Nominally in the majority vote against the National Defense authorization act the answer is pretty startling the National Defense authorization Act is important to make sure that we are protecting the National Security and the safety of the American people ensuring our military readiness in a very dangerous world and providing a 5% welld deserved and well- earned pay raise for our military service men and women why would so many House Republicans oppose the National Defense authorization act when they are in the majority nominally for the moment it is because because we were able to successfully remove efforts by extreme magga Republicans to further criminalize Abortion care and stop military service women from receiving the support necessary to seek reproductive Health Care in other states when they are stationed in places like Texas on this week of all weeks when we've seen the cruelty of right-wing extremists unfold in terms of reproductive freedom in Texas before the entire World clearly necessitating the need to ensure that military women who have no choice other than to serve when assigned to places like Texas have the opportunity when necessary to make their own reproductive Health Care decisions and travel to other states on this week of all weeks you have so many House Republicans opposed the National Defense authorization act and a pay raise for our military because they were unsuccessful in marching America toward a nationwide abortion ban and they wanted to start with military service women and military families it's shameful but that's the reality that we confront and we're going to continue to Point out the contrast between house Democrats team reasonable team normal team get stuff done and team extreme questions sir um obviously House Republicans are going to move forward with holding trying to hold Hunter Biden in contempt house Democrats not too long ago held Dan scavino and Peter Navaro in contempt don't you think That should apply to Hunter Biden uh what should apply to the extreme Mega Republican shrinking and fading majority is the standard set by house Democrats led by Speaker Pelosi in partnership with Senate Democrats and and President Biden in the last Congress which is to actually deliver for the American people in the Last Congress one of the most productive in American history we were able to rescue the economy from the covid-19 pandemic we were able to put shots in arms Money In Pockets kids back in school we were able to pass the infrastructure investment and jobs act to create millions of good paying jobs And we see infrastructure projects underway all across America we were able to pass the bipartisan safer communities act in order toact gun safety legislation for the first time in 30 years that will save lives and we need to do more we were able to stand up for our veterans who were suffering from Exposure to toxic substances burn pits or agent orange and give them the health care that they need we were able to pass the chips and science act to bring domestic manufacturing jobs back home to the United States of America and we were able to pass the inflation reduction act To strike a dramatic blow against the climate crisis and lower prescription drug prices including dropping the price of insulin to $35 per hour that is the standard that house Democrats in partnership with President Biden and Senate Democrats set in the last Congress this do nothing Republican Congress right now is the least Productive in modern American history they are focused on investigating the President impeaching Joe Biden at the direction of the puppet masterin Chief Donald Trump censuring Democrats over and over and over again bringing non-binding resolutions to the floor because they have no affirmative legislative agenda perhaps that's a good Thing because if they actually were effective in accomplishing their objectives they would slash social sec security cut Medicare in democracy as we know it and continue to March us toward a nationwide abortion ban Democrats are standing in the way but can you talk about just I'm sorry just really quickly You didn't really answer the question isn't this I mean some people would say it's a double standard so if this hits the house floor are you voting no on contempt I mean that would be correct that would be correct yeah listen the so-called invest tigation under Way by House Republicans is a joke it's embarrassing there is no evidence that President Biden broke the law this is an impeachment inquiry of the president you can't impeach the president's son there is no evidence that President Joe Biden broke the law there's no evidence that President Joe Biden committed an Impeachable offense there is no evidence that President Biden engaged in any wrongdoing this has been an ongoing investigation understand from the very beginning on January 3rd when they couldn't get their act together 15 different dysfunctional votes before they cave to the extremist from the very beginning of this Congress they've been After President Joe Biden and they want to try to get to him in any way possible including targeting President Biden's family no evidence in January no evidence in February no evidence in March no evidence in April no evidence in May no evidence in June no evidence in July no evidence in August no Evidence in September no evidence in October no evidence in November no evidence in December and there's still at it this is an epic fail don't ask me ask Chuck Grassley um can you talk about what your sens is of these ongoing conversations about immigration this end of your Supplemental I mean based on what we're hearing things like parole and changes to Asylum those are very much on the table is that something that you think is in line with where your caucus is uh it's been our view uh that we have to get the National Security uh Supplemental funding request over the finish line and that it is irresponsible that extreme magga Republicans who are bending the knee to the pro Putin caucus that is growing in intensity amongst Republicans in the house and in the Senate have irresponsibly injected other items albeit we understand the need to Address the situation at the border but nonetheless have injected other items into this discussion complicating our ability to provide for America's national security that said this is an irresponsible group of people and we've dealt with this throughout the entirety of this do nothing Republican Congress and so they ongoing discussions are of You in the house is that whatever uh agreement is arrived at tentatively when it's time for us to evaluate it it has to be consistent with two principles one America is a nation of immigrants that gives us a competitive advantage over China and everyone else and two we are a nation Anchored in the rule of law if whatever comes over from the Senate is anchored in those two principles or is at least not inconsistent with those two principles then I think we'll be able to uh evaluate it in good faith and every individual member would have to make Decisions go over to this side yeah thanks Captain Schwartz with notice I'm wondering about the future of Ukraine funding uh Beyond this bill into 2024 growing NE of Republicans have expressed doubt over funding for Ukraine what do you see as the long-term future for congress in terms of funding this war This what confuses me because when I was growing up I was told that Republicans were the party of National Security that was the case apparently under Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush it clearly is no longer the case as evidenced by the fact that so many Republicans today voted against pay Raises for our military and the National Defense authorization act the fact that Republicans have been taken over by the extremists and the traditional National Security Republicans are on the run is evidenced by the Republican resistance to supporting the war effort in Ukraine it doesn't take a rocket Scientist if you are serving in Congress immersed in these National Security issues to understand that if we allow Vladimir Putin to run through through Ukraine that his next Target will be a NATO country which means that a American military men and women will be in the fight not just our resources American Military men and women risking their lives consistent with our NATO obligations my Republican colleagues have suggested that they don't don't have any Clarity on the plan moving forward or the successes of Ukraine the Ukrainian women and men have been incredibly courageous incredibly Brave incredibly effective in pushing back against the Russian military and Vladimir Putin's aggression heading into this conflict all of the prognostic ators including very sophisticated ones were telling the world in February of 2022 that Russia's military was going to wipe out Ukraine and be in keev in about a week we are now approximately 22 months into this Conflict and here's what we know about Ukraine's success Ukraine has captured 50% of the territory once held by Russia it's now been recaptured by Ukraine they have pushed back the Russian military which by the way heading into this conflict was the fiercest we believed military in Europe stronger than Germany Stronger than Great Britain stronger than France The Bravery of the Ukrainian military with support from the United States against Great odds has resulted in more than 300,000 casualties being inflicted on the Russian military 300,000 in less than two years more than half the Russian military has been wiped Out that's a America's national security interests because we're democracy we push back against authoritarian dictators who threaten peace and stability in the world and so it's just not clear to any of us who understand these Dynamics how our Republican colleagues can push back against wanting to fund the Ukrainian War effort in America's national security interest the reason Reon they are doing so in my humble opinion is that there is a protin caucus that has increasingly taken over the Republican party here in the Congress the protin caucus is led by Jim Jordan and Marjorie Taylor green outside Of the Congress the prop Putin caucus in the Republican party is led by Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson they are undermining America's national security in order to elevate Vladimir Putin that's shameful thank you Mr Le when you all come back from holiday there going to be some Appropriations deadlines coming Down the pipe there's some concerns about a full year CR or government shut down I'm curious how you all appr get CAU if you can explain to the American people why a full your CR or obviously a government shut down is not ideal I appreciate it well our view is that we Do have Topline spending numbers sufficient to begin the Appropriations process that are connected with the bipartisan fiscal responsibility Act and the global agreement that was reached in May of 2023 the Topline spending number is not a mystery to anyone it is 165 9 that is the number that is necessary for us to Proceed in a manner consistent with meeting the needs of the American people in terms of their health their safety and their economic well-being the problem is that while house Democrats agree with Senate Democrats on that number and House and Senate Democrats agree with Senate Republicans on that Number and all of us agree with the Biden Administration on that number the extreme mag of Republicans remain on an island trying to break the agreement that they themselves negotiated it's a non-starter it's not happening and if extreme magga Republicans continue to refuse to keep the agreement related to The bipartisan fiscal responsibility act they are Marching America to a government shutdown yesterday there were a number of members in the Hispanic caucus who lined up in opposition potentially to a order deal have you spoken at all with the leaders of the Hispanic caucus about this uh I speak to a variety of Different members including leaders of the Congressional Hispanic caucus regularly uh but I'm not in a position to comment on any um potential agreement in the absence of being able to actually review the substance of what a border proposal looks like in the Senate so this week the Wizards in Capitals will to be finding a new FM in Virginia some Republicans are saying that crime is a key factor in this decision do you think the American people are weary on Democrats when it comes to the issue of crime first of all I'm a long-suffering Jets fan so um I I haven't really been able to follow the uh goings and comings of the Wizards in the capitals uh however I think that Public Safety post pandemic is moving in the right direction certainly in the city of New York we've seen that homicides are down And shootings are down that is a good thing and New York has been restored as the safest big city in the world I think uh that you would have to talk to the owner of the capitals and wizards to figure out uh the reason for their Move but it's very likely that it has nothing to do with public safety concerns and everything to do with economics if I could just move to New York um New York 3 GOP Nassau just announced Mazy pup as the Contender against swazi can you talk about how the Coordinated campaign is going to address this and how they're going to work this campaign well you know under the capital Dome I'm not really in a position to be able to comment uh in any significant way other than to say that I think that Tom swazi uh is going to be able to Articulate um a way forward in terms of putting people over politics uh and serving the people of Nassau County and queens but it's the swasi campaign and the candidate uh who are going to have to prosecute this case and I expect that he'll do it projecting partisanship uh as a Problem that has poisoned the do nothing Republican Congress and offering a different way to solve problems on behalf of the people that he hopes to represent thanks leader Jeffers you and your Democratic colleagues were on the capital steps earlier today looking back at hook 11 years ago talked about the Need for gun violence prevention legislation to come through yet it's another year that goes by that not much has been done on that front considering the fact that there are other items that you and your Democratic colleagues have brought up as a major concern talking me about the frustration of not getting This leg gun prevention legislation through some of the other major ticket items that you wanted to get through but you weren't able to before the end of the year because of republicans in Congress well they do nothing Republic Ian Congress has focused on the wrong priorities from the very beginning and That's unfortunate because house Democrats have made clear that we are ready and willing and able at any point at any time to work on bipartisan solutions for the American people uh we've seen repeated efforts by magga extremists to jam their right-wing ideology down the throats to the American people in a manner that's Inconsistent with meeting the needs of hard working American taxpayers the failure to act in any way to address the gun violence epidemic when there are more than 600 mass shootings in the country this year more than 4,000 Americans have lost their lives and gun violence is the Leading cause of death for the children in America that should shock the conscience of every one and demand action with the Fier urgency of now but magga extremists are driven by their ideology it appears as opposed to doing the right thing for the American people how's Democrats are going to continue to Push hard using every vehicle available to us to solve the gun violence epidemic and address other issues of concern do you think at this point it's only going to change once Democrats control the house well that's a decision that the American people are going to have to Make if we find ourselves in that situation in November than just two quick questions one on the Appropriations is it fair to say you all are not close yet on that Topline number especially since it seems like like you said house stems Senate Republicans and Democrats are in agreement to what's Into law so like what more can you do to get Johnson to agree to that number it's fair to say that we are either going to agree to keep the agreement that had been reached in terms of the bipartisan fiscal responsibility act with a Topline spending number at 1659 or the extreme Mag of Republicans in the house are going to shut down the government which will hurt the American people and then if I can also ask today is Kevin McCarthy's last day just gave a speech on the floor um about an hour ago you all worked together got along as best as You could do you have any parting last words for him been able to speak since he was asked a coupo we have been uh in communication but I will say uh that we had a very positive working relationship it was candid we agreed to disagree without being Disagreeable uh and I wish him nothing but the best last question leader with the recent uptick in anti-Semitism places of worship have been attacked things like that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops is asking Brat's position on that yeah well President Biden has set forth over a 100 different Steps that can be taken both in terms of Appropriations as well as legislative action to deal with the deeply disturbing rise in anti-Semitism and other forms of hatred in the United States of America one of the things that we need to do is provide additional security grants uh to make sure that synagogues And churches uh and Mos and other places and houses of worship can secure themselves in this climate of increasing hatred and it's something that I believe house Democrats are prepared to support when we see an actual legislative proposal do you think you'll see it at the beginning of next Year certainly we will work to make sure that we can provide the additional resources necessary uh to ensure that every single American feels safe in a synagogue in a Sho in a temple or in a house of worship thank you everyone happy holidays thank you Leader I