarify and -- in the leader's statement, joint statement, he said specifically this was on this motion to vacate. because of the republican rules that they all passed -- by the way, we all voted against --
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it's possible this could happen again. with respect to this motion that she could bring up, we want to -- we want to turn the page and we want to move on. reporter: i heard the distinction you made to motion to -- mr. aguilar: first of all, and the leader said this morning, we are not asking individuals to take a position that is opposed to their values. they are each members willing to vote their district and their conscience guided by the constitution. there may be a procedural vote that would table her proposal that she could bring forward. on that motion to table, we would be inclined and many members indicated they would be as well, to table the motion and to put this behind us and to move on. there's important legislative business ahead. that should be the focus for the american people. reporter: thank you, mr. chair. just to follow-up on that,
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though. congresswoman greene is suggesting she will move forward with this motion to vacate citing the statement he all put out. she claims that -- that you all put out. she claims that you are -- that the speaker cut a back room deal with you all and she says i believe in recorded votes because putting congress on record allows every american to see the truth and has transparency to our votes. so how do you specifically respond? mr. aguilar: i won't try to get in the head of marjorie taylor greene. i don't know what goes on in there. it's her right to bring that up. the republican rules that she voted for, that we voted against, allow any single member to bring this proposal up. this is -- she is a legislative arsonist, and she is holding the gas tank. and kevin mccarthy allowed that to happen. that's not lost on anybody. what we are saying is we don't need to be a part of that. let's turn the page. let's focus on the issues that the american people care about.
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there's an f.a.a. bill that was dropped. there's important work that we still have ahead. so i haven't read her full statement, but i'm not going to get into a back and forth on what she means. reporter: so on that note with marjorie taylor greene, though, she's threatening to bring this up over and over again. is it time for democrats to try to change the rules, to raise this threshold on the motion to vacate? mr. aguilar: again, this is a republican rule. they have the ability to change their own rules. we all voted against this republican vote that -- rule that would allow one person to bring it. if they are concerned about the rules that they all voted for, it is completely within their right to revisit that and to bring something to the house floor. if they want to make changes in a bipartisan way, i think they know where to find leader jeffries. reporter: speaker mike johnson has been very outspoken about retaliation is going to take
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place if the international criminal court brings arrest warrants against israeli -- top israeli officials, including netanyahu. just wanted to get the democrats' reaction to that. mr. aguilar: that's something for the state department to work through. we don't want to get ahead of the administration, from a foreign policy perspective, the administration speaks for the united states government. it's important for them to have conversations with our allies and friends within the region. the i.c.c. has not taken any action, that i'm aware of this morning. if they do, the administration is within their right to respond if they need help and support from members of congress to implement what it is they seek to do, i would expect them to reach out to us and to work with us in a collaborative way, in a bipartisan way. reporter: do you think congress should get velocity in that? mr. aguilar: the i.c.c. hasn't
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done anything to this point. it is premature. we have said from the very beginning, our key focus and the importance of the national security supplemental, as the vice chair mentioned, is helping our allies in the region, helping ukraine, helping israel, and unlocking that humanitarian support that was so important within this region for innocent palestinians in gaza. that is -- that is important. that should be the focus. implementing that piece of legislation should be the focus of the administration is working on. if there is external news worthy items, i would anticipate we will have responses. that's what we're focused on now. reporter: thank you, good morning. you support the administration's statement that the students of columbia should not have taken over the building forcibly, and should there be consequences for these universities if they don't respond in appropriate form to cut off federal funding? mr. aguilar: i think it is an important moment on college campuses. everyone is entitled
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to a right to protest but everyone is also entitled to feel safe, especially on a college campus. i do not support taking over buildings. that is not appropriate. and that should be addressed. i will say these universities have rules in general. but from our perspective, on the leadership side, as members of congress, as leaders in communities, our jobs should be to lower the temperature of what we are seeing. we should not be doing anything to inflame these discussions. we should be respecting the right to protest while ensuring the safety of everyone on the campus. and so our responsibility, our charge, our mandate should be to do just that and to lower the
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temperature and the discussions. that's what i feel is most -- reporter: do you feel like some of your colleagues haven't been lowering the criticisms of some of these schools? mr. aguilar: previously, there was a question about speaker johnson going to the campus as well. i'm saying all of us as leaders have that responsibility to lower the temperature of what's going on and what we are seeing. mr. lieu: you have absolute right to free speech in america, protest. the first amendment does not give you the right to break windows, to vandalize buildings, to take over private buildings, and to make students who happen to be of jewish descent doosh dissent feel unsafe. those are not protected by the first amendment. the folks protesting need to understand that line. when they cross that line, the universities have every right to take action against those students.
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mr. aguilar: next. reporter: there will be a bill, the lawler bill. expanding the definition of anti-semitism to allow the department of education to go after some of these schools. do you support this bill? what are your thoughts on how the caucus might react to this? mr. aguilar: we had ranking member nadler speak on the bill as well as representative kathy manning. if democrats were in control, her bill, that is, by the way, bipartisan and bicameral, that addresses anti-semitism, would be our chosen -- our chosen vehicle. so we talked through that a little bit and she presented her bill. she has in a number of different opportunities presented to the leadership team and to each of us. president biden created an office to stamp out anti-semitism. what her bill would do is ensure an individual whose charge and main date to do that work -- mandate to do that work is --
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codifying that, putting that into law, what the president has done is important. and that would be -- that would be our preference. we heard from representative manning. we heard from representative nadler, ranking member nadler. we may have continued conversation about the bill tomorrow morning in the whip meeting. and i trust that members are going to do what they feel is in their best interest, guided by their constituents and their values. i would anticipate it's a bipartisan bill, that there will be democrats supportive of the bill. while not perfect, i think some will be supportive of it. reporter: thank you, mr. chair. going back to the national security supplemental. when president biden gave his remarks after he signed the bill, he said the bill wouldn't have border -- didn't have border security and he would continue to fight for border security that came out of the senate. perhaps interested in using political capital to get that
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bill -- or do you think that's an inefficient use of time in the calendar? mr. aguilar: we're interested in solving problems. guided by our values that meet the needs that the american public have and clearly there are some concerns at the southern border. we acknowledge that. we addressed that. we want order at the southern border. we want a process to work. and so to the extent there are conversations, we are happy to engage, but what i want to see right now out of house republicans and honestly senate republicans is, do they have a willingness to engage here, or will they just, you know, again, bow at the alter of donald trump and do his bidding? he has said he wants this as a campaign issue. he doesn't want a legislative solution. as you have seen with the national security supplemental as well as government funding, as well as everything we have been able to accomplish over the last year, it takes bipartisan
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consensus to do anything around here. and so we are waiting for republicans to indicate that they want to be partners to address this in a meaningful way. if they have a willingness to do that, we will. because it will meet the needs the american public has consistent with our values. reporter: if they don't, would you support the administration going forward and executive action to use, you know, whatever authority president biden has to kind of curb the issue at the border? mr. aguilar: i said before, executive action is not a way to solve this alone. these are issues that congress should deal with. i said that under a prior administration. i'll continue to say that. but we stand willing to work with the administration as well as with our colleagues across the aisle if there are meaningful reforms that can be done, legislatively or administratively. reporter: thank you, mr. chairman.
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do you support the idea of stripping public funding and government funding away from some of these colleges and universities if it's proven they have allowed blatant anti-semitism to occur on campus? mr. aguilar: these colleges and universities have a responsibility. as the vice chair mentioned, to ensure that everybody has the ability to protest and to make their voice heard but they have a responsibility to honor the safety of individuals and for many of jewish dissent they do not feel safe and that is a real issue. they have a responsibility here. we should allow them to act before we create new rules and regulations, but it is completely appropriate for congress to have discussions, but i have not seen anything to date that i would be willing to support. but right now, the important thing, as i mentioned, is we need to ensure the safety on
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these college campuses, and the schools play such an important role in that. they need to -- they have guidance. they have rules. they need to enforce those before congress creates new ones. reporter: trump said that he's going to make a statement on the com stock act in the next few weeks. it's something his allies wants to work on a national abortion ban. mr. aguilar: it's clear that house republicans want a national abortion ban. they have had individuals in congress who continue to support that. over 100 republicans have supported that. life at conception bill, that would do away with i.v.f., that would ensure and pave the way for a national abortion ban. reproductive care and women's health and abortion is absolutely an issue that concerns us. it scares us what a future
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president could do. this has been something that has been tiol -- tiol -- toiling around the trump administration. we believe what they say they want a national abortion ban. how they get there, we don't know, but it's clear that that is the focus of house republicans. that is the focus of former president trump. and that is what the republican party stands for today, unfortunately. and so we want to ensure abortion care. we want to ensure women's reproductive health and abortion as health care. that is what we stand for and we're willing to have that discussion as we make our way to november. reporter: donald trump -- mr. lieu: donald trump campaigned on overturning roe vs. wade. he then bragged about overturning roe vs. wade. and now republicans want to put in a national abortion ban. democrats want to codify roe vs.
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wade. the two parties are not the same. reporter: are democrats interested in -- mr. aguilar: in the back. reporter: given the recent protests on college campuses, are democrats concerned about youth voter turnout this election season? mr. aguilar: i mean, we're concerned -- we want everybody to turn out and exercise their franchise to vote. i'm not going to deal with super-political, you know, inside questions from this podium. those are questions for the dccc when it comes to numbers and turnout. i will say everybody eligible to vote who has an opportunity and is able to vote should be voting because of the issues of the day, because donald trump stands for an abortion ban, because republicans want to turn the clock back, because they want to stand with putin instead of standing for democracy, because republicans won't certify a free
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and fair election. these are all, you know, important pieces that are -- that are on the table. and so what i would talk to you, young people, about are all of these issues, and encourage them to exercise their franchise to vote. >> last question. reporter: thank you. i was just curious. representative omar drew criticism for saying that some jewish students are pro-genocide. republicans are threatening to censure her over that remark. are you comfortable with that language, calling -- mr. aguilar: it's not the language i would have chosen. it's not something i would have said. and as i mentioned previously, i think we all have an obligation to turn the temperature down, especially when we're in those positions where people are listening to us and we're speaking to people who feel passionate about issues. we do that in our own offices.
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we do that in our districts every week, every month. it's important but it's not language i would use. reporter: thank you. mr. aguilar: thank you so much. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> on wednesday, united health group ceo andrew witty talks about the recent cyber attack on the company andhe impact of patients' data. watch the hou energy a commerce subcommite c-span3, c-span now, o free mobile video app, or online at c-span.org.
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>> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we're funded by these television companies and more, including comcast. >> do you think this is just a community center? no. it's way more than that. comcast is partnering with a thousand community centers to create wi-fi enabled lifts so students from low-income communities can have the tools they need to be ready for anhing. >> comcast supports c-span along with these other television providers giving you a front-row seat to democracy. >> former president donald trump s en held in contempt of court for violating a gag order that barred him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors, and anyone se who's connected to his new york city hush money case. e associated press reports that the former president has been ordered to pay $1,000 for each oth nine violations that were found and was warned by the jue that if he cties to disobey this order, he could be jailed. the trial is in its second week
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of testimony. manhattan prosecutors are arguing e former president was involved in an illegal scheme to inuee the 2016 presidential campaign by falsifying business record in an attempt to hide an alleged affair with former adult actor stormy daniels. here's what was said outside the courtroom. mr. trump: thank you very much. so we begin again. this is a case that should never have been brought. every single major scholar, jonathan turley, greg the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time, andrew mccarthy,
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every single scholar, mark levine, had a whole show on it last night said it's a disgraceful case. it's a disgrace to the new york city and new york state court system and all of them, frankly. you probably saw last night that jack swift got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. it was released late last night and it's a big story. the documents case is a hoax created by them for election interference purposes. so that one looks like it's going to simmer. the brilliant judge saw some facts and i haven't read what was revealed yet. it just came out. but the document hoax is indeed -- it is indeed a ex-ho. all -- indeed a hoax. all this is a hoax, including the civil cases. they're controlled by the white house. they're controlled by democrat
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judges and prosecutors that were put there specifically, they hate trump. and people that's getting it, that's why we came out of a -- an emerson poll was released by two minutes ago. i am leading by every swing state and leading in the general election. you saw the cnn poll. i'm sure they aren't too happy about it. the cnn poll was just fantastic. so we're here. this is a hoax. this is a judge that's conflicted. badly, badly, badly conflicted. i've never seen a judge so conflicted. and giving us virtually no rulings. here i am not allowed to say advice of counsel. this is a new one to me. advice of counsel. when you have a lawyer and the lawyer does something or advises you on something, you say advice of counsel. he said, you are not allowed to say that. so you'll all figure it out. i think the public has figured it out because the poll numbers are the highest they've ever been and i appreciate you
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treated me -- i think quite fairly. at least the people here, which is a lot of people. i appreciate that. the biden protests that are going on are horrible. it's all caused by him. because he doesn't know how to speak. he can't put two sentences together. colleges with being overrun in this country. the anti-semitism, all of the problems going on. they're being overrun. i've never seen anything like it. he said he ran because of charlottesville. well, the people that know charlottesville, when you extend the statement, it's a big hoax what was -- what they said was said and they understand that. and it's peanuts compared to what you're looking at now. this whole country is up in arms, breaking into colleges, knocking the hell out of columbia university. i know the building well. they took over a building. that is a big deal. and i wonder what's going to
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happen to them anything comparable to j 6 because they're doing a lot of destruction, a lot of damage. a lot of people are getting hurt badly. i wonder if that's the same kind of treatment they gave j-6. i think i can give you the answer right now. that's why people lost faith in our court system. so the biden protests are a disaster. and i hasn't even made a statement because he's not capable of making a statement. i'm still waiting for him to debate. he said the very lowell rate -- lowly rated howard stern show, i want a debate. well, we haven't seen it. but we would love to debate anytime. i think it's a good time to have a debate even though it's early. six months is pretty close. november 5 is going to go down as the most important day in the history of our country because we're going to turn our country around. our country is going to hell. it's going to hell. it's very sad to see, but
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november 5 is going to be the most important day in the history of our country. so i'm going to go into this trial. i'm going to sit in a freezing cold, icebox, for eight hours, nine hours or so. they took me off the campaign trail, but the good news is my poll numbers are the highest they've ever been. at least we're getting the word out, and everybody knows this trial is a scam. it's a scam. the judge should be recused. he should recuse himself today. it's the most recusable judge -- abuse. and he should recuse himself today. maybe he will. maybe he will. maybe he'll do the right thing. but really more importantly than the recusal, he should terminate the case today. the judge should terminate the case because they have no case. as jonathan turley said, as all of them said, every single one of them, injuries -- mccarthy, everyone, jarrett, they all said this case should be ended
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immediately. this case is over. it should be ended immediately. and many of them are not fans of mine but they want to do the right thing for the country. so i appreciate you being here. thank you very much. and i'm going to go into the icebox now and sit for about eight hours or nine hours. i'd much rather be in georgia. i'd much rather be in florida. i'd much rather be in states that are in play, states that are, you know, i'd like to be able to campaign. biden is not campaigning. he can't campaign because every time he opens his mouth he gets in trouble. but biden is out campaigning. very nicely. i think when i start campaigning he'll stop, he'll go back into his basement. but i want to thank everyone. you've been treating me fairly. i want to thank "time" magazine. they did a cover story. there is at least 60% -- it's at least 60% correct which is about all i can ask for. so i want to thank you, everybody. thank you. reporter: are you going to
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[inaudible] >> friday nights, watch c-span's 2024 campaign trail, a weekly roundup of c-span's campaign coverage, providing a one-stop shop to discover what the candidates across the country are saying to voters along with first-hand accounts from political reporters, updated poll numbers, fundraising data, and campaign ads. watch c-span's 2024 campaign trail friday nights at 7:30 p.m. eastern on c-span, online at c-span.org, or download as a podcast on c-span now, our free mobile app, or wherever you get your podcast. c-span, your unfiltered view of politics. >> coming up tonight on c-span, education secretary miguel cardona testifying at a senate hearing. after that, remarks by senate leaders chuck schumer and mitch connell on the ongoing protests on college campuse i
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response to the isrl-mas war. and 'll talk to families of those detained abroad as they urge lawmakers to bring their loved ones home. that and more tonight on c-span. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we're funded by these television companies and more, including charter communications. >> charter is proud to be recognized as one of the best internet providers, and we're just getting started. building 100,000 miles of new infrastructure to reach those who need it most. >> charter communications supports c-span as a plic service, along with these other telesion providers, giving you a front-row seat to democracy. >> education secretary miguel card -- cardon testified before a senate appropriations
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