In this episode, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) joins Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) to discuss the ongoing saga of Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Florida Republican who took a knee during the national anthem.
00:07:47.000And Trump understood that being from a business background, not from a grifter's background, as the occupiers of the White House are now.
00:07:55.000And that's not to say that there aren't issues on energy policy, on waste policy, where we should and can work across the aisle to try to get some things done.
00:08:06.000You've got composting legislation that you've worked on and you've even had some some interesting assistance from across the aisle on on that bill.
00:08:24.000My biggest concern there is is big business comes in and what they'll do is they'll say, oh, we're going to try to say these gas stoves.
00:08:31.000They're going to say it's for the environment for the environment.
00:08:33.000And really what it is is big business is going to put some crazy regulations like they did in the meat industry and the meat processing, where the only people that can do it are the big multinational corporations, which you and I would have little or no control or say over.
00:08:48.000And then they say under they had it under the guise of safety.
00:08:52.000And then they pass these crazy rules and regulations.
00:08:55.000And then nobody's going to compost except the big corporations.
00:08:58.000And then it's the same way there was an issue a while back, if I can digress, when I was county mayor, grease traps.
00:09:05.000We were getting too much grease in our sewage system.
00:09:07.000It causes the composting or the decomposition of sewage waste to stop and it clogs up the system.
00:09:15.000So what did they do instead of educating the public that say, hey, when you wash off your fork, you know, don't wipe it off with a napkin and throw that in the trash instead of wiping it down the sink.
00:09:25.000So they said all the big businesses said we're going to put these grease traps in to stop.
00:09:30.000We're going to mandate that everybody put them in.
00:09:41.000It drove the little man out of business.
00:09:43.000We lost three businesses in my area when I was mayor when they started enforcing this grease trap law.
00:09:49.000And as it turned out, it was a big EPA law.
00:09:52.000And that's exactly what they're going to do with composting, I'm afraid.
00:09:55.000So I would abolish the EPA and devolve that authority to our states.
00:09:59.000I mean, when the EPA was established in the 1960s, there was this belief that all human talent that was valuable and smart would be assembled in Washington, D.C.
00:10:07.000And the enlightened people could then make decisions for everyone else.
00:10:11.000And the reality is we've got sensor technology now that where folks in county government and state government are able to really protect the environment that is around them.
00:10:21.000And we're not for letting every business pollute our beautiful waters and air and land.
00:10:26.000You and I think that, you know, part of being America first is keeping America splendid and lovely.
00:10:31.000You spend a lot of time outdoors, I do too, and we want to be able to do that.
00:10:42.000So in the comments on the live stream on Rumble, they are loving the use of dad gum.
00:10:47.000Dad gum has been democratized out of the country and they're digging that.
00:10:50.000Catherine on Facebook made an interesting point.
00:10:53.000Christine also making the point on Facebook about the help farmers need.
00:10:56.000But Catherine made the point that the intention of some of these policies that the left pushes is actually to drive people off of the farm.
00:11:04.000And they believe that our wilderness areas, our wild areas, our farm areas should really not be occupied by humans and that all humans should be forced into the city.
00:11:13.000Do you think, do you agree with Catherine on Facebook that the policy's goals are that depraved?
00:13:08.000And frankly, you know, there are a lot of folks chiming in right now saying that they think that the government is being weaponized against a way of life.
00:13:17.000And what I think the left needs to realize is it was farmers and small merchants who built this country, who created a value system, a connection to faith, a connection to the land, a connection to family, to one another, to community.
00:13:30.000And those are uniquely American values.
00:13:34.000He's got a great podcast called Tennessee Talks.
00:13:36.000I'm a regular listener, so you'll see his episodes posted on my feed as well.
00:13:41.000But you also serve on the Foreign Affairs Committee.
00:13:43.000And I want to get into some of your work there because as we approach these budgeting questions, a lot of people wonder why we borrow money from one country to give it to another country.
00:13:54.000And you have had a chance to observe and even kill some pretty frivolous spending in the foreign affairs space.
00:14:01.000Talk about what you see in terms of how we spend money abroad.
00:14:06.000Well, it's virtue signaling with your money.
00:14:10.000You know, when Trump was trying to build the wall, I remember they said $4 billion.
00:16:28.000And what people need to realize is this is not like an Ikea delivery.
00:16:32.000We don't just, like, pack up an M1 Abrams in a shipping container and send it over.
00:16:37.000It takes a logistics package to go along with it.
00:16:40.000There is a maintenance supply chain that has to exist for those tanks that Americans have to be involved in.
00:16:46.000And you see Russia's response to that decision saying that they view this as direct involvement in the conflict.
00:16:52.000And while we don't let them set terms, it also seems like we have to think about where in this fight the tanks are going to be used.
00:17:00.000And it's not going to be to defend Kharkiv and Kyiv and these urban centers.
00:17:04.000You're talking about the Donbas region, and that is an area where even the Ukrainians called it the ungoverned region prior to the February invasion.
00:18:28.000I can rebuild carburetors and work on internal combustion engines, cars, motorcycles, you know, cool stuff like that, occasional lawnmower.
00:18:37.000But when we sent those tanks over there, we're not just going to send a manual.
00:18:42.000At some point, are we going to have somebody on one side of the border that's telling them how to do this?
00:18:48.000And at what point do we say are Americans over there?
00:18:52.000I mean, when you send the tanks, the Americans are over there.
00:18:56.000There is no veneer that we are not there.
00:18:59.000Best tank in the world, but they'll tell you they're prone to break down just the nature of that much metal, that much stress, the tolerances and things like that.
00:19:13.000I think that it's great to provide them to our allies.
00:19:16.000But did you believe the theory that the national security apparatus and the Biden administration put out that, well, we have to send these tanks literally as a virtue signal to unlock Germany's ability to then send leopards?
00:19:29.000I mean, if Germany wanted to send the leopards, why wouldn't they just send the leopards?
00:19:40.000Because you're saying, well, this country is going to fall if we don't.
00:19:44.000So what about all the other countries in the world that we're ignoring right now because of this thing that the media and the national media, you know, this is our moment.
00:19:59.000And by the way, I hope they coalesce and are successful in stopping this carnage.
00:20:04.000Not a single American, not a single member of Congress whose heart doesn't break when observing this terrible carnage in Ukraine.
00:20:12.000At the same time, why do we have to act like it's just as big an issue to us as it is to Europe and Germany?
00:20:20.000Why isn't it OK to say, you know what, if Germany sends the tanks, that's OK?
00:20:24.000And by the way, if some of our allies that have purchased F-16s want to give them to Ukraine and want to be there in theater to provide logistical assistance to training and joint operations, let them do that.
00:25:53.000And the magnitude of it is remarkable.
00:25:57.000So one of our colleagues, Republican Don Bacon of Nebraska, said on Meet the Press recently that it's a nonstarter to have any reduction in entitlement spending.
00:26:07.000That whatever clawbacks or reductions we do cannot touch any entitlement that anyone has.
00:26:13.000Do you agree that that's a good frame for negotiation?
00:26:16.000Or are you more open-minded than that?
00:26:41.000I mean, pre 9-11, I was saying these countries that are terrorist countries, when they send people over here, they need to register when they go to colleges at their college police stations.
00:26:55.000And then I was a racist, and then Bush did it automatically.
00:26:58.000But going back to your point, yeah, they need to work.
00:27:01.000Okay, so let's go into this specifically, because a lot of folks don't realize how these work requirements get flushed out.
00:27:07.000In state legislatures, there are a lot of people who say that they want work requirements, not even because it's their state budget that is strained by it, because so much of the money comes down as a drawdown from the federal government.
00:27:19.000But they want the policy of getting people who are on welfare off of welfare into the workforce.
00:27:26.000The problem is when states have applied for waivers to go from welfare to work, the federal government doesn't grant those waivers.
00:27:36.000If you just had work requirements for food stamps, for SNAP, not for seniors, but just for able-bodied, working-class people, you would save $412 billion during the budget window.
00:27:52.000$412 billion in savings on work requirements.
00:27:56.000Shouldn't that be something that we could get 222 Republicans behind?
00:28:01.000I would think, but I bet you, as I stated, our moderate liberal Republicans would not go that route.
00:28:07.000Well, let me throw another one at you.
00:28:10.000When Obamacare was expanded, there was a massive Obamacare expansion for able-bodied, working-age people.
00:28:19.000Now, I mean, should the rest of our constituents pay for the health care of able-bodied, working-age people?
00:28:29.000You know, because to me, when you tie health care to your job or to the government, you're not able to ever drive down the cost of care because people aren't able to have a cafeteria plan to select the coverage that is relevant to their family and their circumstances.
00:28:43.000So if you just did that, if you just eliminated Obamacare for able-bodied, working-age people, $1.1 trillion in savings over a 10-year budget window, is that something you think all Republicans should support?
00:29:22.000We have to show people that savings are real and not imagined.
00:29:25.000But we have to talk about the policies that we would change that would result in better quality of life for people in a more fair and just society while at the same time not bankrupting our nation and indebting our entire future to China.
00:30:21.000People will come in, and it'll be a whole family, and everybody will hand Mama their check, and she puts it all in her pocketbook, which I'm not sure how that works.
00:30:31.000I just don't understand why Americans who are here legally, who are working legally, should have to fund tax credits for illegal aliens.
00:30:41.000That is ludicrous to me, and I would hope that these would be ideas that unite Republicans, because here's the math.
00:30:49.000If there's a debt limit strategy that 5, 6, 10, 20 moderate liberal Republicans peel away from, then we lose.
00:30:59.000Then Joe Biden wins, and so our appeal here is not just to the Firebrand audience.
00:31:03.000It's to our colleagues to embrace some of these policy reforms that I know you would campaign on in your elections, and now that you're here, you've got a chance to do something about it and something to fight for.
00:31:13.000I want to move on to sort of the bicameral system here, because I really admire the Senate delegation from Tennessee.
00:31:21.000I would suggest, I'd make this argument, that Tennessee and Florida have to be number one and number two, top to bottom on the Senate delegation.
00:31:30.000Because, like, there are other states that have got great, you know, Rand Paul, terrific, but then you've got to pair that with Mitch McConnell, you know.
00:31:56.680The only one I could think I would trade mine for would be Tennessee.
00:31:59.360I like Rubio and Scott, but, you know, Tennessee, you've got a very special breed of conservative that you guys have sent to the Senate, and I think that that's to be celebrated.
00:32:10.520I was in the state Senate with Marsha, Senator Blackburn, and we had great times back then.
00:32:20.140Actually, I took out her daughter one time because I thought it would make her mad at me, and then she invited me.
00:32:27.200She found out I was taking her out, and so she invited me out with the family, and I was like, whoa, whoa, this is going a little fast here.