Caucus to make sure that the principles of people who believe in conservative ideology would be heard. Responsibility, making sure that tax reform was part of things that were necessary, to make sure we held our government accountable. The group has fluctuated, but we are privileged to be the chair and earn the trust of our colleagues and also do more to talk about the needs of this country and of this government and make sure we put actionable steps into doing something about it. 155 and atween hundred 60 members. Host the freedom caucus, what is that . Group of nine of us got together that wanted to talk about policy, but also what wanted to try to make sure we voted on a number of issues that millions of americans believe that washington, d. C. Had forgotten them, so we established this group to approximately 40 and as we have looked at that, we believe that we brought a voice to moms and dads, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews that are on main street that you like the capital right there does not listen to them, so it was more about pushing a conservative agenda that actually promoted job growth and when we look at that, i think the key component of you have two rules in the House Freedom caucus. You have to say yes to your leadership and say no to your leadership. Veryimes, that can be difficult, but it is all about representing the will of the people. Host for you viewers at home, you can call it ask westons of these gentlemen on the phone lines. 202 7488001, for republicans. 202 7488000 for democrats. 202 7488002 for independents. Will your various groups look the same at any issue in an instance . Perhaps, and chairman walker and i are working very hard on the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care act, as well as tax reform. Issues, look at those it is a group of conservatives getting together and the tactics we employed to try to get that accomplished are different, but we are many times of one mind on policy. Host how often does leadership say yes to the various principles you want to propose . Work in that is a progress, but there are many things we agree on with concern to the freedom caucus, specifically the areas of fiscal responsibility. The more we are on the same page, moore we are able to get things done for the American People. Host does Business Leadership agree with you on many issues . What happens when you go to House Speaker ryan and the other members of leadership . Guest 1 out of our job is to make sure we put our we are representing the people. Sometimes, leadership is not going to agree with us, but we dont start from adversarial position. We are proactive, but we understand there are going to be some disagreements and having to renew her having to maneuver is one of our goals. Host a story of politico this morning about both groups that deals with the topic of health care. The House Freedom caucus and a number of the republican study somethingwants to see called repeal plus. Can you explain what that means . Guest 2 chairman walker and i Work Together to make sure not only repeal, but that we look at a replacement plan. T happened in our position and our position has been you need to vote on those with two separate vehicles, but do those the same day to give some assurance to the American People. The repeal plus plan is all about trying to put in parts of the replacement in the tool known as budget reconciliation. It is our concern that it starts to bog down in the details of the replacement, more so than the fact that we made a Campaign PromisePresident Trump made a Campaign Promise to repeal the Affordable Care act. It is more of a focused approach on trying to make sure we are good to the American People and fulfill our Campaign Promise. , repeal andan idea replace are synonymous or does it take place in stages . Back to theyou go fall of 2015, in preparing for 2016, the house passed some kind of obamacare repeal. It only repealed six of the 419 provisions. The senate rejected and put some real teeth and repeal in it. We are asking to get back to that baseline to make sure these federal mandates. 70 of these members were elected on the republican side on the promises that they would repeal obamacare. We want to make sure we felt those promises. We fulfill those promises. Host what do you think should be done . Guest 1 we have been on a something. Figure out this is a very complex situation and i have sent a couple of times it is like having a couple children. One child goes into one bedroom and destroys the bedroom and you hold that child responsible for fixing everything. There is some kind of repair plus coming out and we want to show urgency to fulfill these promises and make sure that a genuine repeal is on the books in the best place to start is the budget reconciliation that we passed in fiscal year 2016. And in no in a yes your book as far as what leadership might say . Guest 2 leadership has a different tactic, right now. From my conversations with the upper chamber, and the senate, the plus part becomes very problematic, getting past and getting passed, even with a majority. What we are looking at is trying to make sure that we repeal it and actually get that done. President st on the desk, no less than what we put on president obamas desk just a few months ago. In doing that, if we do that, everyone has taken a vote in the senate and anybody other than just the new freshmen coming in have taken a vote in the house. We need to put that on the president s desk and if we do that, we can focus on the exact terms of the replacement, hopefully the same day. The book the first call comes from john in pennsylvania, democrats line. Caller hello. I would like to change the subject if i can. In pennsylvania, along with south carolina, we are on the verge of losing our constitutional right of travel. During that was passed president bushs administration will be put into full effect. My son fought in the iraq war. He is disabled. To takeable to go into va facilities. I wont be able to go on base with him. We will not be able to fly nine months from now. The citizens of this country in five or six states deserve the conservatives to protect our Constitutional Rights to either repeal this law or change it. The states should have the power to control their own ids, and to allow me to travel freely within the 50 United States. We look at that, one of those laws you kind of broke up a bubble that on that question, but from what i understand, it really has to do with immigration more than anything else and the difference in state ids versus some of the others, and the ability to make sure that they are authentic in nature, just from a National Security standpoint. Move to make sure we have proper ids, but the ability for u. S. Senate is citizens to move from state to state is not only a constitutional right, but it is something the American People would not put up with. It is one of the things that makes us unique as a country, is that freedom of travel and so i would say that not only conservatives i dont want to speak for chairman walker, but we are united in the fact that those Constitutional Rights are something we will stand up and uphold. You willre challenged, find a unified voice in making sure we fight back against this. Caller if you could summarize guest 1 if you could summarize the question. Host it was about the freedom of travel between states and concerns about that being limited. Guest 1 i have not heard about those concerns. We have an opportunity to represent people from all backgrounds. Recently after the executive order, the travel ban was put out, one of the last things we did was meet with a couple of our Muslim Trinity leaders. We have great relationships and it is job it is our job to protect their Constitutional Rights. Host lets go to new orleans, democrats line, joe. Caller good morning. Question, i have always wondered what do republicans say middlethey america, workingclass people were forgotten, and my thought is, you are saying white folks were forgotten. My thing is, because you are afraid of being in the minority arehe coming year, you afraid of brown people being in the majority, and the other thing is, when are you going to admit and realize that we have a crazy man as president of the United States . When are you going to stand up and admit that he does not know what he is doing, and that before you know it, we are going to be at war with somebody. Guest 1 thank you for the call. Over the years, most of my life, i have been a vocational pastor. We were blessed to work in places like cleveland and new york and baltimore. Later this month, we are doing something i dont think has been done before. 67 hbcus chapter president s to talk about issues concerning people. My wife went to a historical and weommunity college are doing this to make sure we are not just doing the talking, listening. This is something that has been important to us from day one. Those are important issues. We talk about Middle America, there is a mass of people that are working hard each day. They are paying taxes, but they reached a place where they are tired of the Political Correctness and the over taxation. They are tired of government being involved in the lives, every day. In their lives, everyday. This is not just about the president ial election. Since 2009, this Middle America we are talking about is reduced democratic governors from 28 to 16. States in its which used to be full democratic control, 67 of those partisan legislatures are now republican led. There is a reason why Middle America is pushing back against this overreach that is coming to washington, d. C. It is nothing to do with color or race. Youll find people working hard in every different walk of life. It is something we need to remember. This is not about donald trump selection. This is the upheaval we have seen in the last seven or eight years. Guest 2 thank you for your call. Congress, i am sensitive to the fact that what we need to be, as a nation, is not people of color or white versus brown or anything else. We need to be americans. When he to love our country and support it. When you talk about those middleclass americans that have been forgotten, it is not just there. A lot of people feel like they have been forgotten by washington, d. C. That is why we started our group, to return the power to the people, that actually matter, regardless of color, race or anything else, and make sure that representatives actually represent the will of the people. I know for us, we are very committed and when i look back, i was in normandy and i looked at, on the hill, at stars of david and crosses all across the hill on the normandy on normandy. It was not about the color of the individual. The only marker of whether it was a christian or a ju was right there, in terms of the markers. We believe the same red blood we bleed the same red blood. Host brad in pennsylvania, independent line. Caller good morning. I have a few questions i would like to make. They first point is that government has somehow become absent of the truth. The truth has no variables. My questions for you as Public Servants is health care a right or a privilege . If you deem it a privilege, that how is it constitutional for you to collect and use tax dollars for health care that you provide for each of yourselves and you cannot provide for the rest of the American People . When we talk about our unalienable rights, and those of those rights that cannot be taken away from us. Care,e look at health that is not an inalienable right as our Founding Fathers look at it. A lot of people say will health care is a right and we should have it. I believe it is a privilege. If you go across the globe, you can see the privilege we enjoy in america is very different than the privilege and some of our third world countries that have visited that we have visited. It becomes a component, how do we make sure that we provide a safety net for those that are truly in need. We are a compassionate country. When we look at that, it is we as a country provide that safety net. At the same time, your point is well taken. When you mandate things, obviously i am for Less Government control, as we look at that and look more at states rights. It may be more of a libertarian view, but as we start to see that, it is important that we understand that foundation. Your point is well taken, but the other part is as we look at that, we can become very myopic. We focus on that, we miss those that are hurting. Guest 1 great questions. It is a Good Foundation as far as understanding how we look at this. I dont consider it a right. With every government program, there is going to be a certain population that benefits. We understand that. You can go throughout our history. For me, it is an issue of spending. If you look at our mandatory spending side, we are on pace to be at 80 within a few years. 50 years, it was inverted. Our Discretionary Spending which includes infrastructure, and education was about 27 . Those numbers have inverted and at some point, we are simply not going to be able to tax the people enough to pay these bills. Debt, webout national can talk about the deficit. At some point, we will not be able to carry all the different expenses that people feel like they are entitled to and we just cant afford. Host from orange, virginia, and a cracked line. Democrats line. Ler i am concerned about i did not hear both of you from the caucus and i am a democrat, so i know we have a caucus on the other side. You assist the new people moving into the white house that have no political background . How do you help reestablish the dignity and pull them out of the chaos. When youtioned say the words the american public, we out here dont know whether you are talking about the conservative side, the liberal side, everybody or had how you actually look at that. The secondll take part of your question, first. When we refer to the american public, we believe that individual liberty is good for all committees. What i refer to the american public, i refer to 300 million plus americans. The first part of your question, we want to make sure there is a healthy town. I understand the rhetoric is strong sometimes and maybe even overthetop. I believe whether it is politics, ministry, personal relationships, there should be a decency or town or tone. From a personal standpoint, i did not have any political experience when i ran for congress. I spent five or six years in business and finance and 20 years in ministry, but i was concerned with the direction of our country. I dont want to roll out people that necessarily have not spent a career in the political arena to come in to washington, d. C. And impact the allegedly the side or executive sign impact the legislative side or executive side. I represent almost 800,000 people in my district. That, even ont the campaign trail, i am not talking about the fact that i am republican. I am talking about a core set of principles that should be good for democrats, unaffiliated, republicans. Even those that dont vote. I look at the number of people even though i represent 750,000 to 800,000 people, we only had 350,000 people vote. That does not mean the others dont get my representation. It is critically important. How are we preparing this administration . We have been in congress, i am on the oversight committee, we have done a number of reefing books that are going to different agencies where it is a landing book. A landing or Beachhead Group in each agency that is looking at that transition. From a congressional standpoint, giving them other things they can look at, the benefit of oversight hearings that we have had over the last four or five years is a critical component. Anytime you ramp up, whether it is this president or the previous president , there is that transition that is difficult when you are trying to fill 1200 to 4000 jobs in washington, d. C. There are 2. 1rget Million People in the federal workforce that are doing the heavy lifting, the daytoday despite lessn and than 200 political appointees made a day, we still know we have a safe, secure country and one that continues to work. Thank you for your call. Host how would you assess the first three weeks of the Trump Administration . Guest 2 probably accomplished more in the first three weeks than we did in the last 10 months of any previous administration. When you look at substantial moves, some of those are through executive orders, but as we look at making a firm transition, whether it is job growth or regulatory changes, very active and certainly, i would say, a plus in terms of what has been accomplished. Guest 1 i would give them strong marks when it comes to the regulatory relief and some of the things they are going to do to help small businesses. There is an energy and a buzz from a progrowth strategy. As fars some improvement as rolling out some of these orders, to make sure these have been clearly communicated. Host puerto rico, anthony, republican line. Caller i want to thank you for your service. I am from new york but live in puerto rico. I used to be a democrat, all my life. This election woke the whole family up. Do not back down. Keep forward. We are behind you, 100 . When you repeal and replace obamacare, please keep puerto rico in consideration. Dont forget about us as you have a lot of support. You go forward, forget about the protests. You have the majority of people behind you, and stay behind trump. Lets make this better for all of us. Guest 2 thank you so much for your call. I have a good friend who was puerto rican, here in congress. You have a bit more of a new york accident a it more of a new york accent than he does. The previousk to caller, talking about the difference between democrats and republicans and how we were. I met with your new governor, just a week ago. I was ver