And Senate Republican baseball colleagues after hearing about the horrific shooting. We will keep our eyes and ears onto store and bring bring you the latest as we get it. Here on the cspan networks. Well go live now to the bloomberg offices in washington, d. C. , for house energy and Commerce Committee chair greg walden is talking this morning with bloomberg officials about his legislative priorities. Stuff we want to start the day come in today. And i hope will have a moment of silence and put in our prayers, the lives of those are now being tended to in hospital here in the washington, d. C. , area. Including majority leader who i have no firsthand knowledge of this but i believe was hit in the hip and apparently two of his security detail as well in the shooting at the baseball practice outside of alexandria this morning. So maybe we could all just take a moment of silence and pray for the health and their recovery. [silence] thank you so much, mr. Chairman. I think it bears noting that was a security detail that which mightve felt the situation out. These are people that follow the lives of congress around wherever they go and keep them safe its a reminder of the threats of the ditches and the bravery of the people that do protect our leaders. Worth noting that is for. We come if with a very passionate congressional agenda and perhaps no committee has a broader agenda than yours, given its reach into healthcare. The energy and environment, telecom, technology, all those issues. Its hard to pick one to start with but i think id like to start with the Biggest Issue so far this you what you think is healthcare. Where do you assess of the debate today . We know the senate, your colleagues are working on a bill may be behind closed doors and now, circulating language. Where do you assess the status of this . In the first few months of the year when we had this task before us, we got a lot of public suggestions from some of our colleagues across the aisle about what we should or shouldnt do it as we passed the bill and send over to the senate thats been kind of radio silent thereafter. They have a child they have a tough job and respect that i know theyre serious about their work. I know a lot more alexander is a terrific legislator. If anybody can help policy of its him, and orrin hatch and others that are involved. Its hard t its hard doing majr reform of entitlement programs. Something involving insurance at any level, especially Health Insurance is very difficult work. They have virtually no margin of votes like we had virtually no margin to work with. Theres is even tighter. Some want to be very respectful of the work they are engaged in. I would say this, that as part of getting them the reconciliation vehicle we always understood that there were changes, police i understood, that would be changes to the bill. Hopefully improvements in the builder goes want to legislation to get better. To that end we carved out some headroom if you will about 86 billion that will be available to make other changes within the bill that they have access to. You see the did he come out of hhs and its actual studies are far more realistic i believe than cbo. The insurance number, and so im hopeful. I think that we get Something Back to us. Then we have to evaluate it in the context of the votes we have and with the support of the president. Is a saville uc headed to a Conference Committee where you can hash it out or do you think if it happens thats what you do work with and you will i will not preclude any potential future opportunity to continue to approve the legislation. We had to see what the past and when they pass it. They key for me is can we get a good package together that works for americans, that deals with our budgetary problems, that fixes the individual Insurance Market that inarguable that it is collapsing around us to we can argue over the support mechanism that are there. In the long run this individual Insurance Market is becoming terribly expensive, and using fewer and fewer choices for people for in that market to get access to Health Insurance at all. You run into people who are receiving subsidies and in budget marketer i talked to a woman the other day, our premiums or six i other bucks a month or something thereabouts. Her deductible in 16,000. She has catastrophic basically. Thats not really what was intended im sure by the last administration. So we work to do to fix this market. It is, is there a plan b if this reconciliation bill cant get to the senate . Are you considering the cost sharing reduction issue with insurers having speedy this is our issue, i went in early december and january after evaluating it and believe that while clearly we had one lawsuit the way the Obama Administration did was illegal. The commitment in the contracts were such that we needed to make good on the contract. We did want to bring too much disruption can any disruption, any unanswered disruption to the market. Its also i dont lead actor kirk cbo has a difficult job to do. But there and was put an enormous premium on the effect of the individual mandate. I believe that feud is overrated and dispelled by their own data against reality. If you look at the report ditches came out in terms of obamacare enrollment, in 2016 and 2017 they were off by a two to one ratio in terms of how may people face that will be signed up for salmon are. Year after year there off about a two to one ratio. I spoke to a group of cfos yesterday that said if your predictions and check relations off by two to 12 think youd still be working for the ceo . This is crazy. While they have a tough job they get it wrong consistently and dramatically when it comes to enrollment. I have a different view. We did Medicare Part d. We have more flexibility to enact legislation and he looked we are on Medicare Part d its 52 lower in drug costs today to a cbo said it would be back in 2003. Web of dynamic competitive marketplace with an exchange if you will. Seniors like it about 85 approval. You dont have bus trip to candid and mexico much anymore. To get drugs. It works. It works. There were ways designed to make these markets work. It is what it is. What flexibility since on the package of medicaid changes in particular that were in your bill . This is one of the tougher part in his heart for us as well. Half the republicans in the house come from states from expansion states like mine. Half are from states that dont come from, didnt it expansion. Its a natural conflict then. What we tried to do was make sure that states could cover low income individuals appropriate but not have a blank check either. Thats why with a percapita caps we put in in traditional medicaid, if you look at the medicaid cpi medical and cpi medical 1, those of of the two different categories we did, those numbers generally run above what state are spinning today but he puts it on a budget. Now the ax expansion part which is issued. Cut to the chase, the debate over medicate is what percent should states bear in support of low income people who need medical care in their states versus the federal taxpayer . And on the expanded population as obamacare said will pick up 100 , just go do it. Sign up as many as you can, we will pay 100 . Im just going to tell you, a summary give you gave you a credit card and said go shop wherever you want, why whatever you want, well pay the whole thing, you will make choices about which stores you go to. If that your credit card, you make a different choice. In a state such as mine, 63 so that means the federal government picks up that much, state picks up 37. When obamacare phase is always in the debate will be between 90 on the expanded population, 63. Whats the right number . The headroom that we gave the senate in some funding allows them to adjust the tax credits. Ive always felt they should be adjusted to income, and some other support mechanisms plus the Patient Stability Fund at 138 billion. Its him a lot of flexibility. So they can adjust the timelines on the expansion if theres a a face down face at the they could adjust the ratios. Theyve got a lot of opportunities to figure that out. They had to do it in the context of the politics, well have to do into context of our politics but a believe they are a lot of tools in that toolbox to work with. A related program thats not been part of the reconciliation debate that faces the deadline is ship, the childrens Health Insurance program. What principles to take, how long of an extension are you supporting and other changes . These are all issues we are beginning to look at. Before we get to that we also had the use of the agreement with fda we had to get done and as you know we voted that out of committee 54 to nothing. That was on, the next deadline. We have a whole bunch of deadlines. When you are chairman you discover all these deadlines. I have to talk to fred upton. No, these are on my watch but its always fun to blame fred. [laughing] so we got whatever we called it, the use of the agreements are were working with the senate to get that done. If we dont get that done the next few weeks, then perhaps fda would have to send out layoff notices. Thats not a good thing. Will you have floor time . We will pick are not worried about that. Now to your question on sj. This is incredibly Important Program s chip. When obamacare was first constructed there was a notion that s chip might not be needed in the future because obamacare would take care of this population. Obviously that hasnt played out and so were looking now at that reauthorization, alcohol, how much come where defunded and all of that. So not going to get too far over my ski tips in terms of what were going to do but we recognize its an Important Program. I anticipate reauthorization but we were evaluated as well. The majority leader has talked a lot about days one, face to come face three. Face when being reconciled nation. Face to be what secretary can do. Face the other things, as can do. What are some other ideas in the phase three . The phase three things are much like what we passed or will pass this week on medical malpractice. We couldnt do that in the context of reconciliation because the rules we know will say upwards of 52 billion of federal taxes if we knock what california has. You couldnt do in reconciliation. We were passing that now. The Association Health plans, we looked at that. Were trying to evaluate how you would do purchase across state lines and create a national marketplace. Theres one thing after another here that you will see as takeup and move forward, as time sort of permits given these other mandatory things we have to go address on the hillside. We will be working on these but remember those we knew it would require 60 the senate. Some of these we passed in the senate before and its kind of Jimmy Buffett song, if the phone doesnt ring it must be me. You dont hear much back. They have a tougher hill to climb. When it comes to your home state senator ron wyden his work with the republicans on healthcare ideas that are the ideas that you and he have about maybe issues specific to oregon when it comes to healthcare at you like to pursue . We have a very good relationship. In fact, we held up the aisle and Alaska Airlines flight for about an hour the other night flying back to oregon talking about a whole host of issues not a lot on healthcare i would confess, more on some of our Natural Resource issues and a few other things in that conversation. He lives and breathes healthcare and finance. He had a medicare reform proposal with speaker ryan several years ago. So there may be opportunities Going Forward. Lets face it. On obamacare, the Affordable Care act, its a partisan issue from the getgo. It was when it got created. Any changes to it, i never anticipated democrats being able to come forward and do much in this environment in a bipartisan way. Its just too much of a base political issue. So we knew we would have to carry the water. But i think another Health Reforms there are opportunities. And certainly when it comes to spending our state efficiency and our states. We are back, it was a story today in oregon about a new Software Program theyve been working on that is multiples of what anticipated not to cover the organ debacle the cost 300 million never work. They are up to where they think 241 million on a new i. T. System to do enrollment that is multiples above what was originally projected. For gosh sakes, you are spending four, 500 million just on the software. Is that really, how does that happen . Lets shift to the environment and energy issues. You announced today subcommittee markup for tomorrow, three deals when of which deals with Yucca Mountain which is been stalled, i was at one of biggest blockers to that in Congress Last year. We are going to rename it, too. What you going to call it now. Or someone suggested the former majority leaders name. [laughing] talk to us about that bill and may be what your vision is for that, the browns field program. You know, those are all good questions. On Yucca Mountain would look at both interim and private storage obviously got to get that right. But the key here is for ratepayers and taxpayers, the industry, we need to get a solution. Nobody has led stronger and better and more eagerly than john shimkus in this matter. As chairman of the environment subcommittee when a meeting chairman i said there are two things are really want you to focus on, one is the longterm solution for nuclear waste, yucca come with an interim component to make it all work. And r rfs reform, like thanks a lot. Yucca is at the top, secretary perry was out to nevada, looked at yucca. He and i discussed that. So we want to move forward and we will move forward, and we hope to get this done. I recognize it wont be easy. I know that the challenges ahead or it would have been done a long time ago. This is high on my list to try and give it our best shot. On brownfields legislation, this is a very, very Important Program for the country. You want to create jobs and clean up environmental waste and mass, this is a program to do it. With great partnerships and stories with states. And its one of these, ill get the multiple wrong, so somebody will fact check me so i wont even use it but its like so theres a lot we will do on health care outside of quote unquote the aca or obamacare. But when youre wrestling with medicaid to states when youre wrestling with an exchange that is failing and people went to the sideline. Id like to have a bipartisan corrupting data to throw a little in your way and what about the blood type in your record . Think about the implications of that. You begin to have to question data and all of the medical records of everybody that you serve. You have a real problem, and so they havent seen that. By the way, on these on these ransomware takes they told us this was unsophisticated and they can close it quick and i forget to shut it off and it happened other a weekend here which we were able to get involved. Hhs and 3,000 people l at the same time on a multihour Conference Call about what they were seeing and how to close this, we have a hearing on this last week. On their whole command center they have to deal with cyberattacks in the health care space. So youve got that, meanwhile youve got this great opportunity to do Data Research if you will. When we pass 21st century cure from oregon brian heads the night Cancer Research center and help develop glee beck a stomach cancer cure. I think 65 cancer data out there, and with todays technology if you can harness those data and focus them, you can do Predictive Analytics you be help find the right molecules. It is dramatically dramatically improves our Research OpportunitiesGoing Forward to find cures. And so then you have i would say sort of the third part of this is you know, if were actually checking or Blood Pressure because theres a device that will do that easily or monitoring our glucose or whatever. In real time, we can enhance our own health care. Without having to go to the doctor or the er. So this is incredible time in which we live where we can improve our own health care, take more responsibility for that. Drive down cost will you innovation we have to make sure all of that opens its exposure so we look at it from the broad perspective. Gentleman in the back if we could we didnt give him a chair but a question i guess. Cant afford a chair at blueburg i guess or enough chair. [laughter] i just got here too late this group, that should be to the extent of your committees jurisdiction and thank you for the overview of the health an environmental stuff. On mark with the software and information Century Association and your committee is jurisdiction includes internet privacy. Ive heard that. And you may have had a couple of experiences with that this year. Yep. Representative blackburn has a piece of legislation that has raised some concerns in the Tech Community and in others. It goes well beyond what the federal trade commission does to ensure Consumer Privacy and im wongd ring if you have any reflections on the merit was bill or its prospects. Well chairman black burn on technology, shes very bright, very capable and very committed to the cause of data privacy individual control over the data. It is kind of unfortunate were in part of the reason were many this position is because the prior fcc went too far the other way and decided the internet should be treated like old mabel and went into title too common carrier status you know meant that the federal trade are commission no longer had jurisdiction over those sorts of issues because they dont have jury