Hello everyone and welcome to the third episode of the Republican Study Committee's Elephants of Room I have the great pleasure of moderating a discussion today with Congressman Mike Johnson from Louisiana and Congressman Dan Crenshaw from Texas Thank you both so much for being with us today Happy to be here Thanks for having us We'd love for you all the solo along. So if you'd like to submit questions feel free to send me questions on Twitter with the hashtag ask the elephants. You can also watch live on Facebook at the Republican Study Committee Facebook page So let's just dive right in the House and Senate will Voting later this week I competing funding packages to give humanitarian aid at the border Democrats have been opposing this. Why is this so controversial to them It's a very good question. It shouldn't be controversial. We have gone from a humanitarian and National security crisis to what I like to refer to now as an outright catastrophe. That's what we have. I mean if you look at the data, it's irrefutable everybody sees the the heart wrenching situations with families and and unaccompanied minors who come across the border The apprehensions at the border through customs and border control is almost twice what it was last year. The first six So this year we've apprehended twice as as many as we did in all of last year combined so we have to address it. Congress needs to take this action and unfortunately there's some in this town who want to use it as a political football and it's just it's it's very unfortunate they want to keep this issue alive They're gonna continue to want to keep it alive and keep it alive by being against any kind of enforcement or security measures. So unfortunately, the reality is we don't have the same goals anymore You can compromise on something when you have the same end goal but you have very different ways to get there. You know that there's plenty of As you can point to like that but immigration is unfortunately not one of them because they want less enforcement and unfortunately I think we're seeing that the potential of poison pills being put into these into these spending bills that do just that Okay we'll will give more humanitarian aid at the border but you have to give us something and we're gonna say why would we need to give you anything That's insane? Why don't we all just agree at least on that at least on improving the conditions at the holding facilities but they don't actually want people there in the first place because they don't want enforcement exactly So we've reached an impasse and you know the President is trying to exert his word in his will and this thing but but every time he request additional funding there's a further backlash from the Democrats side. So we find ourselves in this in this very unfortunate and really immoral situation and we've got to address it and Congressman Johnson. You just introduced legislation that would address fraud and abuse in our asylum laws. Can you tell us a little bit about that That's one of the root problems of our immigration crisis that we have is the abuse of our asylum program. Look we're we're a very benevolent country. We're the most benevolent country in the world and we serve as a place of refuge for people who are Legitimately being persecuted in their home country and they have a credible fear of their own life or their families like for example, if they're on the run from a drug cartel in their Central American nation or what have you but what's happened is over the last several years is the the standard for that to to qualify for asylum in our country has been watered down and so we have a bill that will fix that it will increase the standard of criminal credible fear to make sure that those who claim it or actually the person who should be availing themselves of that protection and it's not just being abused by people who just wanna come here for a better opportunity that is illegal immigration. That's an abuse of our asylum program Really hurts the most the people that actually needed congressman crunchy you come from border States What specifically in your state in this immigration crisis. We're seeing how you see the people in your state impacted Yeah. You need for people from Louisiana from Texas Border State had to go there no, it's it's it's a massive impact. it's when we're having a hearing this week in the budget Committee and the name of the hearing is the benefits of immigration not the cost of immigration but the benefits and we're talking past each other because Democrats tend to conflate Immigration with legal immigration, there are benefits to illegal immigration. We like legal immigration There's actually quite a few economic benefits to that and they're they're generally good people. They're very likely to start a new business. That's all great but they look all that into the same category and they're not the same category. There's actual cost when you have massive inflows of illegal immigrants, the vast majority of which do not come with skills the best majority of which are more are costing more to our economy and our society than than than the taxes they might pay which are usually in the form of just sales tax that's about it Only one example in my district, there's a hospital that is designated for low income Americans. Okay, it's it uses special funding. It is for people without insurance 25 percent of the money they use ghost illegal immigrants and this is one of those places where they can actually measure this because it's low income possible meaning you have to prove that you're low income. Therefore, we're looking at your documentation when you show up that's a lot of money that should be going to our low income citizens and it's not so I mean the costs are great our border patrol agents are overwhelmed. It's it's amazing. They even get up in the morning and go to work because they're not there to secure the border anymore. They're there to process massive amounts of people who are abusing the asylum set system and that is the double down on that that is the most important aspect of fixing. This is fixing the silent loopholes that is the draw that brings people in and you you fix some very simple things on that you if you create a system where once you arrive you are held in your in your cases adjudicated even by We have now for for the standards of asylum if we if we just did that instead of catch and release, I think we would have a massive reversal of this problem and it would happen very quickly cuz the word would get out. There's no doubt about that, and it's true that when those cases are adjudicated in the current system, it takes two years sometimes getting during so when the people are released out into the in a country wherever they go, many of them have never return for that There's no incentive if no Santa Comeback Secretary said 90 percent or not showing up for from those three countries. Honduras El Salvador Guatemala 90 percent aren't showing us so the word's gotten out amongst other people in those Nations go to America as long as you get over the Order your home free because they won't deport you. They won't find you and and so that has had a very perverse incentive for people to come here and I saw I think one of the polling organizations maybe was gallop. They did a poll or some estimate they figured out there are tens of millions of people in Central America alone who want to make that journey right? Come here but grass why wouldn't it right and look where the most benevolent people in the world but we we cannot take care of everyone. We gotta have some limits and we have to have the rule of law or else. We'll lose our own sovereignty and what makes us the great nation that we are That's right Governor Greg Abbott. He just announced that Texas is gonna be dedicating about a billion dollars to help secure the border Why is Texas having to do congress's job is essentially right now because we're one of the last States that is governed well and using common sense and basic rule of law I suppose and you know we also spend our money very carefully which means we something we often have extra for emergencies like this but no, it is it is not correct. There's not that many things. I like the federal government doing but international border security is definitely one of them That's very clear federal government Role and responsibility and it is it is sad that Texas taxpayers have to pay for that and you know it frustrates us but it is something we have to do and for all the reasons we just said well, immigration is a hot topic. We're gonna come back to it a little bit before we end the show but another hot topic right now on the hearts and minds of our viewers. I know your constituents a socialism We've seen a rise in interest among it among lawmakers in Congress and elsewhere and human progress which is a project of the Cato Institute. They release recently released the survey that found that 42 percent of millennials would rather live in a socialist country Why are statistics like the so concerning and how can we respond Yeah There's a lack of information. I mean the people that are responding to those polls don't understand what they're responding to is a question that that's presented to something like would you like the government to provide with free health care and a place to live in a car on a phone? I mean you know most people say sure that sounds great. They don't talk to them about the ultimate extreme cost that is Associated with it not just in terms of dollars but in terms of the sacrifice of your individual liberties and your freedom be turned everything over to state ownership. That's ultimately what happens Is the antithesis of everything that we are in America and everything we have been the reason we are. The exceptional greatest nation in the world is because our system and our principles are the opposite of everything that those people are promising right now we just have to say that articulated in a way that millennials and all Americans understand it It resonates with them that they understand what it is that is being suggested here and the terrible price that would be paid for those kinds of regimes Yeah And there it's really hard Down when you're trying to discuss socialism with somebody because they'll jump from from definition, the definition I think I think the well meaning millennials who like socialism are probably referring to in order countries So it's just up to us to say that's not socialism by by many markers, they have a more free market economy. They have a flatter tax system than we do like a far flatter tax system than we do They just have very, very big government welfare programs. How do they pay for those programs They tax the Middle class the tax, the Middle class exponentially higher than we do and so so that's Better that would be a more honest question to ask them. Not do you like socialism? But do you want to raise your own taxes by 10 or 20 basis points But you also get these things for it? Do you want that and most will say well, that's actually quite a big cost. I'm not so sure about that it changes the form of the discussion rather greatly but it is education. So there's other polls too that that the same people who say they prefer socialism also answer that they want less government intervention in their lives So that's that That gives us a good a good connection with them actually as long as we can redefine socialism to them and kinda embrace them with open arms and a teaching moment as opposed to saying a stupid they are for like socialism we I think we can bridge that gap because I think the younger generation is highly libertarian at heart If you really start to delve down into into issues with them, they tend to be more libertarian and I think we've got to take advantage of that and we have great success when you're with your with a crowd like that who has that sort of their philosophy and you say you explain why those two pursuits or mutually exclusive you Cannot be for Freedom and liberty and be for socialism You can't have both and so once you break that down, it's easy to to make them kind of see the light on and we have to explain to why that is okay so you know if you wanna give you something, we have to infringe on the rights of others to give you that and you have to be okay with that you have to be okay with taking and we have to explain them too like socialism totally misreads, human nature right and an individual freedom and basically it's a capitalism does not Market does not eat what was socialism forgets is that you need a series of incentives to make the economy work properly you need You need those incentives? You need the forces of the market to tell you how much something cost how much is needed? How much is it needed it It relies on on two things that can't be true. The fact that you don't need human incentive and the fact that you that you can actually plan an economy from a centralized location that you can plant very complex institutions from a centralized place, which is just fundamentally And also that human nature is essentially good and I mean remember all this is rooted in Marxism and and and the original philosophers who proposed this they thought of socialism as a means to the end of the Communist utopia. This was just one step in the in the whole progression Obviously we know that that's an impossible thing and it just takes a while to to break this down in a town Hall format is helpful for that but we need other ways to be able to explain these things so that people understand what it is. We're actually having a discussion and a debate about exactly and going off of that as a millennial congressman Crenshaw with a connection to millennials order some ways that you've seen just bible waste Ranch young people who are sort of attractive by the shiny, accurate object of socialism but you know way to reach them where we can draw them in and not let them be little straight. Yeah the question we're always gonna be asking. It's platforms on social media. It's going to the College campuses and you know I work with I work for turning point of us a lot on that because they can create the at at that infrastructure that I need to get into the College campus and then have a lot of people there and answer the hard questions and reach out to the groups that call themselves. Socialist groups have been come answer questions ask questions and make Hammer it out and get that message across and I think it's just important not to demonize them right away because often times they don't mean actual socialism Alright and that's important to know as we as we engage in that debate and this opportunity is so important because if you look at the data, you realize the reason that for example, the Republican party is attracting lesson less more highly educated voters is because they spent so much time in the academy and the universities are run at the faculty level administration level usually by liberals almost almost entirely and sometimes by radical liberal Right socialist and others and so the students are being indoctrinated instead of educated so these voices and these opportunities are so critically important just so that they're exposed to the other side and if we abandon those forums that we effectively yield that whole marketplace of ideas to one side and that that does not serve the interest of the country and short term or long term. So these these are initiatives that we dig into much more of Congressman Johnson on the last episode of elephants in there and we talked a lot about the Green new deal Why there's such concerning policy kit for listeners who aren't as familiar with it socialism Talking about that, how is this bill in this legislation being pushed by so many Democrats in Congress? Why is it so dangerous to our way of American life Well because it would be the full implementation of this radical leftist Dream for the country and it's completely impossible to implement. Not only do we offer the punch lines about how they were proposing that we get rid of planes and trains and automobiles and cows for that matter. But it we we had a lunch discussion today and one of my colleagues said in the Republican Conference We did the math Take nearly the PT of the entire planet to implement the Green new deal in America. I mean you know it's staggering numbers and it's completely unworkable and we talked about on the episode. Just one example they they wanna get rid of fossil based fuels and oil and gas entirely in a 10 year window to be replaced by wind and solar which is highly unreliable which would drive the cost of every household up on average $600. I think it was a month to do it to have the amount of wind that you would need to replace our fossil fuel reliance you would need a Mass the size of the state of California in ironically one of the highest contributors to carbon emissions is concrete the production of concrete to produce the amount of concrete it would take to put all those windmills in would dramatically increase the exact problem that they say they're trying to correct so it just goes on and on we did against the Sun to build a win That's right. You're gonna take that out I went all the birds that they gonna kill those too I mean the whole thing it would be a joke and we would laugh about it. We have except that they have over 90 cosponsors on that legislation that that resolution in It's a very serious thing and I think even some of the some Bird colleagues well intended as they may be, they don't even understand what it is their they're advocating with this thing So our job is to educate people on to put the details out there. Our podcast was a great way to do that we're looking for more and more avenues to do it and we have a counter resolution that we're introducing in the House to draw more attention to this because we want Americans to understand what it is. They're advocating for It's it's impossible and it would be a great hardship for every American every single person in this country in terms of Shiny objects of socialism legislation another thing we're seeing being pushed by Democrats as Medicare for all Bernie Sanders and others are wanting to push that through in the Washington Post. Interestingly, enough data piece published over the weekend with the headline quote, voters have big health care worries, but not ones Democrats are talking about There's actually a Democrat being quoted in this piece of voter who said, I'm really not interested in Medicare for all. That's not the answer Why is that not the answer Well, there's a lot of reasons, not the answer. Look Americans are concerned because health care costs are skyrocketing of our Are in line you have more professionals leaving that profession health care providers because of all the complexity of the regulatory environment and everything else that is a ballooning crisis. Still the American people want us to go in members of Congress and fix this problem. They want to make sure that preexisting conditions are covered. They wanna make sure that they can have choices that they can have health savings accounts. They can have mobility and so that everybody gets coverage it can actually afford that is reliable Medicare for all goes in the opposite On all those things because you put the government in charge of everything, they wanna get rid of your private insurance. The ability to have an employer provided plan Americans love those plans. They favor those over government run health care and there's so many problems with it that I think that some of these presidential candidates on the Democrats who say they're for that I'm not even sure they actually someone believe it themselves. They just feel like it's a talking point for the election cycle and it wouldn't it be almost impossible to implement. They like these aspirational ideas with its agreement deal or Medicare for all and I think I think they couldn't pass up Holly graphs to it when it comes to stating that it's actually workable but they don't care and this is this is the problem with even even moderate Democrats. Their their rhetoric gives way to the far left and so I don't think it's even right for us so for us to to give them that space and distinguish between the moderate left and the far left they become the same thing because they're saying the same things even though I think the moderate Democrats just rationalize it and they tell themselves just aspirational, it'll just get us moving in that direction. Well it's irresponsible it's irresponsible talk and you're thinking you know Medicare for all you you have to cut prices to doctors and hospitals meaning you have to cut supply meaning you you have to cut quality of care and there's this notion that it all becomes simpler and easier which is really nonsensical notion just because you remove the private insurer from the equation doesn't mean there's not a government bureaucrat to then triage the case and decide what form of of care is proper to use for that patient and if and if you increase prices well, then you've increased the price tag Medicare for all drastically You have to be honest the American people about what that will cost them Always goes back to if you want more government services, you also have to tell people what they're gonna cost and Democrats like too gleefully leave that part out This one has a price tag of 32 trillion dollars. That's at the lowest end. There's the language change Yeah pocket So what it means to the average American we have to be able to say look. This means much higher taxes for less quality of care, less access to care long waiting lines and all the problems they have in these other countries By way of comparison we have the best system. We just have to enhance it and make sure it works better and that we keep the cost under control I think you will Some of those issues congressman Crane shot your first bill just recently passed the House and this bill it delays in efficiencies in the Department of Homeland Security. Can you tell us a little bit more about it? What it was like to have your first bill pass. Sure it feels great You know it's good to get some bipartisan support for for little or even even small wins know that what this bill does is. It's a it's it's an acquisition review board bill. It puts that into law so that they have to they have to be much. They have to make much better use of taxpayer money as they put As they put out these contracts and big acquisitions for us so it's a it's a small win but it's a win nonetheless for for taxpayers and and what we do with taxpayer money in Congressman Johnson, you're working in bipartisan two in the honor civility caucus. Can you tell us a little bit about what that caucus is about higher trying to forward conservative policy issues even with unlikely allies Yeah you know Dan, it's been a great example of this with the whole Saturday night live thing that brought him to National prominence We love how he handled that and I called him After and said, that's exactly what we've been trying to accomplish the leader in civility caucus came about because my class, which is 14 dance we came in January 2017 We have 55 members in our class and it our first freshman retreat. We sat around at the end of that three day event and and Democrat and Republican everybody gave their parting comments and I was struck me that everybody said. Gosh, I hate the tone of our politics and I wish we could do differently so I was just inspired enough to go back to the office and draft. This one page document called the Commitments Stability and just a simple statement of principles that says Our opposition on the floor is not our enemy right our enemy or rogue Nations and terrorist trying to take us down. That's our fellow American We have to treat one another with some basic level of dignity and respect. We can disagree in an agreeable man or we need to be able to work things out work towards consensus on these important issues that face the country and into my delight I think all two members of our 55 member class signed on Republican Democrat We then brought it Congress wide after Steve Scalise's tragic shooting that next June and today we Hundred 50 members of Congress signed onto this commitment stability and I mean its leaders and luminaries from Kevin Mccarthy, the top Republican all the way over to John Lewis legendary civil rights leader on the Democrats side So some influencers and people that that have that influence in that we can stick by our convictions and never compromise your core principles but still treat one another with dignity and respect by the way we're supposed to be setting an example for the next generation and our own children right so we started the Charlie Crist and I started a bipartisan fashion, the honor and civility caucus in December 2017 and we've been building too Idea of just having people we can have impassioned arguments and debates on on the policy on the issues but that at the end of the day we can you know slap each other on the back and say hey man no hard feelings that's way used to work in this Congress and we need to get back to that Well. Thank you so much for sharing that perspective Congressman Crenshaw and Congressman Johnson. We have been talking about socialism Green new deal immigration What other policies that we have not hit on you guys are working to as you would like to highlight Some of the things we're working on actually have to do is health care and environmental environmental response to the Green new deal I mean especially if you're my age, if you're under 40 for millennial you really care about the environment. We do have to have a response to that and I think the Republican response is gonna look a lot like this It's gonna be it's gonna be implementing carbon capture technology. It's gonna be talking about how to export more natural gas to dirty coalburning countries. It's gonna be talking about new new forms of nuclear miniaturized nuclear making that easier to permit these things would actually reduce emissions in our talking point is this you can implement the Green new deal at great cost and you can tackle 15 percent of the global emissions problem 15 percent That's what America actually produces or you can do to get hundred percent of the problem We will get a hundred percent of the problem then you gotta look at the technology that export that is affordable and creates reliable clean energy natural gas would do that. So that's one thing on the healthcare side and looking at direct primary care. This is a very cool system that you know only about three percent of primary care physicians use right now it's free market based it is a direct relationship from the doctor and the patient. They basically have a subscription service and you paid you know Five bucks a month and that's your doctor we can we can look at ways to actually universalizing that that should be our answer to health care and I think that will be especially promising cuz the cost will be vastly lower will have trickle down effects that improve the entire health care market gives you that preventive care and gives people back that relationship between the patient. The doctor. I think this is very cool thing that we're working on those are big issues and you know in the Republican study Committee, we have task forces working in a number of different areas among those issues including the American Worker Task Force which is looking at all aspects of workforce development and how we provide Need going forward the next 10 or 20 or 50 years in this country we have to plan those things now to work on it. Then we've got ideas on infrastructure and all these big issues that that the American people it's top of mind for them and it's important for us as Dan's articulating here to say conservatives Republicans are for these things. I mean you know environmental policy one of our core principles is stewardship is being a good Stewart of of the Earth that god's given us to take care of right we have ideas on that and we need to not be boxed into a corner. We need to be thinking you know ahead Out and projecting these ideas presenting them, putting them on the table for debate discussion and we're grateful that we have smart members working on all this and we're doing it individually and collectively and in the weeks and months ahead you'll be hearing a lot more about circling back on immigration before we wrap up You've been to the border. You've seen the situation. They're living in Texas from a border state One of the top three things you would say border patrol agents would need to help them do their job better given the influx of all the numbers we're seeing well, they did any barriers where that makes sense and you're not gonna put a 2000 mile Wall that was actually never the plan but Democrats love to repeat that as the plan and they Is that what that allows border patrol to do is say okay, we got the barrier over there. We can focus our efforts right here you know they need more agents because they're being they're being being asked to do more overtime. They're mean they're being exhausted they need more resources at the processing centers which are run by them and they need they need more I think civilian personnel to outfit those processing centers right now Border patrol agents are there you know doing laundry getting food things like that That's not a border patrol agent job border patrol agents should be looking around Fathers around the border looking for people trying to get away Not there processing people who are not trying to get away what they really need. The third thing was the most important thing. By far. We've already hit it, which is asylum reform They want to feel like when they process people they're not just gonna be released I mean sure, Border Patrol agent. I honestly don't know how you get up and do this every day because they know that all the work they're doing. It doesn't matter all these people are just getting released and probably not coming back to their court hearing, which is vastly unfair In addition to all of those things where they need more than all of that is the support US Congress and we've got to get beyond the partisan victory and using this as a political football issue going into the election cycle These are real people's lives. This is a serious catastrophe that we're facing out beyond the humanitarian crisis It is a catastrophe and we have to address it in. It takes political will to do that that's what they need more than anything Well. Congressman Crenshaw, Congressman Johnson. Thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you all for tuning in online We'll see you next time