The Great America Show - AMERICANS MUST RECOGNIZE CHINA IS OUR TRUE THREAT, THAT IS WHY THE NEW HOUSE COMMITTEE ON CHINA IS SO IMPORTANT SAYS REP. BEN CLINE

00:00:00.000 Hello everybody and welcome to the Great America Show. I'm Lou Dobbs and couldn't be happier to

00:00:05.400 have you with us. Let's start with a big question that's on the minds of lots of folks, Americans

00:00:10.980 all. What's going on in this great land? Our sleepy Joe, impaired puppet president, Robinette 0.69

00:00:17.560 Biden, has already provided the Ukrainians an estimated $110 billion. It's an estimate, you 0.75

00:00:25.580 know, because no one in the Biden regime wants anyone to know where all that money is going

00:00:30.300 or to whom or how it's being spent or why. Well, do you remember the days when a president was

00:00:37.380 actually limited and his powers couldn't just order our troops over to Europe and wait till you hear

00:00:42.720 further orders from the commander in chief? Nope. Biden sent more than 100,000 of our troops over

00:00:49.580 to Europe. Lots of our troops positioned in the so-called eastern flank of Europe. Just waiting,

00:00:54.780 I guess, because Europe has better things for their troops to do than just defend Europe.

00:01:01.160 That's apparently still up to us. And yes, we spend all of that money on NATO and the defense of Europe.

00:01:07.660 And again, the Euros have better things to do with their money than to do the dirty work, 0.92

00:01:13.660 the expensive work of defending against Putin the terrible. By the way, we haven't spent all of

00:01:20.740 that $110 billion. We've spent, I guess, about $60 billion so far, although no one seems to have,

00:01:28.640 of course, exact numbers. Well, here at home, things aren't getting much better for Biden the

00:01:33.720 blundering. It's pretty clear to most folks that Biden's luck is running out. All those classified

00:01:39.120 documents showing up everywhere Biden's been, his residence, his think tank that was paid for,

00:01:45.360 by the way, by the Chinese communists, or most of it. They showed up at his house, the classified

00:01:50.620 documents, not the CCP. Well, at least as far as we know. The funny thing is, it looks like the

00:01:56.700 Department of Justice is covering up for Biden as energetically as they attack former President

00:02:02.800 Trump at every turn. By the way, the DOJ telling Congressman Jim Jordan, chair of the Judiciary

00:02:09.520 Committee, to go to hell. Not in those exact words, but that was clearly their meaning. The Department

00:02:15.420 of Justice saying they wouldn't give Jordan any information on the special counsel investigation

00:02:20.180 into Biden and his classified document scandal, saying that just might mess up the special counsel

00:02:27.020 investigation, and we wouldn't want that, would we? So there we are. I'm pretty sure Congressman

00:02:32.220 Jordan was expecting that response, aren't you? Well, meanwhile, the Russian cyber gang Illnet,

00:02:38.040 briefly hacking into more than a dozen U.S. hospitals yesterday. And if you feel like last year you were

00:02:44.420 cyber-attacked yourself in those midterm elections, we were all getting bombarded by text messages of

00:02:51.120 all kinds in 2022. Call-blocking company RoboKiller estimates that there were about 50 political messages

00:02:59.360 per phone. Almost 15 billion texts. That's enough to overwhelm most folks, and it will only be getting

00:03:06.640 worse. The Supreme Court in 2021 lowered the consent requirements for political messaging.

00:03:13.940 So get ready for a lot more of those irritating, annoying political messages as we approach 2024.

00:03:21.280 The nation's capital, or if you prefer the D.C. swamp, is back in full swing now. The Republican-controlled

00:03:27.760 Congress carrying out their promises to investigate the Biden regime scandals, open borders, smuggling of

00:03:34.620 deadly drugs, sex trafficking, President Biden's business dealings with his brothers and son,

00:03:40.700 election integrity, Dems' weaponization of the FBI and DOJ against Americans, and China's theft of a 0.66

00:03:47.660 half trillion dollars worth of U.S. technology and intellectual property each and every year,

00:03:53.500 and their worldwide military threats to the United States, and how to deal with the Marxist Dems'

00:03:59.020 outrageous runaway spending and massive additions to already bloated budgets and mountains of debt.

00:04:06.800 The Republican House agenda is long, and it's a tall order, each and every element on that agenda.

00:04:13.400 Our guest is one of those leading the effort, Congressman Ben Kline of Virginia.

00:04:18.600 Congressman Kline is a member of the powerful Appropriations Committee and the Budget Committee,

00:04:23.140 also leading the Republican Study Committee's Budget and Spending Task Force.

00:04:28.180 Congressman Kline, it is great to have you with us here on The Great America Show.

00:04:32.520 Welcome. Let's just begin with the difficult decisions that lie ahead on what to do with that

00:04:37.760 debt ceiling and the conflicts it creates for particularly Republicans. Your expectations.

00:04:45.320 Well, this is not something new, unfortunately, given that we have 31-plus trillion dollars worth of

00:04:51.940 debt that is increasingly, the interest payments are increasingly crowding out priorities for the

00:05:00.220 federal government, and, you know, we really do need to address the underlying crisis that's

00:05:07.820 increasingly at hand with our mandatory programs and our discretionary spending. But, you know,

00:05:15.360 this has been tried a number of different ways, whether it's just through a straight increase in the

00:05:20.580 debt ceiling or whether it's through adding some reforms. The sequester is one of the most famous or

00:05:28.120 infamous ways that they've raised the debt ceiling and attached some spending restraints. And it ended up 0.82

00:05:36.880 saving around a trillion dollars in federal spending. And we feel, those of us in the Freedom Caucus and

00:05:46.380 those of us who recognize the impending insolvency of Social Security and Medicare and other entitlement

00:05:55.540 programs, that we need to take some steps to shore those up and make sure they're around for current and

00:06:01.240 future generations of Americans. So we are not just out of hand rejecting the notion of an increase in the

00:06:11.060 debt limit. We just have to make sure that we put this country on the right track. And just as the Freedom

00:06:18.720 Caucus leveraged the election of a speaker to get important reforms to the process, we're ready to

00:06:25.080 leverage this next step in lifting the debt limit to get those essential reforms that are necessary to

00:06:34.060 putting this country back on the road to financial solvency and continued success.

00:06:41.440 I certainly agree with your motives and your goals and your values in all of this in moving to fiscal

00:06:51.060 responsibility. I just wonder about the debt ceiling as being the starting point, because I think it's fair to

00:06:58.820 say, and correct me if I'm wrong, that right now the 2023 fiscal budget is baked in. The passage of the

00:07:08.320 omnibus bill, now the debt ceiling. We've watched the Republicans try, as you just intimated, Congressman,

00:07:15.520 over and over again to have a showdown with an administration over the debt ceiling. And every time the

00:07:24.560 Republicans have lost, and losing that fight becomes a very big fight. It also becomes a great distraction

00:07:30.960 for the Republican Party at a time when your committees are moving forward in such a manner as

00:07:39.180 to give great hope to all of us that you're going to succeed in getting to the truth of so much, whether

00:07:45.080 it is the weaponization of the federal government against citizens, whether it is the financial dealings

00:07:50.360 and corruption of the Biden family. The list goes on. Isn't that a concern as well?

00:07:58.080 We have a long priority list for our committees and the new committee chairman to tackle, but we're

00:08:04.120 optimistic that we can tackle this one as well. And, you know, part of the problem is spending is easy,

00:08:12.820 but adjusting your debt for it, spending that's already occurred, is hard. And we might want to

00:08:21.360 look at reversing it so that we have this discussion before we spend all this. We actually look and have

00:08:31.380 to agree to increase our spending limit. It's essentially the same as increasing a credit card limit.

00:08:37.180 You increase the limit on your credit card before you spend it up to the limit, not after the fact.

00:08:42.820 Right, exactly. And that's the point I was making is this is after a point of both appropriations,

00:08:50.520 a passage of the legislation put forward by the administration. There has been agreement from

00:08:56.960 both parties in both houses in the Senate led by Mitch McConnell, for crying out loud, as he moved

00:09:04.440 all of those senators and another, what was it, nine or 10 in the House that joined with the Democrats

00:09:09.900 in passing the omnibus bill. It seems that that fight has to occur this year, but not over the debt

00:09:19.240 ceiling, because to me, that's like handing the Democrats a bat, maybe a sledgehammer and a whip

00:09:26.040 to hit you guys all over the head for several months, at least, while your time could be better

00:09:33.540 occupied, preparing for the fight at the incipient point, which is with the budget.

00:09:41.140 It's almost as though the system is designed, we're designed to fail. It's made in a way that

00:09:48.720 you have to come in after the fact to look at your debt, but it's done in a way that actually

00:09:54.960 encourages deficit spending and adding more to the debt. And instead of making you evaluate

00:10:03.100 with clear eyes, whether you can take on additional debt moving forward, it's very similar to the

00:10:11.260 budget reforms that were put in place. Oh, around 50 years ago, when the budget committee was put in

00:10:17.200 place, I'm on the budget committee, it's supposed to put out a budget every year. And that's supposed

00:10:23.580 to bind or constrain the appropriations process. I'm also on the appropriations committee. And I can

00:10:28.940 tell you, not only has, under Nancy Pelosi's speakership, the budget committee not put out

00:10:33.880 any kind of blueprint or guidelines for spending to constrain appropriations, but appropriations

00:10:39.780 would ignore them if and when they did anyway. So the system has several flaws. It needs to, we need

00:10:49.680 to take action to find ourselves a little bit more aggressively. And given the majority that we have

00:10:59.460 right now, we have an opportunity, at least in the House, to use some of our newfound power as

00:11:07.940 conservatives to make those changes. But whether there's an appetite for it anywhere else,

00:11:13.660 unfortunately, I don't see it. But it never is too early to start trying.

00:11:21.740 Well, it isn't. But at the same time, it might be too late. Having the benefit of experience,

00:11:31.860 how would you, if you decide to hold the line on raising the debt ceiling, if you decide that even

00:11:38.640 after all of the votes of approval and you don't use the, it's, am I incorrect? The appropriations

00:11:45.940 committee could rescind some of its appropriations under the 2023 budget. Could they not?

00:11:53.580 Absolutely. A rescissions bill is something that has happened in the past. And usually when Democrat

00:11:59.680 led Congresses go out and Republican Congresses come in, we look at rescissions bills.

00:12:04.960 But usually, I think in the past, that's happened when both houses have flipped instead of just one,

00:12:12.940 whether it would be an exercise in futility. I still think showing the American people that

00:12:18.460 we've spent too much, we need to spend less, we need to spend less in terms of what this gargantuan

00:12:25.300 nearly $2 trillion in spending, the omnibus that they did at the end of last year, with Mr. McConnell's

00:12:32.820 help, as you indicated, is something we should probably pursue. I would be for it. And I'll

00:12:40.380 bring it up with the Freedom Caucus that we meet after first votes this evening. So I think it's a

00:12:46.780 good topic of conversation about how to flex our newly found muscles here in this Republican House

00:12:52.600 representative. In flexing that muscle, you have the support of a new Rasmussen poll showing that

00:13:01.200 about 56% of Americans in their survey would support shutting down the government rather than

00:13:10.120 increasing the debt load. Is that helpful?

00:13:14.760 Well, the poll is apples and oranges, because if we don't raise the debt ceiling, the government

00:13:22.680 doesn't shut down. The markets may implode, but the government doesn't shut down. That doesn't come

00:13:27.400 until October. So we'll hope that there is a similar attitude in October when we have to pass spending

00:13:43.020 bills. And hopefully we're going to have some restraint on spending and go to the limit with

00:13:48.400 the Senate and with the president on that. But on the debt limit, we're prepared to stand firm and

00:13:55.260 insist on some reforms. And if we lay the groundwork early enough, we would hope that the markets,

00:14:02.620 we can put in place some protections, at least some processes that will address the debt in sequence,

00:14:14.080 so that some of the most pressing payments are made earliest. And then we can push and leverage

00:14:23.580 our actions for these reforms that are going to be so important.

00:14:27.320 The principal reforms that you want. I don't know how many priorities you have, what your agenda is,

00:14:35.560 in any negotiation that the White House says they will not have with you. But if you do have those

00:14:41.020 negotiations and make those demands, what would be the top three?

00:14:46.000 Well, I think first you look at discretionary spending and you look at some caps that can be

00:14:52.280 increasingly ratcheted downward to control discretionary spending. That's the annual

00:15:00.520 appropriations process for everything from agriculture to housing to defense to, and defense

00:15:06.960 is the big elephant in the room. But, you know, we're going to have to at least freeze discretionary

00:15:13.200 spending. But I would argue we need some cuts and consolidations and privatizations and other types

00:15:19.320 of reforms. But then on the mandatory, but that's the problem. Discretionary is only about 30% of the

00:15:27.560 budget. The other 65% of the spending is mandatory spending. And so we need at least some signal from

00:15:38.700 the administration that they're open to protecting and preserving these mandatory programs for future

00:15:47.300 generations. Right now, they're due to go insolvent in the next decade. And my kids and millions of

00:15:57.040 other parents across this country want there to be this safety net for their kids and grandkids when

00:16:03.660 they come of age. And so they have to be reformed. They have to be changed because at the current rate,

00:16:10.320 they won't be there for these future generations. You're talking about Social Security, Medicare?

00:16:18.620 Absolutely. To shore them up, to improve them for future generations, not for those who have 1.00

00:16:24.180 depended on them and are currently receiving benefits or have worked most of their lives with

00:16:30.500 the expectation that certain benefits are coming. Well, we're talking about my 10-year-old daughters.

00:16:36.860 I mean, that's the generation that is going to have to see changes to the program. And that may 0.99

00:16:44.620 not address the immediate need for addressing our debt or for our deficit spending. But at the very

00:16:52.540 least, it will send the signal that we're headed in the right direction and may give some of us

00:16:58.220 at least some confidence that we're going to make the changes needed so that we can address the debt

00:17:05.780 ceiling. You know, Congressman, as we sit here talking, the prospect of the Democrats taking

00:17:16.640 another club to your heads when you even mention the word Social Security and Medicare, the odds go up

00:17:24.380 by about 100 percent that they're going to win a PR battle because that's what this is. This is a

00:17:30.380 political battle within the D.C. and certainly within the House of Representatives and this great

00:17:38.580 government of ours. I just wonder if you really believe that the American people are going to sit still

00:17:45.100 for a one-party solution to Social Security. The most impressive and the only successful

00:17:53.280 reformation of Social Security occurred back in 1983 at the Greenspan Social Security Commission.

00:18:03.120 Wouldn't you prefer to try something like that, approach that, rather than to take on unilaterally

00:18:09.720 the burden of what will be a massive beatdown from the Marxist Dems and their highly controlled

00:18:17.640 globalist media who will just, you know, come after you with everything they've got?

00:18:29.280 We have to present this argument in its proper terms. We have to let the people know that

00:18:35.700 these programs are dying at the hands of Democrats. Democrats are killing Social Security and Medicare

00:18:42.040 by allowing them to run into the ground. And if we don't act to save them, they will not be here.

00:18:50.060 That's the argument we have to make to the American people, that we cannot do nothing

00:18:55.160 because our children and their children's future depends on these programs continuing to exist.

00:19:04.180 And at this rate, they are being run into the ground by the willful ignorance of Nancy Pelosi

00:19:13.340 and Chuck Schumer and Joe Biden.

00:19:15.860 You're talking to a fellow who agrees with you 100 percent.

00:19:19.780 But I also wonder why the voters wouldn't ask, well, wait a minute. We just had four years of

00:19:24.620 President Trump. He did great things. Why wasn't this another great thing that he did in his term?

00:19:29.180 We both know the answers to that. But those questions are legitimate to ask on the part of the voters.

00:19:35.720 And the second is, isn't this just a retread of the old Romney-Ryan privatization impulse

00:19:45.740 that certainly wasn't helpful to them in the 2012 election?

00:19:49.300 Well, no one is proposing any kind of privatization or any kind of specifics.

00:19:59.080 And I do like the commission idea that's been presented that the Greenspan Commission was successful

00:20:07.020 in extending the life of the trust funds. And we need similar willingness on the part of the administration.

00:20:18.380 And both parties, because ultimately, this won't be a one party solution.

00:20:24.000 This will have to be a bipartisan process, especially if it's going to happen in the next two years.

00:20:30.700 And what we really need is for the White House to come to the table.

00:20:35.460 Their refusal to even come to the table and participate in this debate is negligent and contributing to the markets getting skittish.

00:20:49.480 What we will have to have is a willingness by the administration to come to the table and actually engage in a debate

00:20:57.200 about what is the current status of these programs.

00:21:01.980 Are these programs facing impending insolvency?

00:21:06.200 And once they face the facts, which I think they have no choice but to face the numbers,

00:21:14.320 then they will agree that something has to be done.

00:21:17.980 Now, that's when the real discussions take place.

00:21:20.480 Now, is it a commission?

00:21:21.720 Is it a bipartisan bill?

00:21:25.700 Or is it something that can't get done until it's further studied?

00:21:30.280 But those are all conversations for once they come to the table.

00:21:34.680 At this point, we just need them to come to the table.

00:21:37.560 Yeah, it's one of the things, if I may.

00:21:39.480 I would just suggest that this would be a wonderful time for the Republicans as a matter of strategy and tactics

00:21:47.800 to come forward as they turn to the White House with open hands and arms rather than a demand and an insistence.

00:21:59.480 Because we know from from recent experience with Pelosi and Schumer and Biden that they are incapable of doing the right thing.

00:22:10.740 And the right thing I would define is that which is most fiscally responsible.

00:22:15.840 They've demonstrated nothing but a wanton disregard for fiscal responsibility and a recklessness in the in the budget process.

00:22:24.980 My gosh, it's it's it seems to me to be a it seems to me to just be ignoring experience, the reality of who you're dealing with.

00:22:36.500 And when I say you, I'm talking about the Republican Party, in particular, the House.

00:22:41.080 These people are who they are and they mean to destroy you.

00:22:44.360 These these people mean not to give you one inch.

00:22:47.180 And and and and I would suggest that an invitation and a warm approach to first educating the public would be a grand condition precedent to any any initiative you undertake.

00:23:04.380 Because I I see nothing but Republican blood in the streets, metaphorically, if you if you proceed on this on this basis.

00:23:14.540 I've just seen it so many times just blow up when there are other ways in which I think you can reach your objectives.

00:23:23.040 And. And by the way, the creators of this mess are Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden.

00:23:33.060 There's also this simple strategic reality there on the hook for it and you shouldn't let them off.

00:23:39.240 Absolutely not. And we have to keep our focus on the the cause of the current crisis that we're in.

00:23:49.040 It's not because Republicans refuse to raise a debt dealing.

00:23:51.840 It's because Democrats refuse to control spending.

00:23:54.840 And every time they're in power, we end up with these multi trillion dollar bills and they'll point to the last administration and how much the debt went up.

00:24:06.720 And we can concede that the last administration agreed to a large amount of spending under both Republican and Democrat led Congresses.

00:24:16.780 And we need to end this cycle of reckless spending to be able to get us on the right on the right page.

00:24:24.920 Well, I think and I think everyone, well, certainly not everyone, but I think most Americans would agree with you and appreciate your realizing those objectives.

00:24:38.640 If I may, I want to turn to you, your view of where the Congress is right now in terms of the investigations, in terms of another issue as well.

00:24:52.560 And that is the lack of accountability for the money that is being spent on Ukraine and the insistence on some members of your Congress.

00:25:01.840 And I'm talking about Mike McCall right now, the head of foreign affairs.

00:25:06.080 I mean, basically calling for a an open treasure chest in the possession of the United States, whether it's weapons or cash, to go forward against Russia when they're threatening nuclear war. 0.61

00:25:21.280 If you could deal with just those two items.

00:25:25.600 Sure.

00:25:26.280 We have to make sure that we account for every dollar that has been spent in supporting Ukraine and its defense against Russia.

00:25:38.320 I've added language to our appropriations bills last year demanding accountability because much of the funding that was going to the Ukraine in that first bill

00:25:52.300 was for NGOs and for non-defense spending and humanitarian aid.

00:25:58.660 It was not specifically for weapons and for tanks and for and for missiles.

00:26:06.120 So we have to get accountability there.

00:26:08.600 I'm confident that there is a majority that is willing to support that accountability.

00:26:14.660 And it might not come from Foreign Affairs Committee.

00:26:17.880 It might come from the Appropriations Committee.

00:26:19.800 It might come from the Armed Services Committee.

00:26:22.740 But we recognize that we represent Americans and the dollars that they have worked so hard for.

00:26:31.600 And we have to make sure that everyone that has been spent is accounted for.

00:26:37.180 Yeah, I mean, here's tenth of a trillion dollars more than that, which is not, as they say, chicken feed.

00:26:43.840 Right. And the American people have no idea what is being spent on.

00:26:47.700 They have no idea of what is really happening.

00:26:50.600 There have been no hearings on Ukraine and the U.S. role in it.

00:26:55.060 We have watched a couple of the national security folks come over from the White House and say nothing.

00:27:06.900 And I'm obviously I'm talking about Tony Blinken and Jake Sullivan.

00:27:13.760 We seem to we seem to need to do better.

00:27:17.360 And I hope this Congress will be the Congress that does it.

00:27:20.040 But there has to be a way to get back to the days of accountability and oversight that is meaningful and also assure that the American public's right to know is honored.

00:27:34.460 Mike, I brought up Mike McCall's name because he talked about the American people need to be educated on Ukraine.

00:27:39.460 I would say to you, I think the Congress needs to be educated on Ukraine and the foreign policy that we have toward Russia versus the foreign policy we have against our number one enemy, which is China.

00:27:50.940 This is there's a great mindlessness at work and and arrogance and condescension on the part of any any Republican right now is unwelcome because we're being used to being ignored by a Democratic Congress.

00:28:06.480 We sure as hell don't want to be by a Republican Congress.

00:28:09.460 And we do have to recognize that our true adversary is China. 0.95

00:28:15.000 The great challenge to the 21st century is China. 1.00

00:28:21.020 And we have to make sure that we keep our eyes focused on that.

00:28:26.900 And that's why the creation of this new select committee is so important.

00:28:31.220 Mike Gallagher is very clear eyed in the danger that that China poses to us. 0.99

00:28:37.400 And so I'm confident that he's going to do a great job in coordinating among all of the committees of jurisdiction.

00:28:44.980 You know, everybody likes to defend their turf.

00:28:47.080 And so there are going to be a lot of people kind of chafing a little bit at this new committee.

00:28:53.940 And and Mike McCall is going to be sharing jurisdiction over this China committee as well.

00:29:01.080 But when it comes to Ukraine, we do have to recognize that we have to account for every dollar that we do want to make sure that.

00:29:13.240 That we cooperate with our NATO allies, but that it's not an open ended checkbook that our NATO allies have not lived up to their required commitments of two percent of GDP for defense.

00:29:30.780 And that's a whole nother conversation.

00:29:33.960 But that's an important one, because we are not the piggy bank for the defense of Europe.

00:29:40.960 That's not what NATO is.

00:29:42.980 It's about shared, shared investment in the security of Europe.

00:29:49.360 And the member states of Europe have to have to step up along with the United States in any scenario like that.

00:29:57.160 Wasn't it a remarkable statement today by the former prime minister of the UK, Boris Johnson, calling on, quote, unquote, the West to step up and get weapons to Ukraine right now and pay the pay whatever price is required to make that happen.

00:30:14.480 He was talking directly to the United States and those in charge of the of our budget and our appropriations and our treasury to open our hearts wide without any participation or proportional responsibility on the part of the Europeans and NATO, as you say.

00:30:34.560 We are we are we're now in pre-Trump days in which they are asking the United States to be both the policemen of the of the world as well as their bankers.

00:30:47.640 Your thoughts.

00:30:49.480 That's that's very true.

00:30:51.520 They have forgotten all too well the lessons of just a few years ago where Trump made it very clear that those commitments needed to be lift up to when it comes to making sure that they contribute their fair share toward the security of their own continent.

00:31:11.220 And so I think that a Republican House is prepared to deliver that message once again.

00:31:19.780 It's it's important that we stand for the American people and not for the people of Great Britain and not for the people of Germany and not for the people of Sweden.

00:31:34.280 But instead, we look at the situation in Europe, the situation in Ukraine with very clear eyes.

00:31:44.800 And again, as I said, our top challenge must be China. 0.97

00:31:49.840 We have we have to recognize that we do not have an open checkbook.

00:31:54.640 We cannot simply spend unlimited sums in defense of a nation in Europe when our greatest challenge is half a world away in Asia. 0.99

00:32:05.580 So we have to take all that into consideration and forcing these countries who are our friends in NATO to contribute their fair share is a an important part of that conversation.

00:32:19.140 Well, we are, as they say, in interesting times, but also complex and dangerous times.

00:32:26.860 It it seems at every turn we always give our guests, Congressman, the opportunity for the last word.

00:32:35.020 So I have really enjoyed our conversation.

00:32:38.560 I know the audience and I have learned a great deal.

00:32:42.760 Congressman, if you would, your concluding thoughts today.

00:32:45.340 Well, I'm grateful for the chance to talk to your many, many listeners about the issues that we're dealing with right now in this new Republican House.

00:32:55.560 It's a messy process, you know, when you first come to the majority.

00:33:00.060 But we're we're making progress.

00:33:02.780 We're getting everything prepared for aggressively pushing back against this administration, against the Senate, standing up for the American people, standing up for the conservative values that we ran on.

00:33:13.320 And, you know, we've leveraged our small majority and as Freedom Caucus members have leveraged our even smaller numbers for great gains in the rules, in the appropriations process and the like.

00:33:27.180 So I'm excited about the about the journey ahead.

00:33:31.400 It's going to be tough.

00:33:33.760 There are going to be some tough battles, but I'm optimistic and I look forward to reporting back to you on our successes, our failures and the way that we're standing up for the rights of the people in the in the new house and the 118th session.

00:33:50.380 Thank you.

00:33:51.220 Well, we have every faith that you will do exactly that.

00:33:53.980 And we appreciate you being here.

00:33:56.020 Thank you so much for your time and sharing your thoughts.

00:34:01.000 And I want to say the courage of the Freedom Caucus in the bargaining, the negotiations with Speaker Kavanaugh over the future were marvelous to watch on television.

00:34:13.300 I hope that you guys stay with C-SPAN because it was your benefit, the beneficiaries of C-SPAN in the open process.

00:34:21.300 So thanks so much.

00:34:22.880 Congressman Ben Klein, God bless you.

00:34:25.500 Thank you, sir.

00:34:26.020 Thanks, everybody, for being with us today.

00:34:28.660 And please join us here tomorrow.

00:34:30.240 Our guest will be the Manhattan Institute's brilliant social critic, bestselling author and one of America's brightest conservative thinkers, Heather McDonald, as we take up race, culture, conservative values and the future of the republic.

00:34:46.060 Heather McDonald will be with us here tomorrow.

00:34:48.100 I hope you will be as well.

00:34:50.180 She's always informative.

00:34:51.300 Please join us here tomorrow.

00:34:53.680 Till then, God bless you.

00:34:55.100 And God bless America.

00:34:57.160 God bless America.

00:34:57.280 God bless America.

00:34:57.320 God bless America.

00:34:57.440 God bless America.

00:34:58.440 God bless America.

00:34:58.940 God bless America.

00:34:59.000 God bless America.

00:34:59.560 God bless America.

The Great America Show - January 31, 2023

AMERICANS MUST RECOGNIZE CHINA IS OUR TRUE THREAT, THAT IS WHY THE NEW HOUSE COMMITTEE ON CHINA IS SO IMPORTANT SAYS REP. BEN CLINE

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