00:09 - Good afternoon.

00:11 - I'm Doug Fernandez, and welcome to this episode

00:13 - of the Public Affairs Forum, sponsored by capital BlueCross.

00:17 - Capital BlueCross is a regional Blue Cross plan serving approximately

00:21 - 800,000 members in central Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley.

00:26 - I want to thank our long time partner in these broadcasts, PCN,

00:30 - for their commitment to the program and to the relationship

00:33 - they have with Capital Blue Cross.

00:36 - We look forward to continuing this relationship for many years to come.

00:39 - Our format today is familiar to many of you.

00:42 - Our guys make a brief presentation followed by a question and answer

00:46 - period moderated by me.

00:48 - A member of our live audience wants to ask a question.

00:51 - Please send it to the, the chat function and I'll ask it of our guest.

00:56 - A whole program or less.

00:57 - About an hour.

00:58 - I'm excited about our program today.

01:01 - Our guest is a friend, a personal friend of mine.

01:03 - And, we're excited, of his new role.

01:06 - Our guest today is Congressman Ryan Mackenzie

01:09 - of the seventh Congressional District here in Pennsylvania.

01:12 - The seventh is in the Lehigh Valley and primarily covers

01:16 - Lehigh and Northampton counties, along with a portion of Monroe County.

01:20 - Congressman Mackenzie is a lifelong resident.

01:22 - Lehigh Valley.

01:23 - He graduated from high school in 2000.

01:26 - Earned a B.S.

01:27 - Bachelor of Science in Finance and International Business

01:30 - from NYU in 2004, and an MBA from Harvard in 2010.

01:36 - He gained policy and legislative experience working for Senator

01:39 - Pat Toomey, the US Department of Labor

01:42 - and Pennsylvania's Department of Labor and Industry.

01:45 - He served in the Pennsylvania House from 2012 to 2024.

01:50 - He first represented the 134th Legislative District

01:54 - from 2012 to 2022,

01:57 - and then the 187th district in two 2023.

02:03 - In 2024, he held leadership roles including Deputy Majority Whip

02:07 - and Republican Chair of the of the Labor and Industry Committee, where he authored

02:12 - over a dozen laws on issues like health care, workforce development, and tactical.

02:17 - He was

02:17 - elected to the US House of Representatives in November 2024,

02:21 - and is currently serving his first term in Congress.

02:25 - A ninth generation Lehigh Valley native

02:27 - whose ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War, both World Wars.

02:31 - His wife, Chloe, live in Lower Macungie Township with their son Leo,

02:36 - and I understand from Twitter.

02:39 - Congratulations, you're expected.

02:43 - Our guest, Congressman Ryan Mackenzie.

02:46 - Congratulations, Congressman.

02:48 - I saw that last week. That's great.

02:50 - That's really great news. We're very excited.

02:52 - And so in addition to our son Leo, who is, just over one, we also have,

02:57 - baby girl who we're expecting around, Christmas time in the winter.

03:02 - So looking forward to our growing family and, you know,

03:06 - as if I didn't already have enough on my plate

03:07 - with being a new member of Congress and, a dad to a one year old.

03:11 - We're adding a little more, but we're we're very excited about.

03:18 - So if you don't mind, you can start your presentation.

03:21 - Absolutely. Well, thank you for having me.

03:23 - It's a pleasure to be here.

03:24 - And it's been great to work with you, for so many years, Doug.

03:28 - And, the rest of your team.

03:31 - And as mentioned, I won't go through the whole background.

03:34 - But again, Ryan Mackenzie, congressman

03:37 - from Pennsylvania, seventh congressional district of Lehigh,

03:39 - Northampton, carbon and, small pieces of Monroe counties.

03:43 - So largely, known as the greater Lehigh Valley.

03:46 - Big major cities include, Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton,

03:50 - and then also, Lehighton and Jim Thorpe up in Carbon County.

03:55 - And, it's a great place to live and work,

03:58 - as was, stated, I've grown up here,

04:01 - a ninth generation resident of the area and raising my family here.

04:05 - Because there is so much that our, our area offers.

04:08 - And so, the Lehigh Valley is now a growing, area,

04:12 - and it's because it is a great place to live, work and play.

04:16 - And we have, at the same time, you know, growth challenges,

04:20 - additional transportation and traffic challenges, cost of living

04:26 - and affordability and housing is certainly a challenge that we face as well.

04:30 - But just like in the state legislature, we're up to that challenge.

04:34 - We are working on legislation, to improve the quality of life here

04:39 - in the Lehigh Valley.

04:40 - At the same time, we want to make sure that our community

04:43 - and our country is safe.

04:45 - And then ultimately,

04:46 - in a federal position, you do have a lot more international exposure.

04:50 - And so thankful to serve on, committees that align with all of those interests.

04:56 - So right now, I serve as on the Education and Workforce Committee,

04:59 - where I'm the subcommittee chair for workforce protections.

05:03 - As Doug talked about.

05:04 - That's right in my wheelhouse with my background and experience,

05:07 - in the labor space, about the state and federal levels.

05:11 - And then in the Pennsylvania House, as Republican chair of labor and industry,

05:15 - it was a seamless transition into being the subcommittee chair

05:19 - at the federal level.

05:20 - Workforce protection subcommittee oversees things like OSHA, FMLA, a wage and hour,

05:25 - all of those different things that, are involved in every workplace.

05:29 - And then, on top of that,

05:32 - the other two committees I serve on our homeland security.

05:35 - So obviously not only dealing with border security,

05:38 - but also safety security, emergency preparedness in our local communities

05:43 - and then, Foreign Affairs is the third committee I serve on, and,

05:47 - has a pretty wide portfolio of issues, but largely anything centered around,

05:52 - the US Department of State is what goes through that committee.

05:55 - So, it's been a very exciting time in the legislature.

05:59 - Just six months in, a lot has been accomplished.

06:02 - Obviously, the big piece of legislation is what has been referred

06:06 - to as the one big beautiful bill.

06:08 - Happy to talk about that and answer any questions on that topic, Doug.

06:12 - But in addition to that, which is a, a budget vehicle and a budget component

06:17 - that deals with long term budget, and tax issues.

06:21 - So for ten years, or permanent, even in some cases,

06:25 - that was included in reconciliation,

06:29 - major changes, and reductions in taxes,

06:33 - for people, individuals, small businesses, all across the spectrum.

06:37 - Lots of changes there.

06:39 - And again, happy to go over that.

06:41 - Other legislation that we've been working on, relates to those topics

06:45 - and the committees that I selected because,

06:47 - I felt like those were the big issues facing us.

06:50 - So in addition to bringing down costs like we did, for federal taxes

06:54 - and income taxes for individuals in the one big, beautiful bill,

06:57 - we've been able to pass legislation like the Lincoln Riley Act,

07:01 - which was the first piece of legislation that went through Congress and became law

07:05 - at the beginning of the year.

07:06 - And then also, there's a lot of, new things that we're working

07:10 - on, things like digital cryptocurrency and AI.

07:14 - And so, just recently passed the Genius Act, to help bring,

07:18 - some regulation and oversight, to things like stablecoin in the crypto space.

07:23 - So, it's very interesting time in Congress, a lot of activity,

07:27 - a lot of different topics that we're working on.

07:30 - But look forward to jumping into the questions, Doug, so that we can,

07:33 - answer any questions you or the viewers and listeners,

07:38 - at home, are interested in hearing about whether it's on any of those topics

07:42 - I talked about or anything else that's coming down the pike in Congress.

07:45 - Because, again, it is, an active time and a lot of legislation

07:49 - is actually getting done.

07:50 - So happy to share my thoughts and insights on

07:53 - not only what we've done, but also where we're going as well.

08:01 - Thank you for that.

08:02 - And, again, Congressman, your friend, it was a pleasure

08:07 - working with you for so many years at, in the Pennsylvania House.

08:10 - I'm very excited about your, your new role in Congress,

08:13 - representing the Pennsylvania seventh.

08:16 - Just so the folks who are watching and and just so you know, we have,

08:21 - a large number of employees who were watching this webinar live,

08:25 - PCN is recording it, and we'll broadcast it statewide.

08:28 - So we're going to get it take a little time,

08:31 - if you don't mind, for people can get to know you a little bit better.

08:34 - And so I'd like to get started.

08:36 - And sometimes I ask, our guests this question,

08:40 - especially the ones who get who are involved in politics.

08:43 - How and why did you get started in politics? What

08:48 - what gave you the itch to start?

08:52 - You know, first of all, I grew up in a family

08:54 - where we talked about politics and government at the dinner table.

08:58 - So it was something that I was familiar with growing up and,

09:02 - you know, recognize the importance of those issues.

09:05 - And it was not something that I had thought about going into full time

09:09 - or, you know, in a professional capacity.

09:13 - But then it was an internship.

09:15 - As you mentioned, our local congressman at the time was Pat Toomey,

09:19 - got involved on the political side of things first.

09:21 - And that's, the way that some people get involved in these things

09:25 - is, you know, volunteering and turning on political campaigns.

09:28 - And then all of a sudden it kind of set off a whole new interest

09:32 - for me in the sense that,

09:35 - you could do something like this, be in public service,

09:38 - have such a positive impact on people's lives,

09:41 - and cover such a broad array of issues, which I really enjoy as well.

09:46 - And so, while my focus is oftentimes on in the labor space,

09:50 - when you work especially, at the state and federal level,

09:54 - those issues kind of cross over those, those two levels of government,

09:58 - but they also hit on every single industry.

10:00 - And so, you know, through through labor,

10:03 - you get involved in things like worker's comp insurance, so the insurance markets,

10:08 - you get involved, in, you know, workforce development, you get involved,

10:12 - in all of those different labor laws that I talked about,

10:16 - you know, from FMLA wage and hour and all of those different things.

10:20 - OSHA for safety in our local communities.

10:23 - And then, you know, the subcommittees that I serve on now at the edge,

10:27 - at the federal level, it's an education and workforce.

10:30 - Is the committee.

10:32 - So those two things are joined together,

10:33 - which I actually think is appropriate, makes a lot of sense.

10:36 - It is a continuum from one a young person is going through education,

10:41 - getting ready to enter the workforce, and then obviously

10:43 - being a member of the workforce and doing continuing education

10:47 - and making sure that they have, a safe workplace as well.

10:51 - But so that continuum and that spectrum is reflected in the different,

10:54 - committees that the subcommittees that are under that jurisdiction.

10:58 - And so you start out with things like early childhood education, something that

11:02 - I've been a strong supporter of into basic education and secondary education.

11:07 - And then, rolls into higher ed.

11:09 - There is a second subcommittee on higher ed, and workforce development

11:14 - and then workforce protections, which I've already talked about.

11:17 - And then finally, there's the help subcommittee.

11:20 - So health, employment, labor and pensions.

11:23 - And so obviously a great nexus for, you know, us and also what you do,

11:28 - is in that health space, obviously so critically important,

11:32 - we have great health providers right here in the Lehigh Valley.

11:35 - But access to care is still important in terms of making sure

11:39 - that everybody can get access to, to specialty providers.

11:44 - And then also cost and affordability of health care is is a big challenge.

11:47 - And so, it is a very complex system, as you know, Doug,

11:52 - and I'm sure anybody who is involved with capital knows,

11:55 - it's not just the health care provider and the insurer.

11:58 - There are all kinds of middlemen nowadays who play different roles as well.

12:02 - Some of them are worthwhile, some, add significant costs to the system.

12:07 - And so there's a lot of discussion right now in Congress as well.

12:09 - How do we make health care more affordable for people?

12:12 - And so what parts of that process in that, that chain,

12:16 - are we looking at where we can maybe improve things or have greater efficiency?

12:20 - And so, the work that we have, and the we do,

12:24 - really started out with just that kind of basic interest.

12:27 - And then once you get into something, you take one step at a time

12:31 - and all of a sudden, next thing you know, you're in a space

12:34 - like labor where it was not something that I chose to go into.

12:38 - But you realize how critically important it is and what, an impact

12:41 - it has on everybody's lives.

12:43 - And, to me, that's the really rewarding part of this job is being able

12:47 - to help people, whether it's through constituent services or legislatively.

12:51 - And so ultimately, I love the job.

12:54 - It can be a challenge at times, no doubt, but, it's very rewarding.

12:58 - So it's everything that I thought,

13:00 - I was getting into when I chose this, career path earlier on.

13:05 - Do you have any mentors?

13:08 - You know, so I think there are lots of folks

13:10 - that you end up meeting along the way, who help you out.

13:14 - And, there are, I would say, a lot of actually that you

13:18 - I personally have stayed in touch with people that I either worked for,

13:23 - and some of them are known figures and others or,

13:27 - you know, just, managers that you meet along the way.

13:30 - And, the great thing about being in,

13:34 - you know, state and federal government is there is so much crossover.

13:37 - And so, you see, a lot of people that you end up working with, end up,

13:42 - you know, maybe

13:42 - you stay in touch with them for a while, but they end up coming back around.

13:46 - It's not too dissimilar from a lot of other fields.

13:49 - I always tell people, they ask that a question a lot

13:52 - is, you know, how is it different than other fields?

13:55 - And don't get me wrong, politics, government, public sector experience,

14:00 - is different in in many ways, but in many ways it's very similar.

14:05 - You get in

14:05 - like I talked about through an internship or kind of an early, job opportunity.

14:11 - And then you kind of progressed through different levels, in that career path.

14:15 - And, you know, so just like any other job or field,

14:19 - lots of people, even outside of elected officials,

14:23 - end up staying in these jobs or moving to different, you know, parts

14:27 - of, of, political or, or governing life and, you know, so you end up,

14:33 - you know, getting to know and, and rely on a lot of different people out there.

14:37 - And, I'll just say this, you know, this is,

14:41 - somebody had told me this along the way is that it's really important

14:45 - to have networks in in two different ways, broad and also deep.

14:49 - So it's great to have that broad network where you just know a lot of folks,

14:53 - you get to engage with a lot of folks,

14:55 - but maybe you're kind of at a more surface level,

14:58 - but that can be really helpful just to know who to call as an elected

15:02 - official, being able to pick up the phone and say, hey, we met at this event

15:05 - or that event and you're the person, who can be helpful in this space.

15:09 - And then also having those deep connections,

15:11 - people

15:12 - that you get to know for ten, 20 years and you kind of stay in touch with and,

15:16 - maintain relationships with because not only do you work well with them

15:20 - professionally, but, you know, personally, you have a strong connection as well.

15:23 - So try to try to maintain both of those networks.

15:27 - One more, just one more.

15:28 - One last question about, from a personal perspective, you're you're also unique.

15:33 - You have a unique perspective on all of this.

15:36 - And quite frankly, public service is a family affair for you.

15:41 - You served with your mother.

15:43 - Malu McKenzie represents,

15:46 - a legislative district in the Lehigh Valley in the Pennsylvania House.

15:49 - What was it like working with mom for so many years in Harrisburg?

15:54 - Yeah, we had a great time working together.

15:56 - And, so fortunate that I was able to spend a couple of years

16:00 - in the Pennsylvania House together,

16:01 - serving side by side, sitting together on the House floor and,

16:05 - you know, so I always let people know I had gotten there first.

16:09 - I was serving for eight years

16:11 - before she came, which was a great way to do it, because,

16:15 - you know, I had already found, my passion and and public service.

16:20 - She was the one who got me involved and interested.

16:23 - Like I mentioned, you know, in the field in general.

16:27 - But she had, a long and distinguished career for herself

16:30 - as a teacher and then, small business owner, in her own right.

16:35 - And so she was able to run and join me there.

16:37 - And so we served together for four years.

16:39 - She's still in the legislature.

16:41 - And, you know, I think it was, a special opportunity for us,

16:46 - but it's something that, you know, it does come up every so often,

16:51 - and people bring it up to me.

16:52 - In settings like this, and they've rarely seen her or met with her.

16:56 - And they say, you know how great it is to work with her also,

16:59 - so they have that connection, but, unique or interesting thing that

17:03 - people share with me is their experience of working with family members.

17:07 - And so not just in politics or government, but, people all the time

17:12 - say, well, hey, I actually we have a small business or,

17:15 - you know, I got to work with my parent for a number of years, and

17:18 - it's just the special thing that you see people that have been able to do it,

17:22 - and do it successfully, end up really enjoying

17:25 - and cherishing those times when they get to work with their family

17:28 - and in a professional capacity.

17:30 - Absolutely.

17:32 - And your mom's a friend of capital BlueCross as well.

17:34 - And we've always appreciated working with both of you.

17:37 - Very professional and effective.

17:39 - Legislature legislators in your own right.

17:41 - Now we're going to get to the the meat of the program, so to speak.

17:45 - Right.

17:45 - And you, you did mention the big, beautiful bill, and we'll start there.

17:49 - I mean, that that's what's in front of everybody's,

17:53 - attention at the moment.

17:55 - And quite frankly, as a health insurance company, there's a lot of,

17:58 - of of parts of, of the big beautiful bill that impact us.

18:02 - And so let's dive in.

18:05 - I'm curious.

18:08 - What were what were

18:10 - were the main goals of the legislation

18:13 - from the beginning, and what parts of it

18:16 - did you find the most important to champion?

18:20 - Yeah.

18:21 - So, I always say this you have to start at the beginning.

18:24 - You do have to understand the framework

18:27 - and the requirement for budget reconciliation.

18:30 - Because that does inform what was able to be included

18:33 - in the, in the overall package.

18:35 - So first and foremost, budget reconciliation

18:38 - is something that relates to taxing and spending decisions.

18:42 - So you can't necessarily put in place policy decisions,

18:46 - but you can put in place spending decisions.

18:48 - Now those things work hand in hand.

18:50 - And so the example I give is you can't say in the legislation

18:55 - will we're going to change immigration and we're going to block people

18:58 - from coming into the country, and we're going to write new policy around

19:02 - who is able to enter, who is not, what you can do is

19:06 - you can fund something like a physical barrier and a border wall.

19:10 - And so that will have that kind of second order effect of,

19:14 - of securing, the country from illegal immigration.

19:17 - So that's the type of distinction that you have to make.

19:20 - Is it a budget decision or is it a policy decision.

19:23 - And then reconciliation is unique in the sense that it is the

19:29 - piece of legislation that can be done once a year,

19:32 - but does not require 60 votes in the Senate.

19:35 - And so it just needs a simple majority in the House, a simple majority

19:39 - in the Senate, and then obviously the signature of the president.

19:42 - And so every time that, party has the House, the Senate

19:46 - and the white House all lined up together, at least in modern times,

19:50 - the the party that has those, positions

19:53 - is, using budget reconciliation to achieve a lot of, what they have

19:59 - set out as an agenda on a campaign or, or once they've been in office.

20:03 - And so that that's good context.

20:05 - I think it's important.

20:06 - And then I'll talk about reconciliation for me.

20:09 - The way that I view it is

20:10 - there are four different components to reconcile the reconciliation bill.

20:14 - The one big, beautiful bill that we passed

20:16 - first is providing tax relief for every single American.

20:20 - And I'll I'll dive into these, each category a little bit more.

20:23 - But first and foremost is tax relief for everybody.

20:26 - Second is securing the border and the country.

20:30 - Then third is reforming important government programs.

20:34 - And fourth is making investments in the future.

20:37 - And so in that first category of tax reform,

20:41 - every single American, was potentially going to face a tax increase

20:45 - because of the expiration of the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act.

20:50 - And so if that legislation had simply expired, everybody's

20:53 - taxes would have gone up

20:54 - every single tax bracket, every single income wouldn't matter.

20:58 - You would have seen higher taxes.

21:00 - So first and foremost, the legislation

21:03 - put it made permanent all of those lower taxes from 2017.

21:08 - Then on top of that, we recognize that that's simply not good enough.

21:12 - People are struggling.

21:13 - A lot of people are struggling to make ends meet nowadays.

21:16 - And so we had to do more and provide more tax relief for everybody.

21:20 - So every single, filer, tax filer, when they go to do

21:23 - their federal income taxes next year for, for this year, 2025.

21:29 - And when they go to file in April of 2026,

21:32 - everybody will have a, an expanded standard deduction.

21:35 - So that helps every single tax filer.

21:38 - And then there are also all different categories that that's

21:41 - additional relief.

21:43 - And so that could be things like no taxes on tips.

21:46 - So the first $25,000 of tips and to income that people will receive,

21:52 - whether you're, a bartender or a waitress or somebody at a golf course that

21:56 - first $25,000 is, able to be deducted, then also, same with overtime.

22:02 - The first $12,500 of overtime would see no federal income taxes.

22:08 - Social security there was a deduction of $6,000

22:11 - put in place, for seniors on Social Security, effectively

22:15 - making it that 88% of seniors will pay no federal income tax.

22:20 - So a pretty significant expansion of tax relief for seniors.

22:24 - And then in the small business category,

22:27 - changing the way that small businesses, receive the the pass

22:31 - through money that goes through the small business, is expanding that up.

22:36 - Ability and all of these things are going to help, provide tax relief.

22:41 - But then also for businesses, there is also the immediate

22:45 - expensing of capital investments and R&D.

22:49 - And so those two things or something that if businesses want to make investments,

22:53 - they used to have to spread it out over time and amortize or,

22:56 - you know, schedule a depreciation table on those particular items.

23:01 - Now you can just immediately deduct that expense in your first year,

23:05 - making it more, likely that people will make these, these investments.

23:09 - And that's what we want to see, to grow our economy.

23:11 - So it was really important to put all those things in place.

23:14 - I think it's going to be great, not only for small businesses

23:18 - and individuals, but you're really going to see, the economy take off once,

23:22 - once these things start being utilized by everybody across the sector.

23:25 - So that's, there's a lot more.

23:27 - But that, that that's kind of the the heart of the tax changes that we made.

23:32 - The second category, is securing our country and our communities.

23:37 - So, $150 billion for border

23:40 - security and every part of homeland security

23:44 - throughout that entire chain, not just a physical barrier,

23:46 - but more agents at Customs and Border Patrol to protect

23:50 - against the flow of fentanyl and human trafficking and things like that.

23:54 - That come through the even traditional ports of entry.

23:57 - And then also in our interior, making sure

24:00 - that we have the staff, and resources available.

24:03 - To keep our community safe.

24:05 - The military also receives an additional $150 billion of funding.

24:10 - And that's for a lot of different things.

24:12 - Not only, quality of life issues, for our military

24:17 - and our military personnel, but particularly for increasing

24:21 - shipbuilding capacity for the Navy and the Coast Guard, something that people

24:25 - have talked about for a long time, that had been neglected,

24:28 - that that receives additional funding as well.

24:31 - So, keeping our, our country and community safe, it was a paramount issue.

24:36 - And, and that was addressed in those large budget increases that I talked about.

24:40 - The third category relates to reforming government.

24:44 - And so two big programs, that we focused on were Medicaid and Snap,

24:50 - this, supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as Food Stamps.

24:55 - But those are two big, programs

24:59 - that the federal government provides funding for in Medicaid.

25:03 - It's it's a share with the state government.

25:05 - And in Snap, it's actually a fully funded federal program.

25:10 - But both of those programs are then administered at the state level.

25:14 - And so that's important to recognize, in both of these.

25:18 - And you'll see in the changes

25:19 - we made, what those implications mean for, for state governments as well.

25:24 - So in the first category of Medicaid,

25:27 - the single biggest change we made was around work requirements.

25:31 - And so Medicaid, had traditionally

25:34 - been a program for, pregnant women, children,

25:38 - low income seniors and people with disabilities.

25:41 - The Affordable Care Act greatly expanded the number of people

25:45 - that would be eligible for Medicaid and, made the the criteria

25:51 - outside of those traditional classes, an income based program.

25:55 - And so if you're below a certain income level, you can be eligible for Medicaid.

25:59 - But at the same time that it did that expansion,

26:02 - it didn't do, two things.

26:06 - It didn't put in place the pay for us for that system.

26:09 - And so it's been placing

26:10 - huge strains on state government and federal government as well.

26:14 - But in state governments, our single biggest line items,

26:17 - the single biggest program in state government is now Medicaid.

26:21 - And then it also didn't the Affordable Care Act didn't put in place

26:24 - any of the traditional guardrails that other human services programs have.

26:29 - And so, work requirements is something that was already

26:32 - included in Snap and Tanner and other human services programs.

26:36 - Was neglected and not included in Medicaid.

26:39 - And so we went back and we put that in place for Medicaid.

26:43 - So for able bodied adults, not those traditional categories,

26:47 - that I talked about,

26:48 - but for able bodied adults, they will now have a work requirement.

26:52 - That means that they would have to

26:53 - be employed in a position, for 20 hours a week, or

26:57 - they could also be in a training program or going to school, or even at a minimum,

27:02 - being a engaged in the community by volunteering for 20 hours a week.

27:07 - So that that's something that is new, that we included in this.

27:11 - But I think it's important to maintain the integrity of the program.

27:14 - And also make sure that the long term viability of the program is in place

27:19 - because, like I said, the growth of that through the Affordable Care

27:23 - Act had made it such that it's, the single largest line item in in

27:27 - Pennsylvania state budget.

27:28 - The growth in the cost, at the federal level, was there as well.

27:32 - And so if we want to make sure that we can actually maintain those services for,

27:36 - people with disabilities, pregnant women, children,

27:39 - low income seniors, the traditional Medicaid population.

27:42 - And, it was a reasonable reform and a reasonable, change that

27:46 - I think we made there.

27:47 - There are other changes, obviously in the Medicaid space as well.

27:52 - The next one that I would talk

27:53 - about, is a really in the weeds kind of, policy change.

27:57 - But it comes from, a way that we have reformed

28:01 - the provider cap, the provider tax cap.

28:04 - And so this is something, that has been growing and states

28:09 - a lot more states have been using this more frequently

28:12 - is taxing health care providers, in different categories.

28:15 - They have different tax rates, but providing, taxing the providers

28:19 - and then using that money as the state share,

28:23 - which then gets matched, by the federal government.

28:26 - And so there's all different formulas and ways that they do that.

28:29 - But that's the basics of it.

28:31 - And so, from the state perspective, it's no additional money

28:35 - that the state government is putting up.

28:37 - They say, hey, health care providers will will, you know, pay this.

28:41 - But then we are able to actually get the match from the federal government.

28:45 - So the state says, hey, no skin off our back.

28:47 - Providers say, well, sure, we'll end up paying that

28:50 - because we'll end up getting not only that money coming back into the system,

28:53 - but also the match from the federal government.

28:56 - The only person that really ends up, paying

28:59 - an additional amount is the federal government in that case.

29:02 - And so, it does it has been shown to drive up

29:05 - costs of health care because it's obviously a tax on providers.

29:08 - They pass along that tax to other people.

29:11 - And so in a bipartisan way, this is a topic

29:14 - that people have been talking about reforming, for years.

29:18 - I mean, going back, to even the Bush administration, pre Affordable Care Act,

29:23 - there was talk about it.

29:24 - And then during the Obama administration, he put it in place

29:27 - in two of his annual budgets, making suggestions that we cap this tax.

29:32 - And, right now the cap is at 6%

29:35 - that you can tax these providers.

29:38 - The suggestion that Obama had in his 2013 budget

29:41 - was to bring that cap from 6% down to 3.5% over a series of years.

29:46 - And that's ultimately what we did in this.

29:48 - And so, that is a reform

29:51 - from the federal government's perspective and in the budgeting, realm.

29:55 - But also it makes it that there's going to be more skin

29:58 - in the game from state governments and so make it,

30:01 - more imperative than it already is,

30:04 - that when they are considering changes to,

30:07 - the programs that they're administering at the state level,

30:10 - they have more skin in the game,

30:11 - more understanding, as opposed to saying, hey, we can tax somebody else

30:14 - and we'll use that, to pay for, our Medicaid system.

30:18 - So those are the big reforms, in the Medicaid space.

30:22 - There are lots of other changes as well.

30:23 - But in the snap space, it's important to note that that program

30:28 - has no state chair, for the benefits that are administered through that program.

30:33 - And so the the reform that we made there is to say

30:36 - we recognize, food insecurity and the need for,

30:40 - you know, all those services is critically important.

30:44 - So we don't take away any money from those programs.

30:48 - If you are running an efficient program.

30:50 - And the way that they measure effectiveness and efficiency

30:53 - in, in Snap is saying that do you have an error rate of less than 6%

30:59 - and error rate is paying people who are only eligible for the program?

31:03 - If you're paying an ineligible person, that's an error if you overpay somebody.

31:07 - And so they're paying out benefits that aren't really owed to somebody,

31:12 - that's an error.

31:12 - Or if you're actually even underpaying somebody, that's a problem as well.

31:16 - They should be getting a certain benefit that's been calculated.

31:19 - If they receive less than they should, that's an error as well.

31:21 - So those three categories add up to the errors.

31:24 - Pennsylvania last year had an error rate around 16%.

31:28 - This year it was around

31:30 - 11%, but still not down below that 6% rate.

31:34 - And so there will be now, in two years time, a sliding scale that says,

31:39 - if you have over 6%, then you have to start paying a percentage of the program.

31:45 - But if you can get it down below 6%, there is no cost to the state at all.

31:49 - And that's how we can make sure that the eligible,

31:53 - recipients are getting the amount that they deserve.

31:56 - And we are, wasting taxpayer dollars,

31:59 - going out to people that shouldn't be eligible for the program.

32:02 - And so Pennsylvania has had an error rate below 6% in the past,

32:06 - most recently, was a while ago, back in 2017.

32:09 - But lots of other states today actually are below 6% even currently.

32:13 - And so it is possible, it is achievable.

32:16 - And we need our state government partners and government, Governor Shapiro's

32:20 - administration, to improve the efficiency of that program,

32:23 - to make sure the benefits are there for people that deserve it.

32:26 - And then the final category I'll talk about, is the investments in our future.

32:30 - And so this legislation, in addition to,

32:33 - the additional funds I talked about for the military,

32:37 - does things like providing an additional $50 billion

32:40 - for rural hospitals, it includes an additional $10 billion

32:44 - of funding for NASA, an additional $12 billion of funding

32:48 - for improving and modernizing our air traffic control system across the country.

32:53 - The list is longer than that.

32:55 - But those are just some of the things that we made critical investments

32:59 - in and in all those categories that I just talked about,

33:02 - these are things that have been talked about for a long time.

33:05 - But neglected in federal budgeting.

33:07 - And so we were grateful that we were able to go back and provide, these funds

33:11 - for those things that, people are interested in.

33:14 - And, and you know, in some cases, when it comes to the air traffic control

33:19 - improvements, we've seen, the concerns and problems that are out there,

33:23 - because of a lack of safety and modern, you know, programing.

33:27 - So thankfully we're able to get that done

33:29 - and that funding is going to start rolling out.

33:31 - But in those big ways, that's what the one big bullet beautiful

33:34 - bill is about tax relief, safe communities, making sure, that we have,

33:39 - government programs that operate efficiently, efficiently and effectively.

33:43 - And also making investments in the future.

33:48 - Well, that's a mouthful.

33:49 - I tell you where it where the legislature

33:52 - was, is around a thousand pages.

33:55 - That is a a brief summary, of everything

33:59 - that is included there, the operative word meaning being big, right?

34:03 - I mean, that's credible.

34:05 - I, I am curious, though, you know, what does, what do some of these changes.

34:10 - Let's, and let's focus on the, on the, the health care side of that.

34:14 - I mean, obviously, our audience is very interested in that.

34:17 - And from the from the health care side, Medicaid and Snap.

34:22 - What's the impact going to be on Pennsylvania generally?

34:25 - And the seventh Congressional District specifically?

34:29 - Yeah.

34:29 - So again, I think this is really about the long term viability of these programs.

34:34 - I mean, it's already been in discussion for years.

34:37 - You know, being a state legislator before this, we saw the challenges

34:42 - that Medicaid and medical assistance in Pennsylvania,

34:46 - were creating in terms of state budgeting.

34:49 - And there were already discussions around how do we make these systems work

34:54 - and how do we make sure,

34:55 - that the intended recipients are going to be eligible for those benefits?

34:59 - And so, I think the work requirements is something

35:03 - that around 70% of more people agree and say that this is something

35:07 - that makes sense in a program like this, with the expansion

35:12 - of able bodied adults being included there, it's a reasonable reform

35:16 - to say that we want to see you being participate, a participant

35:20 - engaged in our local economy, to share in those benefits.

35:24 - And so I think that that's a good thing.

35:26 - I think that's a positive reform, for not only the integrity

35:30 - of this system, but for long term stability.

35:33 - And so I think that's a positive thing.

35:35 - And I think the other thing is that, with something like the provider cap,

35:39 - we want to see the state government having a greater stake in this process

35:45 - because they are, again, they're the administrators

35:48 - of these programs, Medicaid and staff at the state level.

35:51 - But it becomes very easy

35:54 - to all the time just say, well, you know what?

35:57 - Especially for the expansion population, it's 9010.

36:00 - The share from the federal government is 90%.

36:03 - The share from the state government is 10%.

36:06 - And in Snap, it's 100% and zero 100% from the federal government,

36:10 - zero from the state.

36:12 - So in the Snap example where it's truly zero, that that's it.

36:16 - That's an example to the extreme.

36:19 - What is your incentive as a state to actually administer a program effectively

36:24 - if it's no skin off your back, if you're paying people

36:26 - who aren't eligible, overpaying, underpaying,

36:29 - there's no reason why somebody would reform.

36:32 - And so we see in places like Alaska, they have a whole different set

36:37 - of challenges.

36:38 - And we should recognize that.

36:40 - But last year, their error rate in the Snap program was 60%.

36:44 - This year, they started making changes to try to bring that down, still 25%.

36:49 - So 1 in 4 people that was applying for the program

36:53 - was either ineligible or getting overpaid, or some people were getting underpaid.

36:58 - And so we had to come up with a way, how do you make sure

37:02 - that that funding level is still there, but also incentivize states

37:06 - who do the administration of the program to make that program?

37:10 - Only, you know, operating in a way that the eligible recipients

37:14 - are getting the amount of money they should receive.

37:16 - So I think these these reforms are actually positive reforms,

37:20 - because when you're at the federal government level, where you're running,

37:26 - almost $2 trillion a year deficit, you're taking in $5

37:30 - trillion of revenue, which is historically as a percentage of GDP

37:35 - actually comes out to be pretty historically, level.

37:39 - And in terms of all the years, since World War two,

37:42 - so it's not the tax side, but on the spend side, you're spending $7 trillion.

37:48 - And so every year, a $1.8 trillion deficit,

37:51 - we see the national debt going up.

37:53 - And so making reforms to the government programs to make sure that they're there

37:57 - and viable, within that budget for the long term is critically important.

38:01 - So those are just two examples.

38:04 - There are other reforms in the in the legislation as well.

38:07 - But, I'll, you know, say that I think these reforms

38:10 - are actually good for the long term viability of these programs.

38:15 - Well, we could we could probably talk about that bill

38:18 - for the remainder part of the remaining part of the, of this,

38:22 - of this broadcast.

38:23 - But there's some other things I'm interested in, because I know you're

38:27 - you're a thoughtful guy with a lot of interests.

38:30 - I'm curious.

38:32 - You spent, what, six first six months in office

38:36 - getting your hands around this this bill. Right?

38:38 - I mean, that's, the big, beautiful bill took a lot of time.

38:41 - So I'm curious, from your perspective, what would you like to see

38:46 - Congress tackle moving forward?

38:50 - Well, so, the big issue

38:54 - that I have started to address when I was first elected to Congress,

38:58 - and I'm going to continue to work on is affordability for families and seniors.

39:02 - And so I personally introduced a tax package

39:05 - to working families tax package at the beginning of this Congress.

39:09 - And for components, it was an expansion of the child tax credit

39:14 - and expansion of business tax credits that offer paid maternity leave.

39:19 - An expansion of child care tax credits and then also,

39:22 - in the adoption space, expanding those tax credits for adoption.

39:26 - But I also suggested expanding that to cover IVF as well.

39:30 - And so, in all of those areas, we we made some progress, in one big,

39:36 - beautiful bill, for instance, the child tax credit was set to go down to $1,000.

39:41 - Now, it's going to be made permanent at $2,200 per child,

39:46 - and it's going to actually increase over time with inflation.

39:49 - So that is direct tax relief that families and working families

39:53 - are going to see when they go to file their taxes next year.

39:56 - Obviously, I talked about the social Security, for seniors.

40:00 - And so those are things that we were able to do.

40:03 - I was able to champion and lead those those reforms.

40:06 - Steve Scalise, our our majority leader in the US House,

40:10 - he recently introduced me to a panel discussion.

40:13 - And he said, there is not a single time where Ryan McKenzie wasn't talking to me

40:18 - during budget reconciliation about working families

40:21 - and how we could bring down costs for working families.

40:23 - So we were glad to see that expansion of the child tax credit.

40:27 - There were some other reforms that were made to child care tax credits

40:30 - and the paid leave, component to businesses, when they offer that,

40:36 - get a tax break to make sure that we're incentivizing and expanding paid leave.

40:40 - But there's a lot more that we can do in that space.

40:43 - And so, going to be working on, and focusing and pushing for legislation,

40:48 - again,

40:49 - to bring down the cost of health care, to see what we can do about, housing.

40:53 - We were able to get a lot of affordable tax credits,

40:56 - expanded and included in the one big, beautiful bill.

40:59 - But we know that's something

41:00 - that we have to continue to work on because, right here in our community,

41:03 - the cost of housing and and cost of living, is a big challenge

41:07 - for a lot of people.

41:08 - So that affordability issue, I think we made a lot of great progress

41:12 - and one big, beautiful bill.

41:13 - But we're going to continue to work on that issue.

41:15 - And I'll continue to lead

41:16 - by introducing bills and topics that hopefully get included,

41:19 - just like they did here and one big beautiful bill and other legislation.

41:23 - And, I'll, I'll say this, Doug, I mean, just as a kind of side note, it's

41:27 - it's interesting, legislating at the state level, especially

41:33 - as somebody like, I was becoming a more senior level in state government.

41:37 - You recognize the ability that you were able to introduce legislation,

41:43 - and in any committee, any space, if you were able to lead on that topic,

41:48 - it didn't matter if you were the chairman or not.

41:50 - You were able to oftentimes get things done.

41:53 - And, all the legislation

41:54 - I authored at the state level was done in a bipartisan way,

41:58 - and we were able to get things signed into law at the federal government.

42:02 - It is, much different in the sense that there is a lot

42:06 - less legislation that goes through, but a lot bigger pieces of legislation.

42:10 - And so if you're not the expert or the person who's maybe leading that topic,

42:16 - because you're a chairman or something like that, your opportunity

42:19 - is really to offer amendments.

42:21 - So for a recent defense bill, I have had three amendments, that I sponsored.

42:26 - I was able to get those amendments included

42:28 - into, a defense authorization bill that was going through the House.

42:32 - So that's the way that you had to do it.

42:34 - And same with one big, beautiful bill that was in my piece of legislation.

42:38 - It was one piece of legislation that was being introduced and moved,

42:41 - and the whole Congress and leadership team was working on it.

42:43 - So your opportunity was really to introduce other pieces of legislation

42:47 - along the way and try to get those incorporated into the bigger bill.

42:51 - So you're just trying to catch rides on on bigger pieces of legislation,

42:56 - which is a different, you know, way to legislate and govern

42:59 - as opposed to trying to get all these bills in your name

43:02 - like you were able to do at the state level,

43:05 - just as,

43:06 - an observer, it's one of the things that it

43:10 - I scratch my head watching how it goes, in Washington with regard to that is,

43:15 - you know, what we did and what we do in Harrisburg.

43:19 - Other than that, it's all good luck.

43:21 - I mean, this is, it's legislating.

43:23 - I mean, you have to figure out the way that the system works, the way that

43:27 - other legislators work together.

43:29 - And, you know, sure, you always want to try to make reforms

43:33 - and change the system, but those things can be really long term in nature.

43:38 - And so with the body, the way that it's constructed

43:40 - and the way that it operates currently, you're trying to operate within those,

43:44 - those rules and those kind of trying sometimes as well to get things done.

43:47 - Absolutely.

43:48 - It, you know, it it's it's fascinating.

43:51 - And so, and I and I applaud your ability to, to navigate it in your first term.

43:57 - But other than that, is there anything else that surprises you

44:01 - about Washington versus Harrisburg?

44:04 - Similarities, differences, that kind of thing?

44:06 - Yeah.

44:06 - So, you know, it's it's an interesting perspective

44:10 - as a, a Pennsylvania state legislator,

44:13 - we probably have compared to a lot

44:16 - of our other colleagues, even if they came from state government experience.

44:20 - And so the reason for that is, since we do have a full time state

44:24 - legislature here in Pennsylvania, the schedule is very similar.

44:29 - It's year round.

44:29 - And in Washington, just like it is in Harrisburg.

44:32 - The pattern of breaks and sessions is very similar.

44:36 - So that kind of the committee structure,

44:40 - the year round nature, the full time nature, all very similar.

44:44 - So that I think made for a much lower learning curve for me,

44:48 - as opposed to some of my other colleagues, even even people

44:51 - that served in state legislatures in other states.

44:54 - At the same time, you unfortunately, in my opinion,

44:59 - find yourself in session twice as much in Washington DC as you do in Harrisburg.

45:04 - And so, you know, I have a great team, here in district,

45:08 - my district director is somebody that was my chief of staff at the state level.

45:12 - She wanted to stay in Pennsylvania and in district, so have a great,

45:17 - leader there, but a great team here in place.

45:20 - And they end up having to carry out and be the face of our office

45:24 - at so many more things because, the nature of the work

45:27 - and the time that you have to spend in Washington, DC is, is double, what?

45:31 - It was in Harrisburg.

45:32 - So you really need, people that you trust, people that you can rely on.

45:36 - You're operating a bigger team, bigger footprint.

45:39 - And, you know, so that that is something

45:41 - personally, obviously, I love the Lehigh Valley,

45:44 - I love Pennsylvania, I would rather be home.

45:46 - But we do have twice as many session days, and it's twice

45:49 - as long of a commute, for me to get to Washington, DC.

45:52 - So you do end up spending a lot more time back and forth on the road?

45:56 - A lot more time there in DC.

45:58 - So that's kind of, you know, you try to adjust, especially

46:01 - as somebody with, a young family.

46:04 - It's definitely a bigger adjustment, to try to make all of that work.

46:08 - But after six months, I feel like we've we've leveled out.

46:11 - We've got there,

46:12 - we have a good, good system in place and a good team that's here to help.

46:15 - Everybody in in district with constituent services.

46:19 - Outstanding.

46:19 - If you don't mind, I'd like to switch gears a little bit.

46:23 - You. You mentioned you are on the Foreign Affairs Committee, and I,

46:26 - I would imagine that we only have, a few minutes left.

46:31 - Let's see if we can talk about some of the hot

46:34 - button issues around the world just to get your perspective.

46:37 - So the audience gets to hear from a person in the decision making

46:43 - continuum.

46:45 - What what can we expect?

46:46 - What's happening in Gaza?

46:49 - And from our perspective, what should we as Pennsylvanians

46:55 - and Americans, what should we know about the conflict in Gaza

46:59 - and what our role as a country is and should be?

47:03 - Yeah. So great question.

47:05 - And obviously what's going on there, is a tragedy.

47:08 - We see, the devastation and loss of innocent, lives.

47:12 - And so any war, has the, these challenges

47:16 - and it's just something that we, we never want to see and experience.

47:20 - And so that's why, you know, we're trying to change foreign policy,

47:24 - not just in, in the Middle East, but around the world of,

47:27 - one of realism, one of restraint and getting to a point

47:31 - where we're making sure we're looking out for America's interests.

47:35 - But at the same time

47:36 - trying to reduce the number of these conflicts around the world.

47:39 - And so, we've seen it recently where this administration

47:42 - is leading in some places in Africa, some places in, in Asia,

47:47 - where conflicts are new conflicts are potentially flaring up,

47:51 - and they're able to intervene and try to bring those tensions down,

47:54 - de-escalate, and, and get peaceful resolutions, in those situations.

48:00 - So we're seeing that.

48:01 - But the, the main conflicts and hotspots, that have been there for years,

48:05 - continue to, to simmer and we have to figure out

48:09 - how we get to resolutions on those.

48:10 - So obviously Gaza and the Middle East, Ukraine and Russia,

48:15 - China is one that, has been, you know, flaring up, from time to time.

48:20 - And in terms of, the expansion of their military

48:23 - and the, pressure that they're putting on Taiwan.

48:27 - So all of these things, continue to be out there,

48:31 - this committee, I'll say, is is actually one of the ones

48:34 - that I've really enjoyed being able to serve on more.

48:37 - I'd done a lot of work at the state level, in foreign Affairs.

48:41 - I founded our, International Relations Caucus in the state House,

48:45 - because what I saw was more and more of these issues were actually trickling down

48:49 - at the state level.

48:50 - And so, we saw that Governor Wolf had closed our trade office in Taiwan

48:56 - while keeping open, the mainland China office, thankfully, where we were able

49:00 - to change that in Pennsylvania state budget a number of years ago.

49:03 - The issue came before us about, investing in, you know, bonds,

49:07 - for Russia while they were, engaging in aggression in Ukraine.

49:11 - And so we were able to make some changes there at the state level.

49:14 - And so, all of these things started trickling down to, to the state level.

49:18 - And so being able to have a, an actual engaged role in, in the foreign policy

49:24 - arena at the federal level is something that I've really appreciated.

49:27 - And it's it's one of the committees that I have to say, though,

49:30 - much more of our work and the things that inform our work

49:34 - go on, behind closed doors, and in talks with the directly

49:38 - with the administration,

49:40 - just because of the, the sensitive nature of all of these topics.

49:43 - And so, working hand-in-hand with the administration and, and,

49:47 - making sure that we're, again, driving a foreign policy

49:52 - that is in America's best interest always and trying to find peaceful resolutions

49:56 - to a lot of the conflicts around the world is what we're working on.

49:59 - But it's it's a challenging space, just like it has been for a long time.

50:04 - Well, thank you.

50:05 - Thank you for that.

50:06 - And we will end up, for a couple with just a couple more questions,

50:09 - if you don't mind.

50:10 - What can

50:14 - those on the, on,

50:16 - the call right now and obviously folks across, across Commonwealth,

50:21 - what can we expect from Congress, from the US House

50:26 - in terms of legislative initiatives for the remainder of the year?

50:30 - What's the next big thing we can.

50:33 - Yeah.

50:33 - Then the next big thing we're going to be working on is making sure

50:37 - that we have an appropriations process that that functions

50:41 - much more in a normal fashion than we've had in, in recent years.

50:45 - And so, we've advanced a number,

50:48 - how it works at the federal government level on like the state level,

50:51 - at the state level, we have, you know, one budget vehicle for appropriations.

50:55 - And then there are a couple other,

50:56 - code bills that move along with that at the federal level.

51:00 - There are really 12 different appropriations bills that handle

51:04 - each of the different departments or each of the different jurisdictions,

51:08 - and they are supposed to move through their process on an annual basis.

51:12 - Is the way that it's designed.

51:14 - But that does not always happen.

51:16 - And so if funding lapses, that's where you see things like,

51:20 - continuing resolutions come in where basically they say, hey,

51:23 - if we can't get to an agreement on changes for the budget

51:26 - for this particular department or area for next year,

51:30 - we'll just maintain that same, funding or this the same, appropriations

51:36 - level, for next year.

51:37 - But that creates problems, creates problems in terms of administering programs.

51:43 - And, and the way that the,

51:45 - those organizations or entities that rely on that funding, conduct their business.

51:50 - And so we're trying to get back to a, a pattern of actually passing

51:54 - these 12 bills every single year through the House and the Senate and,

51:58 - kind of a regular order process where amendments can be offered.

52:02 - And so, again, we've we've gotten about half of those bills through the House.

52:06 - Now, at this point, the Senate is working on some this week,

52:09 - but that's going to be something

52:11 - that's going to come up, when we're back in session.

52:14 - Because the funding deadline for all of these things is the end of September.

52:18 - So that's really the the next big area that we're going to be working on

52:21 - and touches on every part of the federal government.

52:24 - So it is another massive undertaking, just like reconciliation was.

52:28 - But it's great being home, like we are now being able to be out

52:32 - in our local communities.

52:34 - I was at, an organization that provides, low income housing

52:39 - just earlier today, and they said, hey, we loved what you did in one big,

52:43 - beautiful bill and and expanding affordable housing tax credits.

52:48 - The next thing we need to work on is what's on in appropriations

52:51 - for a couple of these different programs, that we utilize as well.

52:54 - So you see how all these things are interrelated?

52:56 - They're all connected.

52:57 - But the next part of the process that we need to work through in a big way

53:01 - is going to be appropriations.

53:04 - Very, very good.

53:06 - And I wish you luck on that because, you know, obviously we're

53:09 - struggling with that here in Pennsylvania a little bit at the moment.

53:13 - So, now we

53:15 - we just have a couple minutes left and I'm going to give you the last word.

53:19 - What's a message you have maybe you reiterate

53:22 - something you've already said, or if you have a message to

53:27 - our employees or the residents of the Commonwealth,

53:31 - what would you like us to know?

53:33 - As the final word from Congressman McKenzie?

53:36 - Yeah.

53:36 - Well, first of all, Doug, thank you for having me, on the show today.

53:39 - Really appreciate the opportunity to be here.

53:42 - I would just say it's it's an honor to serve in a position like this.

53:45 - It's a very exciting time in government.

53:48 - We're working on the big issues, the things that people have been talking

53:51 - about literally for decades, saying, we want to see a resolution to this, item

53:56 - or we want to work on you to work on that topic.

53:59 - We are focused on the interests of the American people

54:02 - and our local communities, and we're starting to deliver results.

54:05 - So things like one big, beautiful bill didn't just come out of thin air.

54:09 - It came about through lots of, discussions with members

54:13 - of our local community.

54:14 - It was what we talked about and what we campaigned on.

54:17 - We said if we get there, we're going to deliver tax relief for everybody.

54:20 - We're going to secure the border.

54:22 - We're going to make sure that government works for people,

54:24 - and we're going to make sure that the things people care about

54:26 - are getting the investments, from federal resources.

54:29 - So in a big way, Congress, is delivering.

54:33 - And I'm just grateful to be a part of that process.

54:36 - That's the last word I want to congratulate

54:40 - Congressman McKenzie on the new job.

54:43 - But most importantly, I want to congratulate you and Chloe,

54:46 - with the good news that you, announced, recently

54:49 - about the, being expecting your second child.

54:52 - So congratulations. Thank you.

54:54 - And that ends the, the public affairs forum for this month.

54:58 - And, please stay tuned for the next episode

55:01 - of the Public Affairs forum sponsored by Capital Blue Cross.

55:04 - Thank you.

55:05 - Have a good day.

55:21 - It's the.