US Rep. Bryan Steil on Congress Implementing Trump's Agenda

Frederica Freyberg:
Head spinning feints and fights in Washington this week, and the Republican House Speaker cut short the legislative session as some congressional members demanded votes on releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files. Our next guest was among those who got an early recess. Wisconsin 1st District Republican U.S. Representative Bryan Steil joins us and thanks very much for being here.

Bryan Steil:
Thanks for having me on.

Frederica Freyberg:
So first off, what is your reaction to Tony Evers not running for a third term?

Bryan Steil:
I think what you’re going to see is a large number of Democrats get in the race and run to the left, but what we have to do is get our state back on track. Not measuring things like education by just how much money we’re spending, but on how well we’re doing. Whether or not students are being taught how to learn, not what to know. Whether or not we’re getting the spending in Wisconsin under control and money back to hard paying taxpayers. I think you’re going to have a robust debate. I think at the end of the day, we have a great opportunity to have a conservative governor once again.

Frederica Freyberg:
Do you have a favored candidate at this point?

Bryan Steil:
No, I’m not running. I’m going to be running for reelection to the House of Representatives. We’ll watch the Republican field play out. But I think we have a large number of great, strong candidates and one of them will ultimately be successful.

Frederica Freyberg:
So this week’s House session was cut short, as we said, by the speaker, attributed to what the Wall Street Journal called “furor over disclosures from the Epstein investigation.” What’s your reaction to the distraction that the whole Jeffrey Epstein file is causing?

Bryan Steil:
The broader media landscape loves to talk about Epstein. They don’t want to talk about the president’s success of securing the border, about the positive impacts of the tax package that was just passed. I think it’s a lot to do about nothing. I think I lean on the side of more disclosure is always a good thing. Sunlight is the best disinfectant. I think actually we should just move forward with this, disclose what’s legally permissible. It’s obviously under a court seal. It’s not under the direct control of Congress.
And then get really back and try to draw the attention of the media, who loves to be distracted by this, back to the most important issues of the day.

Frederica Freyberg:
Now, a new Marquette Law School national poll shows that 41% of respondents support the reconciliation bill that President Trump signed into law, while 59% oppose it, of course, with sharp, partisan divides. Why did you vote in favor?

Bryan Steil:
Look at the underlying provisions inside the bill. Let’s talk about what we got done. Almost every single thing is net popular once the American people understand what’s in the bill. This is about doubling down and making sure that the border is secure. Wildly popular. The president’s moves to do that and then building to make sure that’s permanent – a good thing. Investing in the military at a period of time of dangerous global instability. Making sure the 2017 tax cuts are permanent to build on the economic growth that we saw leading into the pandemic, and then doubling down on that, in particular for seniors, those working overtime or those who are earning tips. And then finally getting spending under control. And this is where the demagoguery has been probably the most challenging. Putting in place work requirements for able bodied, childless adults is an 80/20 issue in the state of Wisconsin, as indicated by the not-so-long-ago referendum. That’s what this bill does. It actually secures the program for those it was designed for: permanently disabled adults, children, pregnant women. And it simply says if you’re an able bodied, childless adult of working age, we’re asking you to be looking for work, volunteering or working a minimum of 20 hours a week. And so the provisions of the bill, as American people learn more and more about them, I think will only become more popular because they are common sense reforms to get this country back on track.

Frederica Freyberg:
So the Congressional Budget Office did estimate that this law will cut federal spending on Medicaid and CHIP benefits by $1 trillion, due in part, the CBO says, to at least 10.5 million being eliminated from the program.

Bryan Steil:
But let’s dive into those numbers, right, because the people are using those numbers to try to scare people in the state of Wisconsin. Wisconsin has had work requirements for many of our welfare programs, in particular SNAP benefits since the 1990s when Governor Tommy Thompson put them in place. In Medicaid, we don’t have the exact work requirements that the federal government has or that this law passes. What this law does is simply say, if you’re an able bodied, childless adult, we want you to be looking for work, going to school, volunteering, or working 20 hours a week. This is an 80/20 common sense issue. If you say — if you dig further into that, who is the CBO examining? I’m of the positive view that as those people find themselves — find themselves with an opportunity to get a job, to volunteer, that we won’t see folks losing their, their health benefits. What we’ll see is people getting into a good or a better paying job with the ultimate goal of many of these able bodied, childless adults getting into the workforce and receiving their health care from their employer like many hardworking, hardworking families in the state of Wisconsin do.

Frederica Freyberg:
What about changes to the Affordable Care Act that I understand, and according to Congresswoman Moore, will raise premiums and also impose other restrictions, restrictions potentially causing people to lose their coverage?

Bryan Steil:
Give me, give me the details on that. I think what, what you’re taking there is national analysis on the state of Wisconsin that doesn’t apply. Wisconsin didn’t expand Medicaid. And so some of the reforms are made in other states apply differently. This is what is really dangerous about the demagoguery that some individuals want to engage in. They want to take a national narrative and apply it to Wisconsin. Wisconsin, I think very thoughtfully, did not expand Medicaid further into the able-bodied, childless working age population. And so, again, of the 1.2 million individuals in the state of Wisconsin who currently are on Medicaid, Tony Evers appointee noted that there’s about 163,000 of them that are of the demographic that we should look at: able bodied, childless adults. Well over half of those are already working 20 hours a week, going to school, volunteering, 63,000 are not or are not documenting it. And so this is about making sure that we’re strengthening the program for those that it’s designed for – no changes and in fact, in my opinion, strengthening. Wisconsin after the passage of the state budget will actually receive about $1 billion a year more in federal money. We can have a whole debate about that, but more money is coming in. And so the left is trying really hard to demagogue on this issue. As the facts got out, you saw a quick pivot into Epstein, which was the lead question of your interview. So what we need to do is to dive in, get the information out to the American people about how we’re strengthening the program. And I think as the American people learn more and more about this, it’s only going to be more popular. Again, the work requirements in the state of Wisconsin had a referendum: 80/20, popular.

Frederica Freyberg:
As to the recent rescissions package that stripped appropriation funding from USAID and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, do you expect and support additional rescissions as a way to cut costs going forward?

Bryan Steil:
Washington has a massive spending problem. We’re spending almost $2 trillion a year more than we’re taking in and the debt is well over $30 trillion. I think we need to go through the federal budget with a fine-tooth comb to remove waste, fraud and abuse. Look at programs that could find either other sources of funding or aren’t necessary. And so I think it’s appropriate to make sure that we’re combing through the federal budget, looking for ways to save taxpayer dollars. And again, in a period of time where every extra dollar we spend is effectively a dollar borrowed from China, I think it’s absolutely appropriate to dig through the federal budget and look for ways to save funds for hard working families.

Frederica Freyberg:
U.S. Representative Bryan Steil, thanks very much.

Bryan Steil:
Thank you.