Transcripts For CSPAN2 After Words With Representative Rosa

Programs in her book the least among us waging the battle for the vulnerable. Shes interviewed by mathers, American Enterprise institute studies resident scholar. Rosa delauro, this is such an honor to be sitting here and congratulating you on your new book the least among us. I read it from beginning to end. I had all these different sections of the book especially and that tells me a lot about the passion in politics, in getting policy work done despite all the stress you had to go through in congress so thank you for writing this book and speaking up inbehalf of your book the least among us. Im very delighted to be here with you, to have the opportunity to speak about the book and i want to thank you. Reading the book cover to cover, it really is very gratifying. I was struck by the way you titled the chapters. You say in defense of and then we hear about the sick, the hungry, women, unemployed. Why do you feel the need to write this book at this time . Is it your experience and policymaking that made you write this . Do you feel theres a need today to highlight these issues . It really is in defense of women and children and families essentially, and the issues that have come up in the course of my tenure in the congress for 26 years but what i found is the whole structure of a social safety net which i so fundamentally believe in that we have this shared responsibility to one another, a moral was possibility to help people in a time of need or to make sure that kids are not punished because they grow up in a low income family. But i have to tie back to my own experience and growing up. Where both of my parents serve in public life. They sat on a city council in the city of new haven. They didnt write a crime bill or a health care bill. What they did around the table such as this, they work with the people in our community who, to help them find a job or to help them with Social Security. To help them, yes, to find a place where they could put food on their table. And it was about making government work for people. And so those are the lessons that i learned. And when i think about, you sent for this time. The social safety net has a very rich, bipartisan history. But it is under a massive assault these days. So when i took these lessons from my family, i went to the congress where i made that discovery of these programs and yes, you can talk about them as a series of programs but it is about the moral imperative of dealing with people in times of need. That led me to over the years of thinking about a social safety net practiced by democrats and by republicans and understanding that as a result of an Industrial Revolution, as a result of changing times, while the country grew, as people prospered, there were those who were left behind. And the social safety net was there to catch people as they were experiencing these challenges in their lives and to be there so that they could get back on their feet again. And so the issue that came up works, was the defense of the hungry and looking at nutrition programs and the Food Stamp Programs, looking at income support in the Child Tax Credit or in earned income tax credit x. Businesses, or the government. We have to make it work. Oh so what i saw in 1977, w was maybe there is other areas because if we put those in place then these systems will abuse people. We see it with child labor laws and we see it with, yes, a topic that you know today people say we need less regulation but those regulations have helped to save peoples lives. You know, the eight hour day and 40 hour workweek. All of those issues are important and require someone to do something. We had a moral responsibility coming out but i want to push you. Some say private companies are not doing much for the welfare people. In some sense, do you sort of shift all of the responsibility for helping the private sector. The economists say an argument saying global population is cut in half. Not because of safety regulations but because of free e enterprise and trade. It has contributed to a growth. People are in jobs and other components of the safety net where you made responses to the industrial rev Industrial Revolution technology. These are broad election issues. This is where we need to go. You take a look at what then is what about those who do get left behind in this process . I say these laws were written not written by these people. We acknowledged the progress made. We need the safeguards to guard the opposite of familys financial clamity. Right now, that is something we need to do. I feel like this is how we think about things and often it is expanding. People are suffering and you know, the role of the safety net is not to get people back into the workforce but to slide them back to a safe space to exist. Do you think of that as a different perspective . This is where we have a difference, i listen to people who think about we went through a terrible recession. Most of them and i would say tou provide unemployment, i mean people are not going to look for a job. That is totally wrong. People want to learn. You need to find yourself. It is simple. And so that the notion that, again, i believe, is a hammock. There is zero people who are out for their own calister. They want to take care of their families. I have children and grandchildren. And i want them to look up to me about the way i do my job. Factory workers want the same thing. And one of the big problems we face in the middle of this country is people who are watching the fabric of their liv lives. They cant afford to send their children out. It is criticalally important. What i found, wrangled back, i think the social safety net same first under attack with Newt Gingrich ging. That was block grant food stamps. Lets eliminate a school lunch program. Lets cut medicaid. But provide a tax break for the richest. We fought back. We fought back. We mobilized and fought back. I think that you can only take government aid and people opt out voluntarily. That is a slap in the face for the millions who do everything right and still cant get by. It is betrayal of a legacy of Good Government in the United States. This is what i have worked to defend for 25 years. That is the central argument of the safety net. What about two people needed to be pushed off Unemployment Insurance . There is a spike in the number of people who find jobs. Right. And sometimes when i look at back objectively, the idea that two people need to be pushed off Unemployment Insurance. As an economist sometimes you read the literature and we do find that demented benefits start to run out, people you know there is a spike of people in the number that find jobs. And it does not mean people are ready to find jobs or people are able to find jobs that are really the job that they want. But do think that there is value in having people remain attached to the workforce . And i get that these are not the best jobs. You know we see that all the time because he knew even sometimes the argument is that yes, people, we get them into a job a low rate is a much different economy. If you look at the beneficiaries ensure that your bread schaefer and you know two dollars a day. But yes, of course there is value in the workforce. And people want to work. But you look at the economy where there are no jobs and at the same time i take a look when i speak about right now. I take a look at the trump budget. And the ryan budget. If you eliminate the job training and the 2. 3 billion cut in workforce training, if you shut down the avenues that allow people to be able to succeed at a job, what does that say about your concept . You want people to have a job. On the one hand, jobs are scarce. Then you do not want to train people for their jobs. In the other piece which is that today, i am sure you book that that they did about creating jobs in a digital economy. Which we need to do. 70 percent of the people do not have a College Degree and we have probably put too much emphasis on a College Degree. But if you cut Vocational Training and you cut jobs and states are cutting vocational, cutting back on Vocational Training. What is it that you do to connect people to the workforce . Show less text 00 19 33 unidentified speaker i guess they did have a push. They did to a push for apprenticeship programs and stuff. And i guess the conversation is how do you and holy office every day. This is a challenging economy. The labor market has suffered one of the most in the agreed in the great recession. [inaudible] show less text 00 20 09 unidentified speaker put on apprenticeships, i think it is so critically important. Because they are so valuable. And yet, if you take a look at the budget, the trump budget. In the 2017 budget which we recently passed, there was 95 million. For the nation for apprenticeships. In the 2018 budget, they cut it to 90. They want to because it is not a cut but it is simple math. 9495 is a cut. However, we have a program for several years that had over 2 billion. For connecting community colleges. And this is happened in my district. Community colleges and of industry. Show less text 00 21 01 unidentified speaker yeah, thats right 00 21 04 unidentified speaker and that program came to a conclusion. And this congress would not reauthorize. So we are now with 90 million for the entire country and you know, i have listened to labor secretaries and education secretaries tell me that apprenticeships are a good thing. Why then are we not making a more serious question getting people to jobs and not having to say or talk about a four year College Degree is the best thing. You know it is not true show less text 00 21 54 unidentified speaker it is not true. And the Unemployment Rate is way higher than the official Unemployment Rate. That is why you need people to have jobs at younger ages to make also back to joe someone who is an idol. He says you know, inequality is nothing result of globalization and technology but the Public Policy choices that we make. And he is right. And we have made some bad Public Policy choices. Which have not helped people to began fully employed. To be able to take care of themselves and their family. Lets talk a little bit about one of the big reasons why these programs are happening. It is likely because the spending. Do you say that president bush cited projections in 2018 exceed what they taken and today when you look at the latest report from the Congressional Budget Office that it says the same thing. It shows that security will be cut. You think there is a way to cut or reformed Social Security . Nobody wants cuts and benefits but we know that we need some change in the program. List a on the people not paying. Im trying to recall the figure. 100 and list that when Social Security reaches lowest part we had filed we had Ronald Reagan and oneill. They made this solvent into the future. This on all of this wringing of hands about Social Security and being insolvent can be solved immediately. By lifting the cap and there are those that just do not want to do that. Social security has been one of the most successful programs at lifting people out of poverty in this nation. And those, i lived through you know, the desire to privatize Social Security. And it was you know i note that in the book as well. But we can solve this problem and we can solve it easily. Where we need to deal with, we need to have been very hard look at what we do with tax cuts and as we seen in the past, tax cuts for the wealthiest people in the nation. Over the years weve seen the gap and the separation for those at the top doing very well in middleclass families, lowerclass families are struggling. And they are struggling to be able to send their kids to school. They look at a very bright child that gives me to talking about Social Security. And again, another area where i think there is bipartisan agreement is the centers that exist in the Social Security Disability Insurance program. The fact that people who are applying for disability and this has a lot to do with people out of the workforce. Why are the out of the workforce and on disability . And the fact that they can only earn a certain amount of money. I think it is a certain amount and i need to apply for disability. Even if i could have continued to work, i will not be able to do it because im trying to apply for the benefits. And it is a long process and people spend two years applying for benefits and then there out of the workforce for that long. Do you think that is a problem . Do think that show less text 00 27 04 unidentified speaker i do not think it is a problem. I think we spent a lot of time thinking about, i will go back to paul ryan. If you can only make receiving government aid humiliating and actually, the president s budget cuts back on Social Security, disability payments. Whats happened in healthcare bill and medicaid where children who are disabled with disabilities are going to be cut from medicaid if the Senate Passes the healthcare repeal and replace bill. I am always interested in a ton of research that is done about the vulnerable. Waging the battle for the vulnerable. In finding that my god are they taking advantage . Is a child getting a lunch that they do not deserve . Lets then make sure, where is the research . On the other side of the coin . With the Tax Deductions that people are allowed to take because they over the years weve seen the over the years weve seen the gap and the separation for those at the top doing very well in middleclass families, lowerclass families are struggling. And they are struggling to be able to send their kids to school. They look at a very bright child and say i am sorry. We cant get you to school. And they do not take vacation. They cannot afford to retire and so many of them i cannot put food on the table. Today. And we can do something about that. Show less text 00 25 59 unidentified speaker that gives me to talking about Social Security. And again, another area where i think there is bipartisan agreement is the centers that exist in the Social Security Disability Insurance program. The fact that people who are applying for disability and this has a lot to do with people out of the workforce. Why are the out of the workforce and on disability . And the fact that they can only earn a certain amount of money. I think it is a certain amount each month, if you go over then you get kicked out of the program or you are not eligible for the benefits. There is a ton of research now say nothing is of the people who decide well, i cannot keep a job. And i need to apply for disability. Even if i could have continued to work, i will not be able to do it because im trying to apply for the benefits. And it is a long process and people spend two years applying for benefits and then there out of the workforce for that long. Do you think that is a problem . Do think that show less text 00 27 04 unidentified speaker i do not think it is a problem. I think we spent a lot of time thinking about, i will go back to paul ryan. If you can only make receiving government aid humiliating and actually, the president s budget cuts back on Social Security, disability payments. Whats happened in healthcare bill and medicaid where children who are disabled with disabilities are going to be cut from medicaid if the Senate Passes the healthcare repeal and replace bill. I am always interested in a ton of research that is done about the vulnerable. Waging the battle for the vulnerable. In finding that my god are they taking advantage . Is a child getting a lunch that they do not deserve . Lets then make sure, where is the research . On the other side of the coin . With the Tax Deductions that people are allowed to take because they can. Because they are very merry well off. Show less text 00 28 41 i agree with you. 00 28 42 unidentified speaker what do we do about the money being spent for Crop Insurance . No one cares. They can get a Million Dollars in their premium subsidy. I remember and i talk about this in the book about colleagues who want to cut the Food Stamp Program and someone who is getting a federal subsidy for land that they are not even killing. Absentee landlords, that they can get the benefit of an agricultural subsidy because no one is watching, no one is saying you make too much money. You have assets that go beyond a thousand dollars that you talked about if the child gets a free lunch what about the people that want to drug test the food stamp beneficiaries which i talk about, why are arent we drug testing . Getting a tax cut at the highest end is a federal subsidy. Why should we not be drug testing all of those folks as well . Show less text 00 31 08 unidentified speaker the spending cuts in the policy are targeted. 00 31 14 unidentified speaker but we only want to seek out those who are vulnerable and then it is a problem. The upper end is not a problem. Thats why when i talk about the defense of the hungry and the unemployed in waging the battle, thats my job. Thats what my job has been. Show less text 00 31 48 unidentified speaker lets talk about moving to a slightly different area. Q. Talk about your experience of getting Ovarian Cancer and the struggle to buy the act. Why is a struggle. This is an issue ive been working on myself and the family leave project and we often come up against the same stumbling blocks that these policies are misused and that people are going to take time off other