Frederica Freyberg:
Democratic U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin was on the Senate floor this week to, in her words, rail against Republicans repeated attacks on the Affordable Care Act. Senator Baldwin joins us now. Thanks very much for being here.

Tammy Baldwin:
It’s a pleasure. Thanks for having me.

Frederica Freyberg:
So you say that, but Congressman Van Orden and 16 other Republicans in that body voted in favor of extending the enhanced tax credits. Does that represent some movement toward that in the Senate?

Tammy Baldwin:
You know, it was — it — we had a moment in the Senate to take up the bill that was passed in the House of Representatives that would have extended the tax credits for three years, and my Republican colleagues blocked it, pure and simple. We have known for well over a year that these tax credits would expire at the end of 2025. And I have worked tirelessly to try to extend these tax credits so that working families can afford their health care premiums if they buy through the Affordable Care Act. But we’re seeing the numbers start to come in. Thousands of Wisconsinites have dropped health care coverage, and we expect it only to get worse, as some who were automatically reenrolled get their premium bills and figure out that it’s just not in their budget to continue health care. And so while I will never throw in the towel on fighting for affordable health care for all, I can tell you that for some, it is too late in this particular year to repair the damage that has been done. And as to my colleague from Wisconsin in the House, he has railed against the Affordable Care Act, supported repeal of it in its entirety for years now. And this at the last minute, in my mind, does not recover, does not — does not make him now a fan of the program.

Frederica Freyberg:
So we just spoke with Senator Johnson and he is proposing maintaining the tax credits for people at 400% above poverty. Is that something that you would support?

Tammy Baldwin:
Look, I believe that there is a lot of room for negotiation on the extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits, and there is no reason in my mind that we can’t have a reasonable income cap, or to have a provision that says that you can’t be expected to pay more than a certain percentage of your income on health care. I just want to relate a story that I shared on the Senate floor. I have a constituent who is paying 40% of their income on their health insurance premium. That’s how much it’s gone up in the absence of these Affordable Care Act tax credits. And so I think we have to be reasonable here, capping the percentage of people’s income that should be contributed towards health insurance. But I think we can look at a reasonable limit for higher wage earners to have that tax credit taper off.

Frederica Freyberg:
On immigration enforcement, do you think the president invoking the Insurrection Act to bring in the military helps or hurts what’s going on right now in Minneapolis?

Tammy Baldwin:
You know, when you see this president surge what is now close to 3,000 armed, masked ICE agents into neighborhoods, schools, residential areas, I think that makes our communities less safe, not more safe. And the chaos that is going on in Minnesota by these unaccountable actions taken by these ICE agents, is the part that is causing tensions to rise. And I think that the Trump effort to change the narrative and blame residents who are peacefully protesting this presence is wrongheaded. He’s been talking about reckoning and retribution. That’s what I think this is all about. And it is very, very disconcerting to see this surge. Right now, ICE agents outnumber local law enforcement 3 to 1.

Frederica Freyberg:
What do you think about invoking the Insurrection Act?

Tammy Baldwin:
I think it’s entirely wrongheaded and is about the retribution campaign that this president is on and inappropriate.

Frederica Freyberg:
Do you think this kind of powder keg comes to Wisconsin?

Tammy Baldwin:
You know, I think we need to be watching and vigilant about what’s happening in our neighboring state of Minnesota and be ready. I think it is very responsible for our local leaders and state leaders to be talking actively about what this would look like in Wisconsin.

Frederica Freyberg:
On foreign policy, U.S. threats against Iran, the incursion into Venezuela and the play on Greenland, in your mind, where does all this leave the U.S. in the world?

Tammy Baldwin:
You know, first of all, it’s so clear that the president is distracted and trying to distract the attention of the American public. When he ran for president, he said on day one, I will bring costs down, and on day one, I will end our international conflicts, our endless wars. And instead, he has promoted policies that have increased prices of everything from groceries and consumer goods to energy, housing. And he has, instead of bringing an end to conflict, he has proposed or actually engaged in more. This president is totally distracted from what he promised he would do for the American people.

Frederica Freyberg:
Because what do you think Wisconsinites care most about right now? Is it the cost of everything, including housing?

Tammy Baldwin:
Including housing, including health care, as we just discussed. Many are making — facing these impossible choices and actually dropping something as essential as health care coverage because they can no longer afford it because of policies that Donald Trump has promoted. The economy is by far the number one concern that I hear from my constituents. And it’s, you know, the cost of things feels just impossible to them right now. Housing costs have skyrocketed, and we have seen grocery prices accelerate in terms of inflation in recent months. And the president’s energy policies are going to create a significant price hike for people. And so, again, this president is distracted and he is not focusing on the very things that Wisconsinites who voted for him would like him to.

Frederica Freyberg:
Are there fixes to this that you may be working on across the aisle?

Tammy Baldwin:
There are certainly — there are fixes to everything. As I said, I won’t throw in the towel on health care costs. I continue to work with my Republican colleagues on ways in which we can bring down the cost of prescription medication, ways in which we can reform the health care system, which is terribly broken right now. On housing, I certainly reach out to my Republican colleagues to join with me and others to make sure that private equity firms and large corporations aren’t gobbling up all the single family homes that make them — take them off the market and make homeownership so more — so much more difficult for first time homebuyers. You know, the average age of the first homebuyer is now 40 years old. Imagine that. And the price in the last decade or so of housing has nearly doubled in our state. And so we have to squarely focus on these issues of affordability, so that being in the middle class means something, means you’re getting ahead.

Frederica Freyberg:
We leave it there. Senator Tammy Baldwin, thanks very much.

Tammy Baldwin:
Thank you for having me.