The free cspan radio app. Our guest is democratic congressman Raul Grijalva who joins us from his district from tucson, arizona for the , thanksgiving holiday. Mr. Grijalva is the senior most democrat on the national committee, the 76member progressive caucus in the house of representatives, and senator Bernie Sanders is a member as well. Thank you for being our guest this week. Lots to talk about with you. Thank you so much. Congressional reporter and collin wilhelm who covers congress for politico. Billy, you are a first. Billy congressman, how are you . Very good. Billy a lot of news the last couple days. Most recently the revelations about the allegations against the top democrat on judiciary john conyers. ,should he resign because of the Sexual Harassment claims . Or should he step down from the top role for your party on the Key Committee . It is agonizing times right now but i think a very important shattering of some norms nationwide and particularly in congress. The expectation and not treatment of women employees by leadership in the offices, members of congress, i think deserves the air and it is getting. And more importantly, any Sexual Harassment just the use of power to inflict demands and unseamly requests on women are wrong and i really think on this issue that as agonizing as it might be for all of us, the Ranking Member needs to step down at the minimum as our leader pelosi asked for the ethics investigation and then the chips will fall from there. But at the minimum, i would agree that is a necessary step. You know, dealing with employee issues is difficult. Settlements occur in congress all the time. I cant think of any member a few members have not gone through that. But the borders and broaches the issue of Sexual Harassment and used as a means to try to keep that issue from being that, it was serial in the sense that many of them are, then yeah, thats a serious issue that inevitably could lead to more punitive issues. We all have gone through that. Its very painful with employees and people that you work with to have to dispatch them or separate yourself from employees. Many times its just a question of not being able to accommodate each other, the work environment, the sense that we need to be going in a different direction. And settlements many times are made for the benefit of both. But when the settlement is made as a means to try not to deal with an issue as deep and as ugly as weve seen in the recent past, then yeah, that becomes very serious. Billy a quick followup, you made the distinction between settlements that are workrelated other than Sexual Harassment, are you saying and were you surprised reports of how much money, taxpayer money was going to settlements tied to Sexual Harassment claims . And should that be public at least, those settlements, and its taxpayer money . Rep. Grijalva i think, yeah, if the issue broaches with what were seeing now, you know, a settlement payment was issued specifically on the issue of Sexual Harassment, the exploitation issue as a means to quiet that, then, you know, the request by many in this process of ours, i think that kind of information needs to at some point be public and noted. Other claims that occur and other settlements that occur to the benefit of both the employee and obviously to the employer so that they can go on, those individuals can go on and continue to work in an environment that perhaps is more conducive to their capacities, that might be a different matter. But in this issue, when it is pointedly to try to keep the information from getting out, then at some point i think those settlements need to be talked about. Before we move on from this topic, i want to go back to your comments suggesting this might be a seat change from capitol hill. In recent years, even as long as 30 years ago, there have been Sexual Harassment cases on capitol hill involving members and staff. , bothtes, bob packwood resign from congress as result. And here we are 25, 30 years later still talking about the same culture. Why do you think it will change now . Rep. Grijalva i think were past the Tipping Point, whether on the boardroom or the plant floor or whether it is in a shop, in a business, or in the halls of congress and government, any government level, the relationship of power and the attempt to exploit that power sexually and to demean, degrade, demand on a sexual connotation from employee, i think that sea change is not only needed, its happening and its happened because you have reached the Tipping Point. It was not just weinstein. I think that the fact that the courage of many women are showing across this nation to be able to deal directly with those issues that are very that many times are felt people are compeled to keep it to themselves i think is a mark weve reached a Tipping Point beyond which there is no coming back, nor should there be any coming back. Congressman, you mentioned earlier transparency of use of taxpayer funds. Taxes are definitely on the minds of members and staff on capitol hill right now since republicans are pushing tax cuts and tax reform. Do you think that their expectation this is going to be something they can leverage to political success in the midterm elections is a correct assumption on their part or do you think this will end up maybe hurting them in the midterms . Rep. Grijalva well, i said the other day to a group that was asking me about that, i said if the Senate Passes the tax bill with whatever changes they make and i dont think significantly better, the legislation that came out of the house, if they pass it, the republicans pass it on a partisan vote or with minimal democratic support, if it passes and goes to the president for a signature, after conference, they lose. If it doesnt pass, they lose. Its going into 2018. As more and more scrutiny happens what happened in the house there was a rush hush job on this that only surfaced during the ways and means hearing as to what was the content of this. The negotiations were never bilateral in terms of democrats being involved. But the fact remains that as more scrutiny goes into the bill, as people begin to see that the promises around the relief for the middle class, this is a Small Business panacea of support and as they see the threats that this debt the increase in the deficit of the debt will cause for medicare, medicaid, social security, education and other vital programs that the American People support, i think youre going to see that scrutiny produces more and more opposition and that is why im of the firm belief youre to the point that if they pass it, they lose and if they dont pass it, they lose. Colin do you think the speed with which republicans have moved forward on this has basically sidestepped some of that scrutiny and opposition . Rep. Grijalva oh, absolutely. I think the speed in the house, the secrecy of it all and the drip, drip, drip of information just to get reactions from the public as to possible content within that legislation, that kept everybody off balance, but now you have the template which is the house bill and the scrutiny on that, and independent analysis and groups that are advocating for some level of fairness in our tax code see that this is indeed a tremendous boom for the wealthy of the wealthy of this country and for Corporate America and that all the promises made is to how this is going to provide financial and tax relief to the middle class and working families in this country and to the Small Business folks across this country, familyowned businesses in particular, thats not the reality of this. This incentivizes this trickle down theory and something that historically weve seen over and over more than once and doesnt produce the jobs. It doesnt produce the wage increases. It doesnt facilitate, in fact makes the competition worse for Small Businesses down the road. So as now that is being scrutinized, that template, and the corresponding work in the senate which will be hopefully longer and more deliberate, i think that the opposition now has a focal point and the American People now have information that is reliable in the sense that now you have one piece of legislation at least out of the house. Billy congressman, this is billy again. As a top dem on national resources, youre involved with the puerto rico negotiations. The island has asked for 94 billion. Who is negotiating with the white house and congress on the puerto rico request . And are you fearing that theres a bit of puerto rico fatigue, not discounting of the humanitarian infrastructure problems, but just that theres so many problems . Rep. Grijalva yeah, and i think the law that was passed, the bipartisanship piece of legislation that was to provide the financial oversight and the control in terms of restructuring the debt in puerto rico, restabilizing the financial situation in puerto rico passed 14 months ago and then the hurricane hit and that devastation caused even more complications to what was already an issue that congress attempted to deal with with promesa. I think the negotiations are basically down to i like to divide it into two. The immediate humanitarian relief that needs to occur and cant be slowed down and that package which was which didnt carry what was needed for puerto rico in the supplementalists indicated by the white house. I think that has to be priority number one. The longterm recovery issue, i think that that is also forces a opportunity despite the problems. I dont think, and this is where the debate is centering around, that giving more legislative power to the Oversight Board, the control board of promesa to effectively have a parallel government in puerto rico is the way to go. With promesa and title 3 and 2 is already the Oversight Authority that Oversight Board needs in terms of financial issue the. Financial issues. Transparency and accountability. No doubt the government of Puerto Rico Needs to have that transparency. The white fish and potential scandal didnt do anything to reassure anybody in terms of their ability to provide that transparency and to provide that accountability. But for us at this point to vote to create a parallel government in puerto rico is not the solution. There are immediate Things Congress can do to relieve that, everything from Debt Forgiveness to looking at that 90 billion as an important initial assessment done by puerto rico in terms of what their needs will be for the long term but right now its humanitarian, its decapping medicaid and medicare so that puerto rico has parity with the rest of the United States, and i might add the Virgin Islands as well. And the response would be at parity equity levels as we did with texas and florida. The United States citizens, 3. 4 3. 4 plus have left million, 143,000 plus have left and gone primarily to florida and left the devastation in puerto rico because they saw no other solution and that will continue and the predictions are half a million by 2018. And this departure of people of puerto rico complicates that economic issue. I think the Oversight Board has a responsibility in the rebuilding, but cant be a parallel government that takes away from that Civil Society in puerto rico the ability to govern themselves at some level. Susan 10 minutes left. Colin congressman, how likely do you think it is that congress will fulfill the full aid request from puerto rico, especially even without the additional oversight powers that have been requested by the board . And do you think the white fish contracts and the lack of transparency may have hurt their cause on capitol hill . Rep. Grijalva now for that parallel government scenario, because really the inference, how can we trust you . The fact remains you have in Civil Society in puerto rico mayors, organizations that we need to connect with, theyre stakeholders as well. I think the 94 billion requested for puerto rico is in my personal assessment a realistic figure. It is the application of that, how we prepare for the future in terms of sustainability. How do we Lower Energy Costs . How do we make the governance there more transparent and accountable . Those are still issues that have to be dealt with. But to hold hostage relief and Recovery Support because of an inference that you cant trust this government or that somehow theres a different criteria of puerto rico than any other place that is comprised of the United States citizens, i think is a huge mistake. Congress has the power, the act provides the power, and we should utilize that before we start exploring waving environmental laws, waving labor protections, etc. , and not open this up as a shop where privatization begins, all the utilities, education, some of the instances we saw in louisiana that became experiments in terms of providing relief but in the long run didnt do that. So we have lessons to learn from other recoveries, but we also have an opportunity here to do something right that will require resources and to your question right now i wish i could be more optimistic to where my colleagues in the majority are going in the house in terms of the Long Term Support of puerto rico. I dont see them at that figure and i dont see the white house at that figure. But i really thought that what the governor and government there provided us as a blueprint for what was needed was essentially correct. Colin if i could follow up on your remark about Congress Addressing the debt through legislation potentially , additional legislation, do you think thats a direct route congress should go or your colleagues, representative velazquez and senator warren have called for the board to request that the judge overseeing the debt proceedings basically wipe out puerto ricos debt to creditors . Do you think thats the most valuable solution or do you think that Congress Needs to maybe revisit this issue through legislation . Rep. Grijalva thats one solution but debt relief and Debt Forgiveness has to be part and parcel of that recovery. And to say that were going to structure everything you do from now on in order to satisfy some hedge funds and risk lives and the economy of puerto rico for that, i think the judge has the power. As the judge has the power, has already struck down the request by promesa to put an overseer over all the utilities and the recovery in puerto rico, struck that down and said promesa doesnt have that power and the power lays with the government of puerto rico and that was a good decision. I think that request is legal. I think legislatively, debt relief and forgiveness, parity with medicaid and medicare, and additional appropriations around Community Block grants, housing, making those kinds of initiatives legislatively and through appropriations certainly is a function of congress to do as we put a package together. Susan we have five minutes left. Other questions . Billy congressman, one of your other hats is cochair of the progressive caucus. I want to make sure to get this question in. Do you think Bernie Sanders should consider running for president again . I know its early but would you want him to run for president again . Rep. Grijalva i love bernie. If you decided to run for president , i think hed be formidable again, and billy, im trying to dodge around your question but if the man decides that then, you know, he has had my support in the past and at this point in time i dont see any reason to change that. Billy let me follow it up with a totally different question. How is the new interior secretary treating you and are you guys getting along . You called for investigations into the harassment allegations which seem to be going nowhere within the department. Rep. Grijalva and also we asked interior to look into white fish and weve had 26 requests for information that have not been responded to that have been responded to by the Obama Administration both to the republican majority and democratic minority at one point. Those requests werent responded to. Im really concerned about somewhat of a cavalier attitude towards our public lands to be honest with you, that its a multiuse concept weve always applied historically to our public lands, conservation, protection of habitat and has always been a part of that and now we seem to be going through a one dimensional use in terms of how much can we get out of it in terms of extraction, be it oil, gas or mining. And i worry about what the president is going to say on december 7 for the recommendation from the secretary and other potential changes to the monuments across this nation. And i worry about him almost taking from a 25 fee to a 75 access ourble to public parts, our significant icons in order to pay for maintenance and upkeep of facilities in those areas. All those things concern me. And what concerns me most is almost a militaristic look at how we run our public lands and the functions under interior. I think that this is a were talking about a shared asset in the United States that should be available and useful and to everyone and affordable to everyone. I worry were looking at the jurisdiction of our land sea protections that we have as a nation. I worry that theyve become a commodity to see how much we can make off of them as opposed to what we can make of them and historically try to preserve those legacies. I worry a lot about that. Susan three minutes left, another question . Colin congressman, youre also very engaged in immigration. Do you think that the passage of the dream act should be a condition for democrats support and of your government funding appropriations . Rep. Grijalva yeah, come the 8th, i think thats going to be an important crucible. I happen to think that if the dream act was put on the floor as is, as it was submitted, it would pass. And while i understand but dont appreciate the situation that speaker ryan is in terms of his own caucus would rebel against him, the fact is it would pass. And so given that and given that its probably the most divisive right now and critical domestic issues were facing on many levels, that being a part of what we do in terms of continuing the c. R. , whether its for two weeks or two months or two years, i think that needs to be part and parcel. If its not, then im one of those democrats that feels that without it, i cant support the rest of it. Susan even if it means a Government Shutdown . Rep. Grijalva i know. Then it becomes whose fault is it . Thats a great question. Were not in the majority. Theyre in the majority, both in the house and in the house. They drive the budget. They drive the c. R. And they know one way to get full bipartisanship passage is to include daca as part of that and the dream act as part of that. Its their call. And i think if any fingers are going to be pointed, they appropriately should be pointed at the people in charge. Susan we have one minute. Either of you have a question for the congressman . Billy i do. At the end of the day, when you get to the next congressional session, you have a prediction whether nancy pelosi will still be elected the top democrat in the house . Rep. Grijalva prediction . Billy yes. Rep. Grijalva i think if were the majority, theres an opportunity for her to return to speaker, i think shell have significant support among democrats in that caucus. The autopsy weve been doing as democrats, i think its time to stop that. 2018 is coming around the corner and we need to focus on the fact as virginia showed and other places have shown, we need to focus on the fact the American People care about issues, push them and if we are fortunate enough to get a majority from the voters of the United States in 2018, then that decision will come. But i think if she decided to return to her speakership, she would have significant support. Susan congressman thanks for , joining us from sunny tucson this holiday weekend. See you back in washington, d. C. Rep. Grijalva happy thanksgiving to you folks. Billy happy thanksgiving, congressman. Susan gentlemen the congress , comes back on tuesday. How much of these Sexual Harassment scandals with senators and congressmen getting in the way of them accomplishing their legislative agenda . Colin . Colin i defer to billy on this. I think hes got a better sense of how that could affect that. Billy i think it will be all encompassing for the first couple days. It will be what theyre talking about in their press releases and what the responses are and by then well know about other members. We heard the congressman say i think surprisingly, weve all done settlements, i think he said, to some degree. He wasnt talking about Sexual Harassment necessarily, but theres a prevailing sense this is far more widespread than we know now and congressman spears has said she knows at least of two other current sitting members who have engaged in this activity. So i think this along with the fact we have as a backdrop the moore alabama race, they will put their noses to the grind on tax reform, but this will be the bubble hanging over everybodys head next week. Susan the payments hes referring to has come from an office probably a lot of people dont know about, the Congressional Office compliance. Office of compliance. How transparent are members going to push for this process to be Going Forward and maybe you can explain briefly how it works versus an ethics investigation . Billy we would argue this process protects the alleged victim. That it doesnt put him or her out there, their names and so this is for them. It also protects the lawmaker from what they say being targeted by disgruntled employees. In reality, though, it involves this process of signing papers saying i will not press this further and accept a settlement. It involves taxpayer and thats dollars the upshot. Its not always through this system you mentioned, weve learned, i believe, that congressman conyers used some of his office funds to pay for one settlement. Those too are taxpayer dollars. They cant get around that. Theres a big push to change the system. While the top democrat, nancy pelosi has said the system conyers charges should be investigated, shes also kind of hinted shes going to look at the system, too. And so is paul ryan, the speaker. So something is coming up the pipe. Susan as we talked about the congressman, this is cyclical. Congress in washington goes through this every x number of years because the Current System was in response to complaints about the ethics process in the past. Billy lets face it, the u. S. House unlike the u. S. Senate doesnt have pages anymore and that was the reason for that, that was the mark foley scandal and that led to his downfall and certainly perhaps even the loss of the House Majority for the republicans back in i dont remember what year in the 1980s, maybe its the 1990s. Its got big ramifications. Susan lets move on to that budget deadline in early december. What do you see happening especially with regard to the immigration, the dreamers and the line in the sand or crucible as mr. Grijalva called it . Colin its really hard to say. The president s made remarks indicating theres a potential deal to be had earlier this year with democrats. He seems to have backed off of that a little bit. Republicans certainly are hesitant to bring up introduce a imglation issue introduce a immigration issue into their overall spending. And focus on tax reform. Their preference would be just get the government funded for at least a few months and then kick that can down the road while they can address tax reform they feel is something they can run on in 2018. Susan speaking of running on in 2018, how important is the alabama outcome going to be to both parties hopes Going Forward following on the tails of virginia and new jersey . Billy we were told that democrats will wrap him around every republican candidates neck. Susan if he wins. Billy if he wins. Even if he wins there obviously is some doubt he would be around very long as republicans are suggesting. They may try to push him through ethics investigations and removal. But certainly that is being voice is a real fear, that anything this guy, who does not particularly like the leaders of party, would be attached to them when they run. Susan following up on that the , congressman said time for autopsy the democrats should be behind them. But in fact weve got serious criticisms of the partys structure during the last campaign by the interim chair. She is still out on her book donna brazil, im talking about. I am wondering how the party is responding to this and whether there be changes in the democratic party. Guest i think they are still grappling with how best to message for themselves. Realize they cannot just be against president trump, guest republicans, they need a positive message to put forward as well. Weve seen attempts by them to do that that may or may not have stuck yet. I thought it was interesting grijalvaesentative brought up that they would be able to run against tax reform and make that middleclass base in 2018 because they feel like republicans will hand them ammunition with what they do on the subject. Susan thank you very much for being our guest reporters. Please come back. Thanks for having us. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2017] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] where history unfolds daily. In 1979, cspan was created as a Public Service by americas Cable Television companies, and is brought to you today by your cable or satellite provider. California physician dr. Anthony iton recently gave a talk where he says your zip code is more important then your genetic code in determining how long you will live due to racial and economic discrimination. This is about an hour and 20 minutes. Introduce dr. Anthony iton. Dr. Iton,