tv Key Capitol Hill Hearings CSPAN July 28, 2020 2:45pm-3:22pm EDT
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spending with bank bailouts and stimulus bills in 2009. we were upset with the out of control growth of government, and we did one again on tax day and april 15th of 2009, and later that year in september, we did the taxpayer march in d.c. we've had wins and losses. when we look at the spending in washington, we're very concerned about that. we think it's time to stop the spending we're seeing right now. i'm all for a payroll tax holiday, which i understand is off the table. but i still think it's the right thing to do. and work to help get americans back to work so that they're able to provide for their families. >> the "washington post" headline, spending outpaced
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revenue by $864 billion. a huge increase in spending and sharp fall in revenue. do you hold the president responsible? >> i think what we're seeing right now is largely because of the unprecedented pandemic and the response to the pandemic. as i've watched what has happened with the pandemic, i've not been taking a lot of swipes as far as spending goes with either the democrats or republicans. i think it's too much. and i have felt that way from the beginning as they began spending in response to the pandemic. the people in washington are doing what they always do. they wring their hands, worry, and spend more money. and right now, i'm concerned because the debt is so high. that means our children and grandchildren are going to wind
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up being responsible for this debt. and on top of that, our children and grandchildren are not in school right now, getting an education. the education that they need. and that is going to put them at a disadvantage later in life. we're kind of giving it to our children in a one/two punch, and that concerns me greatly. >> when republicans held both the house and senate, and the white house of the first couple of years of the trump administration, did they spend responsibly? >> we saw reductions in -- but the spending is still very, very high and has been. one of the things i hope, should president trump be re-elected, and i know we're looking at massive spending right now, i understand that. i think that he needs to find a way to get a balanced budget
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amendment passed, find a way to get us towards a balanced budget. and to let that be part, if he wins a second term, to turn that into part of a legacy that he can leave. i don't know that he will do that. but it's something i very much want to see happen, and i've talked to people within the administration about that. in fact, i have brought it up so often, they probably get tired of hearing me mention it. >> a group of republicans have formed a group called project lincoln, opposing the president's re-election bid. here's a new ad they put together on the president not being a conservative. >> my name is dan. i'm an ex-navy s.e.a.l. turned emergency room physician. i'm a combat veteran and a conservative. i don't agree with joe biden on many issues. but i agree with him that we're a nation of laws and the constitution is a sacred
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document. i fought for it, and some of my friends died for it. protecting the constitution is a fundamentally conservative act. president trump and his cronies disrespect the constitution. trump is weak. trump is not conservative. but he's the most easily fixable problem in america today. a vote for joe biden in this election is a vote for our constitution. >> the lincoln project is responsible for the content of this advertising. >> when i listen to that, i agree with whoever was speaking that -- i love the constitution, and i want the rule of law to matter in this land. what we saw at the end of the obama administration and also throughout much of president
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trump's presidency is that people who hold the levers of power were investigating the campaign, spying on his campaign, and were doing all they could to ignore the rule of law. they violated what they were supposed to do in proper procedures when they went before the fisa court. they did not respect the rule of law. that was the obama/biden administration who did that. you can look at what is happening in portland, seattle, and other places around the country. and i have not seen biden speaking out and condemning the violence, the takeover and destruction of private property, and the lack of respect for the rule of law in this country. so to say that biden respects that, i have yet to see him condemn it. i just don't -- i don't think that that meshes. and he hasn't condemned what happened with the improper use
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of the fisa court to president trump. so i just simply think that that person is not right. i understand this will end up being a left/right issue and where you get your news as to what you think of this. but i just -- it does not add up. i don't think that president trump is weak. i think he's strong. and he's been a good president, and will be a good president if he wins re-election. >> you will be voting for the president in 2020? >> i will be voting for the president. i'm an alternate to the republican national convention. had i been a delegate, i would have had him become a nominee. >> will you be going to the jacksonville v jacksonville portion? >> i don't think there will be one at this point. i'm not going to be in jacksonville for that. >> and what about north
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carolina? what have you been told about how this will all play out? >> i don't know what will be going on in north carolina. i am not positive about that. i think that things are changing so often that i don't know. the republican national convention, i think, is trying to figure out exactly what is going on. it was just thursday or friday of last week, which is not even a week ago yet, that the president said he would not be going to -- down to jacksonville. and i think that everyone is scrambling to figure out what is going on. the chairman of the state party in georgia, david shafer, he found out that the president would not be in jacksonville when everyone else in america did, during the briefing. and so i know that our state party was working -- scrambling to make adjustments and to notify everybody and to go from there. >> okay. let's get to calls. charlotte in tuscaloosa, a
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democratic caller. charlotte, before you talk, turn off the television. >> caller: i just did. >> okay, go ahead. >> caller: yes. my name is charlotte. and i wanted to ask miss martin, she's talking about the spending that the nation is going through right now. from the government. and there were signs i was looking at on c-span and other, you know, newscasts that said defund the police. they need to defund trump and his frivolous activities on his golf courses and his resorts down in florida. that is a lot of money that is being taken away from the people that need it. those in health care, the vaccines, he's rushing for a vaccine. yes, i hope we get it. because so many of my people, i
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am a black woman. yes, i know you have a problem with the democrats, but this is ridiculous what we're being led into authoritarianism. this man wants all the power, he wants to be a king. i did not vote for a king. i voted to be a christian in my heart. >> okay. >> charlotte, thank you so much. i think there are things we can agree on. i'm also a christian, i know we can agree on that. when president obama was president, his family took vacations and they went around the world. when speaker pelosi was speaker, not right now, but the first time she was speaker, some people were very upset because she was taking airplanes, military airplanes or whatever to go from washington, d.c., back to san francisco. and there were people on the right who complained about that kind of spending.
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i have been very reluctant to complain about that kind of spending when it happened to democrats, and i have not done that president trump. i think sometimes when you are the leader or even the speaker of the house, you have to be able to move around the country and these are the people who are entrusted with the power, you didn't vote for trump, i couldn't vote for pelosi, but i would not have. and i did not vote for obama. but either way, i respect the will of the voters. and i think as a country we have an obligation to make sure the people we put in power are protected and safe, and they're also able to have a little bit of downtime. and it's just something i haven't ever -- that kind of spending is not the kind of spending i focussed on as much. i do understand what you're saying. and there can be a lot of
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spending that goes on. and so i understand that concern, and it all adds up. but i -- i just, i think i've been very intellectually honest in holding both sides to the same standard. that isn't the spending i'm focused on as much as the larger government spending. i personally think all the spending across the board should be decreased across the board by at least 1%. and that's one thing i've always maintained. if you decreased it by 1% every year, i don't know if it's this way now, but at one point, we would have been able to balance the budget within five years. >> we'll go to kim in texas, a democratic caller. >> caller: hi. okay, nothing personal. i'm a -- >> we're listening, kim, go ahead. >> caller: oh, okay, i was watching the tv. what i want to say is, we have
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three different visions. we have -- everybody always says the democrats used to be the racist party, and the republicans used to be the racists. the people, the republicans, the tea party, and the democrats. the people change. they're like three different piles of sheep. in the tea party, y'all are the sheep. back in 2008, that stood on congress and started yelling as soon as we wanted health care, as soon as we wanted our gay people free, as soon as we wanted a lot of things. this is the vision of the democrat. we want a diverse party, and you wanted to be free. you're the party of rand paul and sarah palin. and you're claiming your president, he, donald trump, is y'all's. and we're all christians. all of this baa baa sheep. and i'm so glad, i watched y'all
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and i started screaming. the tea party is moving. and i pray they don't come in our party. and i thank god they didn't. and my sister, this is what it's about. each one of us are hurt with our issues, our personal issues. don't shake your head, yes, yes, yes. it's about our moral compass. our democrats are good, and we have good republicans. the tea party, y'all are good, too. but y'all are the whacko party. >> wow. i'm really surprised by much of what you just said. i am a christian, you're right. i don't think everyone shares my exact same religion, and i don't expect them to. you mentioned something about that. we are -- our organization, tea party patriots has not weighed
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in to social issues. whatever you're saying about gay marriage, those are not issues we're concerned about. we're focused on constitutionally limited government. whether you voted for president trump or not, he's the president of the united states of america. and he's our president. united we stand. and we have to remember that. when obama was president, he was my president. he was your president, he was everyone's president. and there's some things we need to go back to and respect and understand. and i would say this to you. whether you like the outcome of an election or not, and there have been plenty of elections i didn't like the outcome of, and you're saying that about president trump, i respect the system that produces those results. i respect my fellow citizens who vote the way that they vote.
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and i never go around saying, well, that isn't my president or any of that. that isn't how we're going to solve things. and as americans, i think all americans, regardless of our party, should agree that we should not be judging people based on the color of their skin. that's flat-out wrong. i'm from atlanta. and i grew up knowing about martin luther king jr., and i've always worked to make sure i'm judging people by the content of their character and not by their skin color. >> stanley, in morgantown, pennsylvania. republican. you're next. >> caller: yes, america needs president trump to win re-election. trump should ask vice president mike pence to step aside and be replaced by senator kim scott of
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south carolina and get the black vote and make a sure win. i've been listening to leo terrell, robert woodson, and carol swain. and i think they're in agreement with this. what do you think? >> i don't think that that is going to happen. as far as i know, vice president pence will continue to be the nominee for the vice president. i have not heard that senator tim scott even wants to be considered to be vice president. so i don't think that that is going to happen. and honestly, given what is going on with the coronavirus and covid-19, the fact that vice president pence heads up the coronavirus task force, i think he's in the right place at the right time. and needs to continue in that position. >> kathy in louisiana,
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republican. >> caller: good morning. you're very brave to step up and take the place of the tea party patriot co-founder. i know that initially, when you started the organization, that you were targeted by the fbi. the irs, the dea, the deq, every possible organization there was, was weaponized against the tea party. i'm so glad y'all survived. the country needs conservative people worried about how the money is spent. i live in st. martinville, pennsylvania. 40% poverty level-plus. my best friends are black. i spend christmas and thanksgiving with these people. they're not just best friends because i say that and it helps me look good. i love them. and it's not fair, what is happening to president trump.
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he's working very hard for the black people. he hasn't taken a salary the entire time that he's been president. and he plays no more golf than obama did. and when obama was in office, when he was elected, no, i did not vote for him. but the morning after the election, i woke up and i prayed for him. and i realized that god has a plan. and i know that he could possibly help the relationship between blacks and whites. and that did not happen. things did not improve for black people. look at all of the black cities, the cities that are run by democrats and what the black people are going through, including my city and my state. if there's anything that could happen to help the money that is being spent and help trump do that, i bet anything if he's
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re-elected, he is the one person who could do something about those issues. >> thank you. i want to make sure to clarify something, tea party patriots was definitely targeted by the irs. you're conflating me with catherine from texas who had true the vote. she was targeted by the dea, irs, and fbi, maybe some other organizations. the fact is, we know what it is like to have a government who abuses its power and uses the power basically to weaponize that power against citizens. and it's one reason why when i saw what happened to george floyd, and i understand that the loss of life is much different than targeting of irs, the thing that is similar is that when somebody has power and they abuse the power, and use it to harm citizens, there's a problem
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with that. and it's something that i've been able to understand at a different level than many other people. i think what happened there was wrong. and then i also understand that anyone who has power when they're abusing that power against the citizens, it is not something that should happen. >> susan in rockville, independent. >> caller: good morning. i wanted to ask you, it's nice that people are happy that trump isn't taking a salary. but for the tea party, you took two salaries, one as a consultant, and one as the president. i wonder why you were against the puerto rico bankruptcy restructuring, and also against people trying to save people's homes, their mortgages, in 2008 when you and our husband owed
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$500,000 worth, and you tookres business, and trump has taken bankruptcy many times. >> thank you very much. i have taken a salary, and i do take a salary. when i work for the super pac versus for a 501 c-4, there are legal reasons to make sure i'm being paid appropriately and from the right organization. so that's part of why it seems that there is more than one source of income, because there is. as far as what happened with my ex-husband and me, we went through a financial crisis, and we did file bankruptcy. when you say something about people keeping their houses, i'm not sure exactly what you said there.
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but we filed bankruptcy, and we did not take the fanny mae or freddy mac. for whatever reason, we did not fill out paperwork that would have allowed us to keep our house. we could not even afford to reopen the bankruptcy to adjust that paperwork. we realized if we can't reopen it, we can't afford to be in the house. we started over, we rented houses, i still rent a house. and we were offered this money and we refused to take it, because we did not think it was right for our neighbors to keep a house that they could not afford. and he had a business that failed.
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and when a business fails , thee is a legal structure in place in order to file bankruptcy in our country. that existed when he started and ended the business. and it exists for individuals, we filed individually. as far as puerto rico, there is not a structure in place for a state or a territory to file bankruptcy. they need to be responsible with their taxpayer dollars. and just like i didn't think it was right for neighbors to pay for us, i don't think it's right for people in other states to pay to bail out one state or a territory that can no longer afford the obligations they had. >> chad in new york. democratic caller. >> caller: hi, jenny. thanks for taking the time. i'm just having some issues trying to connect the dots
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between, you know, what the republicans are saying with how they support black people. it's martin luther king, invo invoking what he's done to really perpetuate this sense of just overall well-being with everybody. but from the personal twitter account of the president we have today, it's just one tweet after another of basically fomenting racial wars. retweeting white supremacists, or not going to john lewis, when he's lying in state. i want to know how the party says it's okay, when the leader of the nation is basically inciting civil race wars. >> i completely disagree with you. you are the one judging people
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based on the color of their skin. i'm not. and i'm not invoking martin luther king. i grew up in dekalb county, georgia. later, in floyd county, georgia. martin luther king's county was right next door in fulton county. and i -- it isn't something that i invoke. it's something i was taught, and we strived really hard in atlanta to work to make sure that we're looking beyond the color of somebody's skin. and i -- martin luther king jr. was from my home city. and it means a lot, whether we're white or black, we understand the sacrifices that that man and his family made. and i do the best that i can to live up to the vision that he had for america.
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>> mavis in florida, independent. >> caller: good morning. i wanted to ask miss martin, in reference to the president. when he was running for the election, he said he won't have time, he criticized mr. obama for going to a golf course. he said when he was running for president, he would be so busy, he won't have time to go to the golf course. this man has been on the golf course more than 90% of the time that he's been in office. taxpayer money pays for those trips. and to go backward and forward. she mentioned the obama family going on holiday. if you check back, mr. obama paid his holidays. mr. trump has five kids. when they travel, that's a lot of money for the taxpayer to have to cover all of them.
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secret service, to protect all of his children. again, that's a lot of money. but now that it comes to helping folks who are out of their jobs, because of covid, the republicans can't send money to help out the regular day folks in the country. and we could pay for mr. trump and his family to fly all around the country. what happened to the wall that mexico was supposed to pay for, that the taxpayers are now paying for? >> first, president trump has not spent 90% of his time on a golf course. that just simply is not accurate. i'm focused on what he has produced as president. so that is where i'm focused. and before the pandemic, we had the best economy that i've ever seen in my adult life. and we had the lowest
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unemployment that i've ever seen. it was historic low unemployment across all demographics. it was good for america. i want us to get back to that point. it's good for all american families. then you have the ability to have more of what you want in life. whether it's vacation time, or things that you want to buy, or just more time with your family. you have more opportunity at that point. when you -- i think you mentioned something -- you mentioned something about the secret service and the president's family and protecting them. again, when the people vote for elected people, we have an obligation to make sure they are protected and i don't have a problem with that. i did not have a problem with it with president obama. i won't have a problem with it with a future president or with speaker pelosi. that's what we need to do.
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and i just -- that's not something i'm going to argue about. there was one other point, i believe, that you said something about republicans not caring about the average american who is working hard in this country in the midst of the pandemic, or maybe who lost their job. that is simply not correct. when we look at the spending bills that have already happened that have passed, republicans and democrats voted for these. they were bipartisan bills. and the argument they made, i would tell you, i think there was way too much spending. so we can agree, just understand that i think there is too much spending. both parties made sure that there was unemployment for people who lost their job. in fact, you get paid more if you're unemployed than you may have gotten when you're working. there's an issue with that, but the fact is, it happened. if you owned a business, you had the ability to take a loan out
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to pay for payroll so you could keep people employed and pay for their salary and benefits so american families could continue to work and earn a salary. that helped average americans. both of those programs did. so the point is, republicans and democrats both in that case during the midst of the pandemic, the argument is that they were looking out for every american by doing that. >> republicans are proposing to reduce that federal unemployment benefit to around $200. 70% of persons lost wages. what do you make of that? >> there winds up being unint d unintended consequences if t
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