Washington, DC - House Energy and Commerce Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-OR) went on the Guy Benson Show - on FOX News Radio - to discuss freedom vs. socialism, the American Dream, the cost of health care - including surprise medical bills, the President’s leadership on bringing down drug costs, and the humanitarian crisis at the border.
Here is Walden weighing in on these issues with Guy Benson:
Freedom vs. Socialism
You could look at Venezuela. How are things in Cuba these days? And everybody thought Cuba is a great place. Well, it could be, if it were free and if it were Democratic and if it had capitalism. And you know, the most valuable asset in Cuba is the repair person that fixes the 1955 Chevy, keeps it going. And that’s not what I want for America. It’s not what President Trump wants for America. And you see our proposals, our philosophies at work. And we have one of the lowest unemployment rates in every sector, including Hispanics and African Americans and others, in the history of the country. You have a roaring strong economy. America is back in play nationally. We’re not leading from behind. We’re rebuilding our military, which Obama let crumble on his watch. And we’re moving forward, dealing with issues.
The American Dream
And I just don’t get where their philosophy comes from, other than from a very left, socialist place. And, you know, I’m a capitalist. Heck, my wife and I were small business owners up in Oregon for over twenty years in the radio business. You know, I worked with a lot of small business owners who put their ideas to work and some of them succeeded and some of them failed. But that’s the American way. And I just reject the socialist way.
Health Care
cost and access: I think what Americans care most about is the cost of healthcare, right? And their access to quality healthcare. So, of course we would protect people with pre-existing conditions. We wouldn’t go back to the days of like-time caps, keep your kids on the plan. All those things there’s common ground on.
surprise billing: We’ve got legislation just passed unanimously on the Energy and Commerce Committee, which the chairman and I were co-leads on, to stop surprise billing. You know, I can give you an example, Guy. One woman comes and testifies. When her son is born, he had a little procedure and when he began to bleed out, they took him to the NIC Unit in the hospital that was under her insurance plan and guess what? She got a bill for 50 grand, as they contracted out their neo-natal intensive care unit. And, so I mean, that surprise billing people have had enough of, president’s leading on it, he’s got bi-partisan support here in the Congress and we’re going to go address that.
President Trump’s Health Care Focus
We’ve never had a president lean further forward in trying to bring down the outrageous costs of pharmaceutical drugs. Now I want innovation. I’ve supported research, you know, we want all that, but dog-gonnit, innovation isn’t worth a thing if you can’t afford the drug that will save your life or fix your problem. So, we’ve got to do more there to get the game out of the system, and we’ve got legislation to do it. The CREATES Act just passed over in the Senate. We’ve got legislation to stop paying delay, where they prevent the generic from coming to the market by buying them off.
Democrats’ Health Care Focus
Most Americans, to your earlier point, like the health insurance they have. And the Democrats, on their socialist plan, would take away 158 million Americans’ health insurance. Then throw in, ‘oh, by the way, bankrupting Medicare-oh by the way" that the double the personal income tax, and the corporate tax, and the providers would have to take a 40% cut in what they get paid."
The Border
I was at Carrizo Springs, Texas and I was in Yuma looking first at an ORR, an Office of Refugee Resettlement facility, it’s a surge facility for up to 1,300 unaccompanied children where they can be properly cared for. It’s very nice. I mean I’m just going to tell you every kid had a bunk, to themselves, the staff ratio was, I think, 1 to 12, they had mental health counselors available, full medical available, full vaccinations, they had schooling available, 3 hot meals, 2 snacks.
First let’s get control of the border. A country that doesn’t have control of its border doesn’t have control of its security. The president’s right about a wall, whether that’s actual fencing-I saw lots of different types of border security, there’s a mix of things they need and that work down there and, thanks to the president, the money we’ve allocated that’s starting to get in place. Much more work to do. Second, we have a broken immigration system. Our asylum laws are outdated and misused and abused and we need to fix those.
