republican senator bill cassidy of louisiana to talk about how close america is to energy independence. but we're also going to ask if he is joining the corious to revive the bill. it's a fox business exclusive. in less than one hour, uk leader will switch from the the divorce from european union. he's the eu ambassador to the u.s., he wanted the uk to stay, but we're going to ask is the eu about to crumble or possibly add two new countries? and technology's great when it makes life easier but how about when it steals your job? years ago billionaire jeff green saw it coming and began warning of job-killing robots. he will tell us how much closer we are to that reality now and what you can do about it. on wall street, hey, look, it looks like eight might be enough. the dow set to end its losing streak, look at the dow jones industrials up 161 right now, financial consumer confidence, oil pushing energy stocks up, elon musk wants to know what you're thinking. and he's starting a new company to find out. literally. we're less than an hour to the closing bell. let's start the countdown. ♪

let's bring in the republican senator, bill cassidy of louisiana.cassidy is the lead author of an alternative plan that would let states keep obamacare. senator, thank you. keep obamacare? >> no. it's better to phrase it that we give states the power. what ebb with would do in 2017, pass legislation which would give states a choice. they can keep status quo or do absolutely nothing. this is a state's right issue. we think most would go with what we call the better choice, which gives the patients the power and the states the power. in 2019, they would implement their choice. by 2020 it's done. most americans think their insurance markets should be regulated in state capitols, not our nation's capitol. we respond to that collective wisdom. >> shepard: some people say if you put it in temperature hands of the states, could lead to narrowing of provider networks, which is what republicans have been complaining about. >> shepard: i don't know which plan that is, but our plan has been praised from the right to the left. a way to give states control over

. >> on the senate side, republican bill cassidy louisiana tweets just to the president, his bill cosponsored with senator collins is still an option to repeal and replace obamacare and get 18 months and center cortez master of nevada to thank you to everyone who call their representatives and use their voices to say no to the house gop reckless bill. let's keep up the fight. all the floor debate today online, c-span.org and the house speaker's press conference underway on c-span. marketwatch reports treasury secretary steve nguyen may have violated federal ethics laws by permitting people to watch a movie he produced. secretary nguyen was asked about movies, given his background as a producer said now as treasury secretary is not allowed to promote anything he's involved in. toward the end of his response he added you should send all your kids to lego batman. a movie reduce produced. here's his conversation with mike allen.>>. >>. >> thank you so much for being here. >> we were saying you were born and raised in newark. >> now in my home country of los angeles, this is your first time as a f

we are not supporting the cassidy-collins bill. however, i applaud him for getting out early and having something to discuss. whether it is senator cassidy or mike lee, ted cruz, where anyone anyone in, -- or between, we are having a good conversation. >> it sounds like you are backing off of repeal and replace. the medicaid expansion stopping in 2018. rep. meadows: it would make real news if we said we were backing off. we believe the best the of goal is to repeal and replace. are we looking at concessions on some of those areas, depending on other policy changes? yes. we are looking to incorporate and of rand paul's ideas shaping them into the framework that has been given. off does require a acting will stop i would prefer to not back off on national television off.quire a backing i would prefer not to back off on national television, where there are headlines. if we say that this is in concrete, that is not negotiation in good faith. we have to get real policy changes in other areas and that is what it is all about. caucusand th

but voters shouted him down, demanding that he answer their questions. >> louisiana gop senator, bill cassidyrapped up a very contentious town hall. in fact, cassidy was forced to abandon his powerpoint presentation on the republican's plano the angry crowd shouted him dow. >> seth: to be fair, who hasn't wanted to turn their backs on a powerpoint presentation? [ laughter ] today we'll be looking at quarterly sales goals. no! no! do it a different way! [ laughter and applause ] voters in red states are even getting sassy with their senators at a town hall this week in iowa. for example, senator, chuck grassly, was offered a gift from a 62-year-old democratic pig farmer named chris peterson, a bottle of tums. peterson told grassly, you're going to need them over the next few years. we're all going to need tums as i'm pretty sure it's the closest thing republicans haves for a replacement to obamacare. [ laughter ] with tums and advil care you get to choose your own healthcare. tums or advil. [ laughter ] but no one got more of an earful than arkansas senator, tom cotton, who faced down an audit

bill cassidy from louisiana, he's a physician. he's a key member of the senate finance committee. senator, thanks for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> i want to talk about the future of health care. first i want to get your reaction to the latest news involving the russia meddling in the u.s. investigation election, specifically that president trump son-in-law, key advisor jared kushner will meet with your colleagues on the senate intelligence committee to discuss this. what do you make of that development? >> clearly there's concern about what russia did. again t may be as your reporter said t may be a drip, drip, drip, but nothing significant. but there is a drip, drip, drip, drip. i think senator burr in the senate intelligence committee and tranking democratic leader jack reed will do a good job coming to the head of this. the american people need to know it is an important issue. i'd like to think it will amount to nothing but it will have to be explored. >> senator mark warner is the ranking democrat on that committee. jack reed obviously an important player as wel

we had senator bill cassidy talk to the freedom caucus early on. even though we are not supporting the college bill, i applaud them to get out early to have something we can debate and discuss. i told both of them that. cassidy oris senator senator mike lee ted cruz or anyone in between we are having some very good discussions. yousnell: it sounds like and the freedom caucus are backing off of initial demands that you repeal and replace, that there are knocks -- not tax credits included in the medicaid stops in 2018. rep. meadows: that woule e ckg . sllantoepl d ple th sare hie. wendstd ats t er thpridt rhtow arwe wli tlo a se ncsis se tse eadendgneapocy ans oerre, d e sw iye wh wlo a tt,e y cooreumti- mef nda's ias buango-fthegiaon eseqre bki o. iou pfenotoacof onatnav,he tn e tls,ou fed ccu tsquhyr meinli th. [lghr] t hdle cld beha asomne w notte a m li, io a s tse e e ma, iss att isits t nctew're t inanhils tn ats t goatg gd it he ooathe vendakinomofho ars u e lkgbo. igere pichaes so oerre, ats at ialabt. u. e eem uc pled b re phi spke bhn o t dr

bill cassidy is a republican senator from louisiana who authored his legislation jill barton is a republican congressmen from texas the former chairman and currently the vice chairman of energy and commerce executive vice president for public affairs at america's health insurance plans and of principle you may have heard his name spoken recently as the former hhs secretary during the bush administration. >> thanks for being here today. we have a fantastic panel with of politics of epo and replace it is a busy time but think we are waiting just a moment for congressman barton and unfortunately dr. mcclellan could not make it today but we have a lot to talk about for by want to jump right then it is the very busy time in washington for those working in health policy. only a week ago they put out the legislative text of their plan and monday 24 million people could do lose their health insurance coverage under the plan. thinks speaker wright and said he is planning to bring this to the floor for a vote next week so it is a timely panel part of the first question is the of burning question. can

we had senator bill cassidy talk to the freedom caucus early on. even though we are not supporting the college bill, i applaud them to get out early to have something we can debate and discuss. i told both of them that. cassidy oris senator senator mike lee ted cruz or anyone in between we are having some very good discussions. yousnell: it sounds like and the freedom caucus are backing off of initial demands that you repeal and replace, that there are knocks -- not tax credits included in the medicaid stops in 2018. makemeadows: that would big news if we are backing off. we still want to repeal and replace with a separate vehicle. we understand that is not where the president is right now. are we willing to look at some concessions on some of those areas depending on real policy changes in other areas, and the answer is yes. when we look at that, we try to incorporate summative -- some of rand paul's ideas. but any good-faith negotiation does require a backing off. i would prefer not to back off on national tv, where than the title is, house freedo

bill cassidy is a republican senator from louisiana. joe barton is a republican congressman from texas. he's the former chairman of the energy and congress committee. david merritt is the executive vice president at america's health insurance plans and clay alspach. thank you very much. >> thank you for being here today. i'm erin mershon. i think we have a fantastic panel here set up to talk about the policy and the politics of repeal and replace. obviously been a busy time. i think we are waiting for just a moment for congressman barton. unfortunately, dr. mark mcclenon couldn't make it. it's been a busy time in washington. it was only a week ago that house republican leadership put out the legislative text of the replacement man. on monday we got a cbo score that showed as many as 24 million people would lose their health insurance coverage under that plan. as far as we know, i think speaker ryan said last night he is still planning to bring this to the floor for a vote next week. it's very timely panel. i'm excited to jump in. i thin

on the or bill cassidy g.o.p.ealthcare plan. >> the president is committed to movingly he most calls the forgotten american folks that suffered over the necessary an r economy which has not worked for them. i if any he stays true to principles, he will do very well politically, but i think we'll i e up with a good product, hope the president hangs with that. >> ben buchanan at senate committee on russian interference in democracy. >> the russians have a long influence operation and trying to shape the debate and the discussion and sometimes foreign nment in countries, this goes back well invented. what is significant about 2016, tactics e infused old with information stolen through espionage. rand paul at freedom works rally to replace affordable care act. though, roblem is this, the leadership in the house is are afraid, d they they are afraid to leave with capitalism, they are giving you something that half as much as obamacare, but the problem. >> senator heidi hydecamp on and medical leave bill. >>the challeng

senator bill cassidy from that liberal left wing bastion of can't sugar d, coat it, doesn't look good, the c.b.o. score was, shall we say, an eye-popper. i also hope it was a thought-provoker. senator rob portman, who served in this body for many years, said, i'm concerned about the medicaid population. that's the biggest part of coverage for ohio. that's why he's governor, a republican, and rob portman, a republican who served on the ways and means committee, is urging caution and has great reservations about the bill that has been announced to come to the floor. mr. speaker, i would like to ask the majority leader whether or not he can confirm whether changes will be made to the repeal bill, that is the american health care act that was reported out of the budget committee, whether he can confirm whether or not that bill will -- the repeal bill will be changed before it comes to the floor, and i yield to my friend. mr. mccarthy: i know there were a lot of questions in there let me work through and try answer all of those. your last question was in regards to the bill itself. we are

bill cassidy is a republican senator from louisiana and has authored his own repeal and replace legislation. joe barton is a republican congressman from texas, former chairman of the energy commerce committee, david merritt is executive vice president for public affairs and strategies that america's health insurance plans and clay is the principal atlantic partners. you may have heard michael leavitt's name spoken just recently. the former hhs secretary during the george w. bush administration. thank you very much. >> thank you for being here today. i think we'veot a fantastic panel to set up the politics about repeal and replace. obviously a busy time. i think we are waiting for just a moment for congressman barton. unfortunately, dr. mark mcclellan couldn't make it today. obviously a lot to talk about, so i do want to jump right in. it's been a very busy time in washington for those of us who work in health policy. only a week ago house republican leadership put out their legislative text of their replacement plan and of course on monday cut its cbo's quirky shows 24 million people could

joining us now from capitol hill, louisiana senator bill cassidy, member of the finance committee, a republican. thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you, wolf. good to be with you. >> did the attorney general, jeff sessions, make the right move? >> of course, it recuse himself, absolutely. whatever investigation there has to be, the american people need to have confidence in. on the other hand i will point out his meetings were all as official capacity rings true. we've seen multiple senators, both republican and democrat who have had similar meetings in their official capacity. >> we're showing pictures, senator, of air force one now opt ground in orlando, florida. the president will be descending down those steps momentarily. he has a series of education related events there before heading over to mar-a-lago and palm beach. do you understand why there is such concern? cnn has been reporting that ambassador kislyak, the russian ambassador, and at least three other trump campaign advisers met during the republican national committee in cleveland and additionally the ambassad

think of lamar alexander in tennessee, bill cassidy in louisiana, susan collins, who's a little moren the mod raerat side. they could be the conduit to finding the camps, moderate democrats from rural states who are nervous about the impact of the law. in rural america insurance companies have not been able to create a competition. that has been an issue. is that a problem you see a bipartisan group of senators decide to tackle? i think they will in like six months. and trump will work with them if they come to him. i buy it. >> doreen said somewhere john boehner is walking out of a tanning salon lighting a cigarette sm merlot tonight. >> much more on health care and the investigation on russia this sunday on meet the press. watch it here on news4 sunday morning at 10:30. >>> here at home, the faces of the missing. tonight a local campaign is getting national attention, but police say there's more tho o t story. we're going to take you beyond the headlines and sort it all out for you. >> reporter: alleged bad blood among two taeens leads to one >>> our weekend is finally here. the we

only one person has come to me, senator bill cassidy from louisiana. and started to sit down with me, we talked about his piece of legislation. that he had -- was introducing. i was explaining to him the concerns i had. and we were going to talk some more. understanding his bill got no consideration. that was thrown out immediately. i can't say that anyone's reached out, wanting to sit and talk with me. >> i want to ask you this, i don't need to tell you, the people who could be most affected by this are trump voters, people who voted for trump. your state overwhelmingly voted for president trump, for donald trump to become president. what are they telling you about this? >> i did tell president trump this, i said, this is a -- there's no way i can vote to repeal, i will not vote to repeal. i know you can repeal it with 51 votes. many republican friends and colleagues are going down the wrong path by having nobody trying to fix it. the people in west virginia who basically benefited by the expansion by the affordable care act or obama care, whatever yo

louisiana senator bill cassidy sating, "that's not what president trump promised." another congress mapp doesn't want to support something dead on arrival in the senate. damning words from your own party. president trump in the meantime, you see him there today holding a lengthy telephone call with senator cruz trying to woo his old rival. his response? >> the most significant concern in the cbo report is its projection that the house plan will not reduce premiums. that's completely unacceptable. >> pretty harsh. the white house spokesman sean spicer spent the majority of an hour-long press conference defending the bill, slamming the congressional budget office as, quote, consistently wrong, labeling obamacare as a failure. when pressed about the lack of legislative details in the republican plan, which would make it harder for the cbo to score accurately, he repeatedly pointed the finger to speaker ryan. >> that's a great question for speaker ryan. that's an appropriate question for the speaker to answer, not for me. that's a question for speaker ryan. >> not takin

it's bill cassidy louisiana. he has his own health care bill. he said this that now, quote, there'n that the federal government, riht for every american to have health care. essentially, senator lee, he is saying the debate's over about whether government should be involved with this or not and now it's time to design a law that acknowledges this right, that people have a right to health care and the government's got to figure out how to do it for them. do you concur with that? >> in so far as he's talking about a are things that the government can't do to you. rights are not something that the government must do to you or for you. he's suggesting the federal government is key and thece is somehow going to bring down the cost of health care. that's simply not true, fact, that's refuted abundantly by the last sevenhappened since passed. when this bill was passed and we brought the federal government into it with the promise that it would make al affordable. >> congressman dent, i would guess you are in more agreement with senator cassidy. >> i sp

senator bill cassidy and i have a health care bill and we're looking at different pay fors for that bill including some that were included for the affordable care act and some others, as well. so we need to scour the budget. there are duplicative programs that need to look at everything, but i'm worried about the outlines of the budget that have been submitted. i would point out that i've never seen a president's budget make it through congress unchanged. >> that's for sure. >> let me ask you about the president and the issue of credibility. he continues to believe that he was somehow, either he or his associates were wiretapped or under surveillance and it was ordered by president obama. you also have access to various intelligence, is there any way that that statement, to your knowledge, is true? >> i have seen no evidence supporting that statement, and what we need is evidence. if the president has evidence of that i would encourage him to turn it over to the house and senate intelligence committee. we're in the midst of a big investigation of russian activities in our country, and we

difference between last week when we heard from grassley, tom cotton, bill cassidy, they were trying to the town halls a discussion on health care. but yet a week ago they didn't have any specifics outlined on what would be potentially part of a bill. this last week, house chairs from particular committees actually presented to these republican senators, including lindsey graham, what this potential replacement bill would look like. the question we'll be looking for today is the extent to which lindsey graham is able to offer up and which these people will be able to receive the specifics of this bill. also we're here in northwestern part of the state, your kind of conservative bastion. we have clemson. where's greenville? about 45 minutes away. columbia, 2 1/2 hours away. thomas, thers a lot ofple here. we'll check back in a little bit. >> a beautiful day to drive in clemson and coming to see the popular senator there. nbc's vaughn hillyard. thank you. >>> president trump lobs serious allegations against the participation. up next on "a.m. joy," the growing controversy over five tru

senator bill cassidy of louisiana. >> thank you.antime, private sector hire something booming, really booming. we didn't think it was booming this much but it is. that is the great news. here is the bad news, because it is, your mortgage rates are going to start jumping. i'll explain. live-stream your favorite sport at the airport. binge dvr'd shows while painting your toes. on demand laughs during long bubble baths. tv everywhere is awesome. the all-new xfinity stream app. xfinity. the future of awesome. neil: all right. we're just learning now that walt disney ceo bob eiger says he decided it was in the best interests of the country for disney to join the trump advisory council. that he specifically will join that council. a who's who of corporate america advising the president on everything from manufacturing policy to stimulating u.s. job growth. he had been considered one of the sort of cool to the idea of doing anything with this administration. i don't think that was fair, even right, but that is not the case now. that he wil

joins us now, republican senator bill cassidy of louisiana. lots to discuss. let's begin with what hit the headlines here, two different district courts saying this executive order can't go into effect largely because of what the judges believe the intent is from comments made by mostly then candidate, now president trump. how do you feel about that? >> i'm not an attorney, but i'm not sure the important thing is what the judge judges as the intent, but what is the actual practice. clearly the president wishes to keep that from happening here which has happened in europe where there have been people posing as refugees who have come into europe committing horrific crimes. i suspect they'll appeal. and if they have to, they'll refine. i think the president ultimately wants to protect us from those false refugees and frankly, we should all wish he can do so. >> you near the convince-me mode, yes, you're right that's the president's mandate to keep us safe on issues of national security, immigration, enemies abroad, no question about that. but are you convinced th

joined by republican senator bill cassidy of louisiana, a member of the finance committee. senator, thank you for joining me. let's start here. did republicans go about this all wrong? and the reason i ask this, i want to take your colleague's tweet from earlier today. senator tom cotton tweeting house health care bill can't pass senate without major changes. to my friends in the house, pause, start over, get it right, don't get it fast. do you believe that senator cotton is right or wrong? >> i don't know who senator cotton has spoken with, but there is obviously concern. it's gone through the house but there is not a score yet. folks from the senate want to see a score. that's important. i am a doctor. i like to have all the facts and then make a decision. sometimes you alter something before you, but you need the facts to make the alteration. i look forward to getting the score. >> are you prepared to take a position on this after the score comes out? >> absolutely. i want to see what amendments have been placed on committee. i haven't reviewed those yet. what amendments

republican senator bill cassidy says the republican plan to replace obamacare is, quote, not what presidentssidy, a doctor himself, is speaking out and reacting to the cbo's blistering analysis that came out that some 24 million americans would lose coverage in the next decade under the republican plan. so far today, the president has been silent on the cbo report. the white house, though, putting other folks out to discuss. just a reminderering his health and human services secretary tom price will appear on cnn tomorrow night in a town hall answering questions about the bill. that's 9:00 p.m. eastern. wolf blitzer, dana bash will be moderating. for now, thank you for joining us. inside politics with john king starts right now. >>> thanks, kate. welcome to inside politics. i'm john king. thanks for sharing your day with us. a snow day in most places in the northeast. it makes for beautiful images and more than a little disruption. >> the storm will bring heavy snow. the kind of snow you want to stay ahead of. i want to emphasize, this is on the heavier side. be careful out there. >> good a

four word samation from bill cassidy a republican from pennsylvan pennsylvania, a doctor. obviously it's a concern. these are numbers higher than republicans expected. they set down a new difficult pathway as they try to get all of the votes they can to move this plan forward. >> so we disagree strenuously with the report that was put out. >> reporter: tonight gop leaders are facing a new reality. congressional budget office projection that shows a drop in coverage for 24 million people by 2026. >> the republican bill pushes 24 million people out of the healthcare, off health coverage. this is a remarkable number, this speaks to highly to the cruelty of the bill that the president calls an act of mercy. >> reporter: as the republican and his supports try to maintain a sense of urgency. >> obamacare is a disaster and i say to the republicans all the time. by repealing it, people will say it used to be so great. >> reporter: president trump meeting with people who say obamacare hurt them, acknowledging the process to repeal and replace won't be easy or clear. >> more competi

lindsey graham one week after chuck grassley and bill cassidy, after joni ernst and after tom cotton. lindsey graham said i didn't expect many republicans to be in the room, but this was an opportunity to hear their concerns and the frustrations. several of them warranted on the front of russia or health care and he said we're here to listen to it.hillyard, thank you. joining me on the phone, republican congressman steve king. good day to you. >> thanks for having me on. it's an interesting place all across this country. >> tell me about it. so where should we start? how about the response from a former obama spokesperson to president trump's wiretapping allegation saying, devote, a cardinal rule of the obama administration was that no white house official ever sbfrninterf with any independent investigation. and it says as part of that practice, neither president obama nor any white house official ever ordered surveillance on any u.s. citizen. and he ends with saying any suggestion otherwise is simply false. should president trump accept that response and let this go? >> well, we will

coming up in the next hour we'll get the republican reaction to the health care battle with senator bill cassidy said this is not what the gop was promised in a repeal and replace, why? he'll come on and make the case. also had the democrat in the house intelligence committee going to be here to discuss the president's latest wiretap comments. >> but before that the future of health care in this country is pretty uncertain right now. health secretary tom price working to try to sell the republican plan last night. we'll talk about that next. i work with people everywhere on sea, on land, and in the air. inspecting towers way up high avoiding turbulence in the sky. personalizing treatments with dna and recommending who should play. a dress that thinks, which crops to grow, tax prep to help keep payments low. you can find me on an oil rig, i answer questions small and big. hello, my name is watson. various: (shouting) heigh! ho! ( ♪ ) it's off to work we go! woman: on the gulf coast, new exxonmobil projects are expected to create over 45,000 jobs. and each job created by the energy industry suppor

i want tyou ree with the follow quote from a colleague of yours it's bill cassidy, republican o. he said thisspre recognition that the federalcongress has cr for every american to have e. essentially, senator lee, he is saying the whether government should be involved with this or not and now it's time acknowledges th that people have a right to health care and the government's got to figure out how to do it for them. do you concur with that? >> in so far as he's talking about a federal right, rights are things that the government can't do to you. rights are not something that the government must do for you. he's suggesting theed increased federal presence is somehow going to bring do that's simply not true, and in fact, 's refuted abundantly by the las happened since obamacare was passed. when this bill was pd we brought the federal government into it with the promise that it would make health care more dent, i wou assidy. >> i spoke with senatorolli c a and senator cassidy very c we have a health now, flawed as it is, i voteed make it market orieedendlandat settled. oub better

it's bill cassidy, republican of louisiana. he has his own health care bill. he said this that now, quote, there's widespread recognition that the federal government, congress has create the right for every american to have health care. essentially, senator lee, he is saying the debate's over about whether government should be involved with this or not and now it's time to design a law that acknowledges this right, that people have a right to health care and the government's got to figure out how to do it for them. do you concur with that? >> in so far as he's talking about a federal right, rights are things that the government can't do to you. rights are not something that the government must do to you or provide for you. he's suggesting the federal government is key and the increased federal presence is somehow going to bring down the cost of health care. that's simply not true, and in fact, that's refuted abundantly by the last seven years by what happened since obamacare was passed. when this bill was passed and we brought the federal government into it wi

. >> the senior republican senator from louisiana, bill cassidy. e heard the numbers of 24 million uninsured americans he said that's not what president trump promised. he's on the committees that will take up the bill if it gets to the senate. i use the word if because we just caught up with the speaker and he says he may not even bring the bill to the floor of the house next week. how serious is that? is that an admission it may fail? >> i don't think it is serious. in the legislative process, there are oftentimes things that are not anticipated. it's sausage making, if you will, part of the process. i don't think it's serious. >> so he does say that this bill is on its way to the senate. so let me ask you, could the bill as is right now pass in the senate? >> you're asking me a hypothetical, which is not going to come over as it is. it's going to come over differently. as it comes over, it will be amended in the senate. the simple apps is no, it wouldn't, because the senate is going to want to amend it to take care of the considerations we have r

congressman bill cassidy, he says this plan isn't the one that president trump promised in january. you are aware the president said he wanted a plan that had insurance for everybody. congressman cassidy, he wants the party to sit down, slow down these changes, make changes to the bill. would you agree with that, delaying this a bit before proceeding with paul ryan's plan? >> well, i want to press forward. i voted for this on committee. from what i've seen of it, i like. we can make some changes in step two which is, again, tom price's regulatory reforms. and three, we know is going to be a tougher lift. but these are going to be less controversial issues. it's a broader one, two, three plan. but, look, it's become very obvious that the senate is wanting to deliberate this, have some discussions. i think it's a good plan. it's good as part of a three-step approach. but if anybody has ideas to make this better, then i think we're always open to it and it sounds like the president has expressed his willingness to do that as well. >> but if the cbo numbers are correct, 24 million peopl

members from the upper chamber like senators tom cotton and bill cassidy encouraging house colleagueso projections came out. phillip clyne, managing editor for the conservative washington examiner writing that yesterday cbo report is another sign that republicans should drop their current plan and go straight for a full obama carrcare repeal. i know this is something i see in the institute tout earlier, the idea basically that there would be more people, you're saying, more people would not be covered under this republican replacement plan than if you just did away with the obamacare completely. can you explain that? >> yeah, sure. and to be clear, i'm not just for full repeal. i'm for full repeal and a more market-based alternative than the one that republicans are pushing. and here's the bottom line. is that the argument on the right has always been on health care. how much government are we willing to take to try to expand coverage? and basically, you had free market purists that basically say, let's focus on costs, let's not get into a bidding war with democrats over coverage numb

joining me now by phone is republican senator bill cassidy of louisiana. and he was an early, senator, you and senator susan collin, you went out there early before anybody with the potential replacement vehicle at the time. and it didn't get the attention of house leadership. it didn't get the attention of the president. make your case now as to why you should, your bill, your and senator collins' bill should get more attention. >> hey, chuck. because he can seek the problem of obamacare. it's taking power from the state capitol and put it in washington, d.c. and told the states what to do. what the cassidy/collins plan does is returns it to the state to let them decide the future of their plan. if we had taken cassidy/collins, this would already be off our plate and back at the state capitols for them to decide with guidelines that the federal government would say to you. on the other hand, it wouldn't be a big policy debate up in d.c. because the powerful debate would be in the state capitol. that's where the american people want it. that's where it sho

i'll speak live with the lead author of the legislation, the louisiana republican senator bill cassidy. and don't worry. cia? the fbi has your back. the bureau launching a man hunt to find the mole that leaked secret c.i.a. hacking techniques. breaking today, new word of a criminal investigation. and the first legal challenge to president trump's latest immigration ban. breaking now, hawaii is fighting

even speaker ryan admitted this when he stated it's an entitlement program, as did senator bill cassidy, a republican of louisiana, who took this step further when he said the federal government established the right for every american to have healthcare. yet some republicans still have not recognized that the debate has shifted from one over whether or not health coverage is a right to one about how to best provide health coverage for all while reducing costs. he saidist not helping the republican party. americans of all beliefs and backgrounds do not react well when an established right is threatened with removal. even the per stheapings a right is in jeopardy causes people to become very upset. if you want to read more from the column, it's in the daily beast. george is in clarksville, tennessee, republican. george, good morning. caller: good morning to you. i do not believe healthcare is a right. obviously it's nowhere stated that it is. but if it is, how do you force people to become doctors? obviously somebody's got to fulfill that right. how do you do that? host: you're saying if

. >> you have republican senators like bill cassidy and john thune saying it will be harder for oldert insurance. under the house plan right now. they say you're going to have to beef up the tax credits and maybe slow down the changes in medicaid. >> and that may be the case. we're looking at it and working with our legislative colleagues to make certain we have the kind of plan that works for people in the real world. something that the previous administration didn't do. if it needs more beefing up, as you say, for the folks that are low income, between 50 and 64 years of age, that's something we have talked about. something we have entertained. that may happen throughout the process. >> that's not what's happening right now. it appears they is have agreed to put a work requirement in for medicaid and allow states to block-grant medicaid, as well. is that enough to get majority in the house or do you need to do more to bring along members of the house freedom caucus. those conservatives as well? >> we have talked to so many people in the house of representatives. trying to see their