Cspan2. Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer discussed rebuilding the economy to help working families. This event is hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center. Welcome to the kickoff of the bipartisan eat policy centers summits. We are coming together to support workers and families with a pragmatic agenda for the new congress. The document is not simply a series of what we think are good policy ideas but also a reflection of the core values and commitment that animate the work of the bpc. We believe in support pragmatic leaders who have the courage to prioritize helping people today over some effort to try to build Political Capital for a theoretical battle in the future. We believe the best policy is forced by constructive collision of ideas among principal people who reflect the diversity in the real differences that exist in our country. We note that durable policy requires compromise as neither Political Parties have the legitimacy or mandate to govern alone. These ideas in the very premise of american democracy are being put to the test by an nation in crises in Public Health, and our economy and in our capacity to solve problems. For the next five days we will explore ideas that we believe President Biden and the divided congress can successfully act on early next year. We will focus on helping children and families and we will spend the day looking at consensus for support work and opportunity in the spend another day talking about promoting Financial Resilience and creating wealth and at the end of the week we will have a discussion about the racial inequities that have been laid bare and amplified by the pandemic. Our focus on working families and does not from bpcs commitment to healthcare, energy and climate policy, immigration, if a structure or fiscal policy but we believe that a focus on the issues facing americans today cannot only help knowing the people but also begin to restore the faith that we could have a government that could solve our problems. One of the many great things about american democracy is that each new congress and president start off the season undefeated in our leaders have a really difficult choice to face. They can either continue emphasizing the differences or they can do the harder and, i think im a braver work of compromising to advance the nations interests. We are here to promote the fierce urgency of pragmatism and there is a lot of work to do so it is a delight to welcome you all today and begin our first discussion. So, we are incredibly fortunate to kick off our solutions at summit with dedicated Public Servants. We are delighted to be joined by governors Asa Hutchinson and gretchen whitmer, governor hutchinson was first elected in 2014 and began his term in 2015 and is apparently pretty good at it because he was reelected in 2018 with two thirds of the popular vote and also has terminus experience across many aspects of government he was a congressman representing the Arkansas Third district and lead the u. S. Drug Investment Agency and was an undersecretary at dhs and is now the incoming vice chair of the National Governors association and i would note the governing magazine described his leadership as based on patience and pragmatism which resonates with the experience weve had in washington for the last two years we are delighted to have that conversation and Governor Whitmer, became governor in 2019 and has served quite a while in different roles and in state governments and was in the house of representatives for 20012006 and in the Michigan State senate for several years from 06 until 2015 when she was the first female leader of the recredit party. Governor whitmer has demonstrated some remarkable grace under pressure in the last several months and these have been tough weeks, i think, for all our states but as you all no, michigan has been the crucible of that discussions we are delighted and appreciative that you would take your time to share what is happening in your states and give us a little bit of your view about what we can do here in washington to advance the interests of the real people, many of whom are suffering right now. We will focus on the working family agenda that the Bipartisan Policy Center has just released. We think this is the opportunity to get quick wind and motivate democracy and solve big problems but before we focus on the Economic Issues i think we have to start out with that fact that the pandemic is still regained tremendous havoc in treating terminus risk for Many Americans. Would love governors to ask you to start off if you, Governor Whitmer, how is it going . What is the state of michigan in early december . How are you feeling about the capacity of hospitals and every thing else just to deal with the crush of this really challenging disease . We are very seriously concerned. I think that the news of vaccines is reason to give all of us a breath of hope and requires an incredible amount of work that states are at the forefront of and yet we have not gotten enough of the resources, in my estimation, from washington in order to execute in terms of this administration of the vaccine when it becomes available. I would also add that with coronavirus michigan was hit very hard early on and we took actions and they were aggressive and wheat really pushed the spread of coronavirus down and we saved thousands of lives and mitigated the harm on our economy and michigan boasted one of the ten best economic resurgence is in the country for many months but we also know that the experts were telling us that this virus would come back with a vengeance in the fall when the temperatures plummeted and it coincided with the flu season and that is what we are seen all across the country and certainly here in the midwest. We are seeing some hospitalizations are up and we have seen the nation post Record Numbers many days in a row now and so this is a very concerning moment. There is light on the horizon but right now here in this moment with the holidays exacerbating some of the spread we are very concerned about where things are and in trying to do what we can on the state front to mitigate the spread of covid. Governor hutchinson, like you and so many of her colleagues are dealing with dual challenges to find ways that your citizens are protected but at the same time recognizing that we have to have an active economy since poverty is a tremendous Public Health challenge and so talk about the challenges youve had in trying to balance those two competing opportunities and obligations. Thank you. It is good to be with Governor Whitmer and thank you for this opportunity when it comes to the challenge that we currently face and we had a Record Number of cases yesterday and are deaths continue to go up and i hope all of arkansas must pull together to try to reduce the spread to control us but the love of family and getting together is a challenge for everybody and its about making sure we have adequate hospital space and we are working very hard on improving the coordination of our hospitals so that we do have adequate space and we are not in a position arkansas, that we are building field hospitals but we are looking to the future and know that as we enter into december and the Christmas Holiday and get the post thanksgiving surge that everyone expects that we have to be prepared for the eventuality that we will need additional icu beds, hospital space and we are rising to meet that challenge and it is a balance with businesses. Early on in the pandemic we put in money to help which are cares active funds and we put those funds into help our Small Businesses so they could survive with the additional restrictions and so that went to those in the Hospitality Industry and they went to jims and Small Businesses across the board and that money has run out and now we are looking at do you put people out of work when there is not the Financial Assistance to help Small Business and the unemployed and so i take it very seriously, the responsibility as governor, to make sure that we are on the right path from a Public Health standpoint but not to overly Research Businesses if there is not the data that supports that. We are trying to achieve that balance in all of arkansas is pulling together to accomplish that. It is not an arkansas problem or michigan problem but a National Problem that we see with cases going up in every state. It is a time to put together and were doing that here in the state and i appreciate the federal assistance because that will help us to get the vaccine out and Everyone Needs that for the hope of the future. So you both made obvious important points about the need to have federal state partnerships take on these crises and you mentioned use the term pulling together so in a few weeks president elect biden is going to take the oath of office and be immediately met by deeply divided country and closely divided congress. I guess before we Start Talking about policy i wonder if you each might say a word about what President Biden and leader mcconnell and others need to do to bring together the fabric of the country and restore a little bit of the sense of shared purpose that is always helped our country and previous crises. Governor wittner, to think its possible . Can we get the country pulling in the same direction . It absolutely is possible. I think there are people of goodwill on both sides of the aisle they want to see that happen and it is all on us to do our part to make sure that we do. We are deeply divided nation and i think this election has shown that and yet what really binds us, i think, in most regards is universal and we want good opportunities for us and better opportunities for our kids and we want to note the Drinking Water will be safe when we turn on the tap and hands are told in a glass of water at the dinner table and that we can travel safely on infrastructure that promotes a growing economy and safety of individuals as we travel. I think that there are universal truths for families all across the country, whether they are in arkansas or in michigan and leaders of both parties need to find that Common Ground. I will tell you, 2020 has been a challenging year and thats the underachievement of 2020 but one of the things that i have found most helpful and most inspiring is banding together with my fellow governors on both sides of the aisle. In the midwest, i regularly have conversations with the governors of the great lakes states and that includes my neighbor in ohio and my neighbor in indiana both of harlequins as well as well as wisconsin, minnesota and illinois, all democrats. We have more in common than we have different. I think when we actually focus on solving problems we will get a lot more done and get the confidence of the people of this country. Im optimistic about president elect bidens ability to do that and his first speech after the election was confirmed was an outreach to do just that and i can tell you im willing and ready and eager to do my part to help heal from the divide we have in this country and i know that leaders like governor hutchinson sees the same things i do here in michigan and grateful for his leadership to. Governor hutchinson, Election Results which i described as a blue puddle have clearly made the case in either party and there is a longstanding tradition of one party and the other winning by a few percent and asserting that it now has a mandate to govern based on Election Agenda that did was not designed to represent the sole country. Wondering based on your experience to think a closely divided razor thin margin are helpful or harmful to moving the country forward . Well, regardless the American People like divided power structure in washington where each side keeps an eye on each other and there are some checks and balances and it is likely that that is what we are going to have but regardless of the outcome of the georgia elections it is very important that the leadership under president elect biden is handled looking for bipartisan solution and i absolutely agree with the governor that the governors have worked together, democrats and republicans and the exchange of information and ideas and there has been some differences which is natural but we have really come closer together and as a result of this crisis that we all faced. In our nations history crisis has always been the vehicle that the American People have come together and so, now that the election is over which did put, you know, some differences that highlighted during the election but now that that is over weve got to come together, particularly with the crisis accelerating in terms of our cases and our deaths and the need for solutions and federal support. Its a great opportunity for president elect biden and i think its important when you look at the congress or whenever you look at president elect biden leadership that we dont overreach and that is the temptation. If you just look at one Party Solution you will overreach. If you look for a bipartisan solution then it will hit a sweeter spot that will have a greater level of acceptance. The senate i applaud them the way theyve come out with bipartisan efforts to provide relief to the states. It is not what the democrats want completely and its not what the rule begins want but its a compromised solution getting traction and that is the kind of approach that we need next year and not just in the coronavirus issues but in a whole host of issues that it will build confidence in the American People that we can look for those Bipartisan Solutions. Lets talk about this urgency of this moment and even before we induct a new president and new congress, about 30 million wagons are now relying on pandemic related support and millions of americans are relying on the page leave provisions put in to recognize the people or Sick Children and parents need to be cared for in this all runs out at the end of the month and so congress has seemingly awoken to this challenge in the last several days but Governor Whitmer, how much is on the line right now . How much interaction have you had your optimism or pessimism that congress can govern in crisis. Not great at predicting and what is happening in washington and may be governor hutchinson can give us more insight having worked there at one point but, you know, this is a really hard moment across the country and there are a lot of people who are struggling whether it is because a loved one has, 19 or it is because a loved one has or because they lost a job as a result of this pandemic and the recession that has accompanied it. It is really a hard moment and we really do need congress to get something done here in the last few days of this session. Our ability to build up the apparatus to disseminate and distribute vaccines. That work has to be non now. It probably should have been in the works for quite a while and yet the resources to do that just arent there but every budget, every state budget in the nation has been devastated by this pandemic and so we have a lot of work to do but the most pressing concern right now is, of course, those who are unemployed who have been counting on the assistance to put food on the table and to keep a roof over their heads and that is why i am willful but congress will get something done but i recognize that our challenge is great and that we will need to continue the work with the federal government so that we can help people get through this time. It will not last forever but you know, this is a moment and a much bigger story but we need to rise to this moment and how people who are struggling right now because as vaccines come online as as we get through 2021 and more people get vaccinated we will be able to resume a lot of these things that are so important and help us arrive but right now people need help. Im hopeful that Congress Gets it done and in the event that it they dont im continuing to push here in michigan with my legislator to get assistance for the unemployed because we cant have them run out on december 31 and not have anywhere to go while we are still in the midst of the worst phase of this pandemic. Governor hutchinson, i mentioned that you are an incoming vice chair of the National Association and are trained at leadership role with Governor Cuomo and so could you express a little bit what are the imperatives you think will have a bipartisan gubernatorial support heading into next year . Well, in terms of the governors are more interested in relief for Small Businesses and those that have been severely hit because of the pandemic. There has been an economic divide. You have those that work remotely and their income has not been depleted and they continue to have their jobs but the service industry, Hospitality Industry which are more in the lower income categories and middle income they are the ones that have lost their jobs or have been disrupted and Small Businesses so i think there is a consensus and that is the First Priority that we need to address and i hope they can draw a bipartisan consensus to do but there is many other opportunities and giving the states more flexibility over existing cares act funding and there are obvious needs in education and they been adversely impacted because of the pandemic and whenever you look at our Healthcare System and the continued higher rate of federal sharing of our medicaid expenses, that needs to be continued. Those are things that to me are something everyone can agree upon and often be done very quickly. I think the larger debate will be on the price tag and that is where you will have some of the states have not been hit to the same level in terms of their budget and their hit to their budget as other states. They all managed it differently so that will be a difference and weve got to figure out the solution where you have to compromise and not everyone will get exactly what they want. That is where i mean by we cant overreach because there will be a lot of attention drawn to how we are spending ourselves into increased federal debt. Those are the ones that we ought to go for first and then some of the more difficult areas that will take more work. Governor, youre the first portion that has mentioned dad and my company and last several weeks and something we certainly do care about and weve amassed 5 billion in debt every day which, many people and the two of you believe we have to start soon as we can to shift from emergency triage to investment and governor hutchinson, you have said a lot about the topics like role broadband and Governor Whitmer your assertion that we need to fix the damn roads is not just infrastructure but for your view of how governors need to be practical so i want to talk about infrastructure and maybe start with you, Governor Whitmer. Bipartisan policy think this is a real opportunity that infrastructure will increase competition and can increase clean energy and bring jobs so how are you thinking about that in michigan and at the federal level . I think that is right. When iran for governor i spent two years traveling the state of michigan and michigan is a big estate. When you are in the capital city you are as close to washington dc as you are to the western end of the upper peninsula. Its a big state and getting into all 83 counties and listening to the people i think is important for Anyone Running for office because they learn what is Holding People back. You worried about when they sit down to dinner and fixing the damn roads was a slogan that iran on but it wasnt a slogan that we came up with or we hold or ask people how they felt but its simply what people told me as i got around into all 83 counties of michigan because when the roads are crumbling it means that money out of childcare and money out of a Retirement Fund and it is real when you have to fix the rote rims on your car or have a busted windshield this is the kind of thing that is holding working people back and so its a visceral reminder of the government is important and has a job to do on these fundamentals that benefit every single one of us. We have seen the need for broadband in this covid moment whether it is kids trying to learn online from a distance or is employees who want to continue working but want to do so safely from home for a variety of reasons. This is, i think, becoming a very crisp, needed investment all across the country. I know michigan is not unique in that. This is something i am very helpful and i spent quite a bit of time speaking with the president elect over the past year and i know how passionate he is about things from Climate Change to infrastructure and i think they do Work Together to your question i thank you beautifully intertwined them because they are related. When we invest in smart infrastructure and investment in our economy is an investment in our quality of life and its a way to ensure that we are doing it in a way that mitigates the harm were doing to our climate that is creating infrastructure issues in the first place. I think this is the space where we can find bipartisan support in a note during our meeting in washington dc last year with the National Governors association i was in a breakout session where we focused a lot on this issue and we really need to all get behind this because i do think it would be a dramatic improvement in our ability to take care of our families and get ahead in this country. Governor hutchinson, i want to stay on this for a moment but if a structure is beside yet the never happen. The ask for action report for the six months of the Obama Presidency or trunk presidency and people think they shouldve done infrastructure. So just talk about why are the politics still so hard there and you agree with Governor Whitmer that the pendulum it may have shifted that . Does the fact that families are driving 30 miles from mcdonalds to download their kids homework change the policy on this issue . It is one of the biggest surprises in recent years that, to me, the easiest lift was a bipartisan solution on Infrastructure Investment in our country and it hasnt happened and i think part of the challenges the Funding Sources and how much but it is still a surprise. I think youve got to opportunities in the future and one is a broad infrastructure funding bill that can go towards bridges and highways and across our country as well as other key points of infrastructure and then you have Governor Whitmer talked about the broadband issue and that has been robustly funded at the federal level and we are starting to put money into it as well. I presented my budget to the General Assembly that allocated tens of millions of dollars to broadband in their biggest question, why can we put more money in their . The need has been so greatly emphasized through this pandem pandemic. Whenever you have the schools in the rural area in the state that cannot do the Virtual Learning in the same way in other areas of the state that have better rod ban access and so that Digital Divide is real and so there is a momentum for this. One thing that i think is important that we do a better job of the federal state coronation. Right now the federal dollars on broadband flow directly to the internet providers in the Telecom Companies that are doing the investment and it bypasses the state which is okay but for example, we put one standard, higher standard of broadband deployment in arkansas that was higher than the federal standard and then they moved some of the federal standards so part of the federal money is being invested at a lower standard and some been invested at a higher standard and coordinated with the states to the level it should be and there is a lot of money flowing out there but we dont have very much visibility in it so it is an opportunity both for increase investment accelerated broadband deployment but also better partnerships with the state. You are invoking the idea of dualism which we have not had nearly enough of. I know you both have day jobs and states to govern but i would like to close one more question to each of you and neither question has come to me from some of the folks who work with lots of different ways. May be governor hutchinson a question posed by dan who i know you know and dan is a senior fellow and he wants you to respond to this question. Both of you govern the states with large rural populations and coming from kansas and having served as secretary of agriculture im deeply concerned by the intensifying urban rural divide in this country. What action can congress and the administration or private sector take to promote rural Economic Vitality and recovery . Governor hutchinson. Thats a super question and of course dan poses a great question and arkansas is an agricultural state with a lot of other industries but in terms of agriculture i think the most important thing is help president elect in the congress approaches trade issues for the future, whether you are in kansas or whether you are in arkansas we produce more than we consume and have to have access to a Global Market and we have had some progress and hopefully hope to have those markets but we are behind the curve in our bilateral or multilateral trade agreement and that puts american agriculture at a disadvantage. The act producers want access to markets and they can be competitive and then i do regret the urban rural divide in our country. I dont im sure its broader than production in what we are doing for farmers and it sometimes a different way of thinking and emphasis and our values and i think we have to have more dialogue and understanding and we need to understand more of the urban culture and likewise the urban culture needs to understand or appreciate the importance of agriculture in our country. Thank you. Governor wittner, final question comes from david queen, executive of the black Economic Alliance and he asks, health and economic consequences of the potomac have exposed and amplified longstanding and deeply indebted racial and aptitudes. How can we ensure that the resources allocated to counteract inequities and filled generation help will provide opportunities for all americans . I know that just yesterday it would have released an interim report that focused on these questions in the state of michigan so how do you think about the challenge of Building Back in a way that has just been and provides opportunity for everyone . I know that when i took office it was important to me that we have a cabinet in leadership tables that were representative. It varies from the onset and have the most diverse and in doing that, it was after our chief medical executive and African American er doctor and one of the first people in the nation to see the data and release the demographic information around covid and other states followed and we saved a lot of lives here in michigan but i think that we recognize the disparate impact the covid was having on committees of color and black community in particular. That is what empowerment and representation deals and looks like and because of that work we created the task force on Racial Disparities of common 18 chaired by the Lieutenant Governor and our first africanamerican Lieutenant Governor here in michigan and they released the report and there were a number of people on the task force and its fans not just culminating but of course focused on the crisis now but an agenda that is much more longterm addressing a lot of the different longer issues that we have been confronting as a nation that has continued into disparate outcomes in a variety of ways but we will use that to guide our work. I invite anyone wanting to download that interim report and its interim because we dont want people to think the task force is over but weve got work yet to do and we invite people to take a look at it and to learn from it and share other things that maybe we should be considering here in michigan. Governor please express my deep gratitude really for your leadership and what you have been doing to protect and help your citizens over the last several months and really generous of you to spend time helping to kick off our solutions summit. We are eager to do whatever we can to help leaders like yourself who have the courage to collaborate and it will be essential for states to be bringing that pragmatic spirit to the federal debate. We just are delighted to have the opportunity to start this discussion with you and look forward to getting back and working together early next year so have a great day and thank you again. Thank you. It was terrific to have that chance to talk with our two of her nations leading governors and i would like to bring in two of my favorite people, john delaney and michael steele. They have a lot of common. Both have presented the great state of maryland and both have suffered the slings and arrows of independent thought in pursuit of outcome and i think most important, they are both Board Members of the Bipartisan Policy Center and we have the great benefits of an exceptional board who gives us tremendous guidance and works hard to keep us or move our recommendations into action for it as we forward next year with our solutions we thought it would be great to have two of our Board Members share thoughts about where you think the country is in the idea that we are working on that makes you proud to be a part of the bpc. With that, im out. Michael, take it away. [laughter] thank you, jason. I appreciate it, man. Great pleasure to be a part of this solution summit with incredible array of talent and policy proposals that certainly Going Forward over the next for the incoming and im excited to have this conversation with my man, john delaney who is her presented our state admirably and well in the congress and john, great having you to be a part of this. I guess, just to give get us started at looking at where we are and the big ideas actually get grain analyzed in a way and how do we begin to decide what the priorities are and the folks at the bpc are very much keyed in on and trying to make it relevant and make it important for all the players with guys like yourself who will be making these legislative policy decisions but then, you know, you got to make it real for people and its got to heaven and result in a part of the ongoing conversation and thats what im excited about when you come to the table with Something Like this. We get to do that we get to bring in republicans and democrats and people who typically are expected not to agree and not to find some sense of consensus but, in fact, given the state we are in right now if the opportunity they are so how do you see it . How are you assessing is returned to the new year and a new administration with big policy proposals everything from infrastructure to, you know, childcare. How do you check it out . First of all, so great to be with you and your one of my favorite people and i always look forward to any opportunity to share a stage or share of video chat with you and the solution summit is a great opportunity for that and i knew at the board but one of the what i most was attracted about joining in addition to my wonderful experience with bpc was also to serve with people like you on the board and its great to be with you. I think we got to take a step back and we are at a moment in time where the things that you and i have been fighting for for the long time and jason and his team have been fighting for a long time is upon us which is this notion of Bipartisan Solutions where you put forth commonsense ideas and find Common Ground and look at data and you try to make progress for the American People and this proved that but it clearly reminded us we are a very divided nation and joe biden clearly donald trump. In my opinion, based on things like character and decency but he would certainly make a strong argument but the Republican Party beat the Democratic Party once he went down the ballot there. Thats the reality of where we are and have a very divided government that looks like what we have and then now we have time for us to put aside some of that partisanship and start finding solutions. I think the markham people get it and i think Congress Gets it. That is why we are seeing some very positive signs coming out of congress were people who have always had this bipartisan headsets are stepping forward and trying to be leaders in this conversation. You know, i used to talk with elijah companies the late great Elijah Cummings on the floor of the house all the time and always say to him elijah the cost of doing nothing is not nothing and that was always in the context of talking about baltimore and how weve not done enough for that city and i think its true for the whole country. This partisanship has prevented us from doing anything and weve paid a huge cost and American Families paid a huge cost. We got to deal with relief obviously but then we have to start focusing our attention on things that, you know, help build a better future. That is where the agenda like expanding earning incomes tax credit and paid family leave and the overwhelming majority of the American People support and i think they will get a lot of attention or at least in my opinion. Im a bit of an optimist but that is what we have to do. Thats what i love about you prick you are an optimist and you are an optimist when you are in the minority and an optimist when you are in the majority and you are one of these Public Servants that recognizes the responsibility of Public Service and starting our conversation leading up our conversation with two as jason noted two wellregarded wellrespected governors who hutchinson and whitmer, coming at these big policy questions again, as governor has to do from a granule level because they know the ultimate impact it can have on American Families and the families of their respective estates. We are an affront for the country doesnt necessarily have a clear mandate and you rightly set up this discussion by noting that yeah, democrats took the white house but republicans grabbed a few seats back in the house and the senate is where having this conversation is still up in the air and more play there and so it will begin to matter how leaders step into the moment to sort of that bipartisan way recognized what is required in mandate or no mandate but still have to govern and still have to recognize that the urgency of right now is real and that states and the federal government will have to reconcile themselves after an economic reality, Healthcare Reality and the social reality as you look at the impact of race and other issues are also buffeting our neighborhoods and pragmatic focus on crisis and it is important but it is also a pragmatic focus on those things that are not necessarily in crisis but still need to be dealt with but that is where you have, you know, the opportunities to expand the conversation around job creation and Wealth Creation and how families realign themselves in this new environment so, as you mentioned, things like paid family leave and take care related Services Become a real focus. Yeah, mom and dad are home with kids now and they are looking forward to them going back to school and then going back to work and the infrastructure has got to be there. That and for structure house to be a big part of that. John, one of the questions i would have is how much has this crisis that we are in right now revealed our weaknesses and how do we evolve ourselves through that and how do we begin to deal with it because, you know man, it will be everybody hunkering down in their corner and we dont want to repeat of what weve got in 2009 where republicans stood over here and democrats stood over there and barack obama said cant we all just get along . Joe biden doesnt have nor can he be afforded that lack of opportunity there because the crisis is not just an economic one in this case. It touches on all those other elements, like i said but how have weaknesses been exposed to your how can what we are talking about here during this time with the solutions begin to address some of that . s back, i think youre exactly right and i think the mandate is to get things done and that is the clear mandate coming out of this election or that is what Election Officials should look at it and so Many American art living or were living on the edge. We used to talk about it as a statistic, 40 of the country cant afford a surprise 500dollar expense in all those statistics. But covid has really shined a spotlight on the reality of that because so Many Americans had very little cushion and that is why, you know, there is a mandate, i believe, with the government to provide relief to get us past this. Good news is the vaccine news is very positive. While we will have a rough couple of months as this pandemic can surge there is light at the end of the tunnel and a lot of work and getting it implemented and people vaccinated but there needs to be a relief bill to stand us up until that happens and the other thing that will come out of covid are transplant out over a long period of time and have been accelerated in the transition to the Digital Economy and things like that and they will play out over five or ten years and it is all just been accelerated and thats disruptive for a lot of people. A lot of the jobs that took 20 years for there to be 11 of retail sales online and in 20 years retail sales online but in the last six months its doubled to 22. We disrupted the retail sector. If you think about restaurants and how people are thinking deafening about delivery and eating home and its changed everything. Its been a lot of disruption. The first mandate is to find Common Ground to get us to the crisis. The second mandate in my opinion is to find the solutions that support working families. Working families are going to have a hard time managing this post covid world that has changed. It just happened in need to pass. That is why bpcs proposal on the earnings credit which is the best policy where they are proposal on paid family leave or housing these are all good ideas rooted in facts and have a lot of bipartisan support so there should be a mandate for those things and then finally theres got to be mandate about our future and about how we start allocating dollars away from relief which we have to do but doesnt have a longterm return on its investment from an Economic Perspective and how do we start shifting to things like infrastructure which we know have an enormous amount of return to the economy and how do we launch the Infrastructure Program we need, not the one we had 40, 50 years ago which was roads and bridges. Sure, we need that but we need full access to broadband and Digital Divide has been massively exposed by this crisis. We need the next Generation Energy grid and there are some of the positive things when we made basic investments in it would not only help people in the shortterm but put us on a whole different trajectory so that, to me, thats the mandate. Common ground solutions, first for relief, second to support working families through the post covid transition and then third, thinking longterm about how do we build that economy in the future for the benefit of the next generation. Yeah, but part of the reality, elated out there precisely and we need more jobs in congress to get that and move the ball along but the reality still remains that we will walk into a new term in the new administration and you got the, you know, the idea that the bpc is supporting and trying to help massage the spending Child Tax Credit or strengthening the Pell Grant Program and things like that and how do we begin to move the leadership and by that i will just move specifically to Mitch Mcconnell or nancy pelosi but all those men women are leaders and how do we move them in a way that i think touches on a lot of getting stuff done particularly when you have the racial inequality piece that has to be addressed and still have these other very important in driving social issues that are beneath the surface. The racial impact on the economy and the racial impact on healthcare the racial impact on infrastructure and how my neighborhood gets fixed versus your neighborhood gets fixed. And so, what i am looking at is and where i think the bpc will play such an Important Role is helping members and helping leaders move into that space safely. I agree. Without the partisan elbows edging them out and the [inaudible] that comes out from the special interest. There is real value in that and i think to a lot of the points you made that is what the reckon people looking for right now. Theyre looking for a leader. [inaudible conversations] if they see it, they are looking for why cant we have this all the time which is why, you know, i was in business before i was in Public Service and i use to state the best business deals are ones where everyone feels a little bad when they are done and the bpc and all of us have to be supportive of the mentality where you will not get everything you want and you may have two start small and some of these things then people want but we have to start notching progress. Right . We have to wake up everyday and say do we make progress today . The only way we all know this and this last election should remind everyone of this, the only way you will make progress in the federal government in the United States is by finding bipartisan support by definition. Unless you can sit across the table and say i can attract someone from the other side of the aisle on my proposal, unless you can say that then you got to get out of the room. Having ideas that have no chance of getting any support are not what this country needs. They are not what working families need. That is what has to really that is where the bpc root dissolution summit in every thing else they do all year long with their rich content of ideas and their creation of that safe space for convening of members on both sides of the aisle to have that kind of conversation because you and i both know there is a lot of Common Ground. Yeah, there is. But in a very difficult system. I was going to say that frustration is when people just who want to, you know, actively ignore that foundation of Common Ground and, you know, good ideas a left to die on the vine because there was not one to say why dont i just pick up the phone and i have been that bridge for countless members on the hill and we are a safe space and its okay and its a bipartisan on that. Bpc is a blessing to this kind of process because you cant do it without these organizations. It is always a pleasure when i get to hang with this brother. He is a lot of fun and i got to know john before he got to congress and he was looking at another office back in the day and i was still state chairman of the chairman we first talked. And peter introduced us. Thats right. God bless, peter. Amen. Again, a good example of im in a very blue state and john was a representative in that blue state but we got to Work Together and we got along and it can be okay and we are very happy for the good work that the bipartisan policy sensor is doing, especially this week with the summit where they are touching on a lot of other hot button important issues and we are glad to have been a part of it. Jason, i throw this back to you, my friends. I thank you again for your leadership of the bpc and its an honor, if i may, speak to be on the board and to work and serve with you. I want to thank you all for joining us for the kickoff of our solution summit. I think we are off to the very good start. Let me just share with you what is coming up next. Tomorrow we have terrific sessions talking about the efforts we have underway to support childrens and family and of a leadoff discussion with senator Rick Santorum and doctor leanna and moderate by the chief operating officer Kelly Darnall and Early Childhood work linda smith will be taking us through specifics about art recommendations. Let me make the point and i think those of you who know bpc, know this well, we dont write studies to make ourselves feel good. We dont have the hubris to hit print and think weve changed the world. We are instead in building a coalition of passionate, committed driven people who can Work Together to support the members of congress and who want to get something done. We strongly believe that democracy is the Worlds Greatest Team sport and we know that momentum matters. The ability of this country to get back on his feet is to to be determined by what our government can come together early next year and put wins on the board. That is what we are seeking to describe in this document and that is the effort we hope you all work with us on very, very soon. Thank you. Tonight on the communicators. Chief policy officer for parler amy p cough. We believe that it is the best approach when you talk about free speech, socalled misinformation and anything else to address those problems with more speech, not with any type of content restrictions. We have to act accordingly. Watch the communicators tonight at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan2. When it comes to the possibility of i new covid relif this week is set to be a crucial one and for a look at the state of negotiations over new Coronavirus Relief we turn to eric watson, reporter for bloomberg and good morning to you but what is the status of negotiations. Has anything changed over the weekend . Good morning, john. Over the weekend for senators and port democrats as well as Problem Solvers Caucus in 25 republicans and democrats in the house have had a series of Conference Calls develop attack on their bipartisan proposal. One week ago
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