Lower Health Care Costs on behalf of the American People. We promised in advance of november, 2018, that were we given the chance to serve in the majority, we would focus like a laser beam on driving down the high costs of lifesaving Prescription Drugs. The American People pay more for Prescription Medication than any other developed country in the world. We pay more than canada or australia or japan or Great Britain or france or germany. Oftentimes five or six times the amount for the same drug manufactured in the same location. Its unacceptable and theres an emerging bipartisan consensus that we need to do something about it. H. R. 3 is the vehicle to accomplish that objective. By finally giving medicare and the federal government the power to negotiate lower drug prices on behalf of the American People , and well be moving forward expeditiously in advancing this legislation over the next few weeks. Let me now yield to my distinguished vice chair of the caucus, katherine clark. Ms. Clark thank you, mr. Chairman. Its good to see you all again. We had a very busy two weeks at home in our districts. Democrats had hundreds of events , meeting with constituents, meeting with people at home, to discuss the forthePeople Agenda. And following through on our promise to fight, as the chairman highlighted, for lower Prescription Drug costs. To make sure that we increase pay through strong economic growth. Weve already done that with bills that increased the minimum wage, that ensure pay equity for women. And to clean up corruption in washington. Just this week we are going to be passing the shield act of 2019, to make sure that we are strengthening and closing loopholes to keep foreign interference out of our elections. These are the issues that we are hearing loudly and clearly from home. They want us to focus on. We are not sure how Mitch Mcconnell is taking a paycheck any longer, because he is refusing to work on the bills that we have sent over. These are the bills americans sent us here to do their work. And we are going to do both things. Continue to legislate, continue to bring those issues from home, to talk about here at the capitol. And also to investigate. And we are so pleased to have three members of the newly ormed National Security caucus with us today. It is my great pleasure to introduce congresswoman torres small. Mrs. Torres as a new member of congress, i have the honor of serving in the House Armed Services committee. Ms. Small as civilian, i have the opportunity to learn from men and women in service and veterans who have taught me a great deal about our National Security and what true service means. One of the things that ive most learned from these men and women with valor is how important it is to build trust with the people with whom you fight. And thats why the situation in syria is so concerning. Because our kurdish allies fought with United States special forces and others to protect the world from isis and took that fight all the way to raqqa. And then held the line. And because of that work, we were able to secure a very unstable situation. Now, the challenge is that the president s impulsive decision has created a days to that has allowed president erdogan to make these dangerous and reckless actions. And it has disturbed the balance within our with our allies. It is deeply unsettling that we are proceeding without a longterm strategy and that is what we all have to Work Together to do. Because in this chaos, we are emboldening our enemies. And that is why i am pleased that at least we have a bipartisan call to action, that we have to protect our kurdish allies. This is the issue that secretary mattis quit over. This is something we have to Work Together for. And we must do this work and not allow other things to distract us. So as we Work Together to protect our allies, we must reinforce the importance and stand up against impulsive Decision Making that has reckless consequences and stand for longterm strategies to provide stability in the middle east. I have the honor of introducing my colleague, congressman andy kim, who can speak more to the importance of our relationship with our allies. Mr. Kim thank you. I know that the issue of syria and turkey has been looked at from a lot of different angles over the last week and a half or so. I want to add a tick lens that i thought might be a particular lens that i thought might be useful for you. For me, about five years ago, i was at the white house National SecurityCouncil Working on the counterisis issues. I was there in the room when we were deciding how to move forward with the syrian curds, as well as with kurds as well as with president erdogan at the time. We knew this was an issue wed have to confront, but we never would have imagined at that time that it would come to an end in the way that it has, with the level of recklessness and dysfunction that weve seen over the last two weeks. You would ask any counterterrorism expert, anybody thats been out there working on the counterisis fight, they will say that our work there with the syrian kurds, with the f. D. F. Have been the pinnacle of the type of work that weve done in terms of partnering with local forces, in terms of the train, advise, assist. We say that because of the level of precision and strategy that went into this work and how we were able to have an outside influence, given the lowlevel forces that we had out there. It was really an example unlike anything else wed seen across the world. To see that level of precision be torn apart and dismantled in the way of the recklessness that weve seen is just gives nothing in terms of the credit due to the people that were to get fighting and it leaves us terribly exposed to the resurgence of isis and other terrorism groups in the region. Congressman crow and i just got back from a trip to turkey, afghanistan and that area. And when we were in turkey, we certainly heard the concern straight from our own ambassador about the real threats there. Not only did i leave that and then see come at this from a level that our ambassador certainly didnt know what was about to happen and just the level of discoordination within our own government, but he also flagged at that time just the real dangers were going to experience as well Going Forward with the battle over a town thats going to happen soon. Were going to see another wave of violence and refugees and migration in syria, turkey that could even put a lot of the unrest that we see right now to just really overshadow whats happening right now. So were going to face this problem for a long time to come. We need to really make sure that were pushing hard and having the strategy to pull ourselves out of this morass that were in right now. Id like to turn it over to congressman crow for his comments here. Mr. Crow thank you. Thank you, chairman jeffries and vice chair clark for crur continued leadership. We appreciate it. Im very honored to be here today with the cochairs, andy and xochitl. As an army ranger, when i served in iraq and afghanistan, we frequently worked with local forces. Not just because it was important, but because it was essential. We could not have accomplished our missions without them. They knew the terrain, they knew the culture, they knew the language and they knew how to help us fight and win the battle. So we now know that america is strong because we have friends. Since the end of world war ii, we dont go it alone. We have friends. We have partners, we have allies. And that is a huge source of our trength. I have seen it firsthand on the Ground Fighting overseas for this country. But the bottom line is the reckless decision of this president sends a very clear message to those friends and to those partners. And that is the american handshake doesnt matter. That we wont be there for you when you need us. And thats a dangerous message and will make us much harder to recruit partners, recruit allies and work with people Going Forward to secure our country. As andy just mentioned, we just returned from a delegation trip to the middle east where we heard directly from our diplomats, our intelligence officers, and our top military commanders. They described to us and xplained to us of isis reconstituting and going back to the battlefield, expressing concern of the 11,000 isis fighters going in these makeshift camps, surrounded by razor wire that are currently unsecured or becoming unsecured. We also know in the last couple days several hundred isis ympathizers escaped. This is a huge danger to america, to our National Security. We are in a much worse position now than we were two weeks ago. Merica is less safe. Ill end with this i learned a long time ago an army that you dont do anything without a plan and without consulting your llies. So mr. President , what is your plan . The American People and Congress Deserve to know how you are going to keep our country safe, how you will build our alliances and partnerships and move us forward. Mr. Jeffries let me just thank congressman crow, congressman kim, congresswoman torres small. We have 63 new members of the House Democratic caucus of the United States congress. Were thankful for the leadership and thought and intellect that they bring to the caucus. Its a benefit to the caucus, but more importantly, its a benefit to the congress and to the country. And we appreciate their leadership of the National SecurityNational Security task force. With that, questions. [laughter] mr. Jeffries jo. Reporter so the republicans have argued forcefully that the inquiry into impeachment is not legitimate without a vote. How can you convince the public that it is indeed legitimate . Why not take a vote on the house floor . To fully authorize it as was done with clinton and nixon. Mr. Jeffries we are in the rocess of communicating to the American People whats at stake in terms of the wrongdoing done by the president. Donald trump betrayed his oath of office. He abused his power. By pressuring a foreign leader to target an american citizen for political gain and withheld 391 million in aid to accomplish that invidious objective. That is textbook abuse of power. It betrays and undermines our National Security as well as the integrity of our elections by soliciting foreign interference in the 2020 election. That is the issue. Now, its my understanding that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are strict constructionalists. They believe in the original intent of the United States constitution. There is nothing in the United States constitution that requires the house of representatives to vote on an impeachment inquiry. There is nothing in Supreme Court precedent. There is nothing in the federal ules of procedure. There is nothing in the house rules. They are unable to defend the indefensible, and so the republicans are arguing about cosmetic procedural matters and gnoring the grave National Security concerns that were complicated by the president s abhorrent behavior. Reporter [inaudible] subpoena power. Mr. Jeffries if you look at House Resolution 81, which was passed in 1998, and thats the House Resolution 581, which was passed in 1998, and thats the resolution which presumably establishes precedent related to ubpoena power. What it says is that authority by the committee may be exercised by the chairman and the Ranking Member acting jointly or if either declines to act by the other acting alone heres the key except that in the event either so declines. Either shall have the right to refer to the committee for ecision. The question whether such authority shall be so exercised, and the Committee Shall be convened promptly to render that decision. What does that mean . That means that according to the resolution that the House Republican majority passed in 1998 related to the impeachment nquiry that it launched that either the Committee Chair and the Ranking Member had to come together and agree to issue a subpoena, but if the Committee Chair declined, pursuant to the Ranking Members request, the Ranking Member didnt have an automatic right to issue a subpoena at that point in time. They had to take a vote before the committee of jurisdiction. Thats the resolution. That the House Republicans are pointing to. So what do the rules of the Intel Committee say . Generally this is 10a of the Intel Committees rules all subpoenas shall be authorized by the chair of the full committee upon consultation with the anking minority member or by vote of the full committee. Can you tell me the ifference . There is no difference. The republican minority has the same exact subpoena power now that the House Democratic minority had during the clinton impeachment proceedings. So why are we having this discussion because the discussion . Because the republicans cant defend the indefensible. This is about National Security. This is about abuse of power. This is about betrayal. This is about the integrity of our elections. This is about the United States constitution. Reporter [indiscernible] Hong Kongrelated bills overnight. China said they would have massive retaliation. Whats your reaction to china saying that . Does that give you pause having it enacted . Have you heard from the enate . Mr. Jeffries we have not heard from the senate, but i think its important for the house to express its will as it relates to what is taking place. Hats what we did last night. We hope to find Common Ground with the senate, and we hope well move forward. I dont know if katherine or our National Security folks want to add. Reporter i know you talked about the seriousness about the syria issue and the handshake. You talked about other policy issues. Obviously, impeachment is a very tough issue for the caucus and what people [inaudible] in a macropolitical way that the decision considering how serious syria is actually gives you an opportunity to actually talk about something others and other problems at the present and does that does not address impeachment but these Foreign Policy issues you brought your National Security folks today to talk about that rather than impeachment. Mr. Jeffries we said well continue to do the business of the American People as it relates to our domestic policy responsibilities and our Foreign Policy responsibilities. We are actively moving forward on our for the People Agenda as it relates to lowering Health Care Costs, with the focus on Prescription Drug pricing. We want to have a Real Infrastructure plan that fixes our crumbling bridges and we want to get a yes on the usmca. And at the same time dealing with the issues in syria. Mr. Crow yeah. I rejected the false choice that we have to choose between our oversight obligations and protecting National Security and moving forward on things like Prescription Drugs. The constitution envisions a congress that can and must do all of those things. Thats what were doing. Were going to exercise our oversight responsibility, maintain the checks and balances. We will address National Security threats as they arise and were going to move forward on the Kitchen Table issues that America Needs us to move forward on. Mr. Kim when i got back from the trip to the middle east, i had a town hall on afghanistan in the district, and i tell you, it was a packed room. A lot of people there are very concerned whats happening on the National Security front. In the last two weeks, the number one issue i got questions about from people in the district was about their concerns what happened with syria and turkey. I think they see this as an example of where American Global leadership is right now. They see it in the example of the recklessness of this president s Foreign Policy decisionmaking process. And it worries them greatly not just about this issue but any number of other issues that might come up Going Forward. They just dont feel like they are in good hands right now. Reporter the essence to the question is the public, you think the number one issue was about syria, that the public perceives the democrats are just rying to impeach and there are these other key issues to talk about, whether its prescription, usmca, firearms, syria, and that gets drowned out because of the impeachment onversation. Mr. Jeffries we have an ability as long as we continue to focus on the Kitchen Table, pocketbook issues of the importance to the American People when we are back at home as well as the National Security issues of concern when were back at home as our members did in an extraordinary fashion over the last two weeks to make sure that the people ultimately understand what the House Democratic caucus is all about. Which is to get things done, to find Common Ground where possible, to move things over the goal line in the best interest of everyday americans. Thats what were doing. In the previous two years, much f the discussion inside of the beltway was centered on the mueller investigation. But guess what, the midterm elections were about health care. Why . Because we had members, then candidates like jason crow, andy kim and xochitl, antonio delgado, the list goes on and on and on, talking about kitchen able, pocketbook issues. And thats what were all about. Thats what were continuing to o, and we place our faith in the American People. Reporter is there anything that they can do besides sanctions to course correct legislatively . Mr. Jeffries as you know later on today there will be a white house conversation that is going to be bipartisan in nature, that speaker pelosi, steny hoyer, i believe jim clyburn as well as chairman engel and chairman mith, i think, are participating in. The American People across the ideological spectrum have clearly indicated that the actions that the president has taken in abandoning our ally and olstering the position of four different entities that are nemies iran, assad, russia, and isis is reckless and irresponsible and we are going to do everything we can pursuant to the authority that we have as a separate and coequal branch of government to turn the situation around. Ms. Clark id just like to add the resolution also has another purpose besides directly trying to influence the actions of turkey, and that is to say to our allies around the globe that the United States congress understands what our president has done. And that he has betrayed the kurds. And that sends a very dangerous message around the world, as congressman crow said, that you ant trust us. And we are hoping with this resolution, not only to be able to apply pressure, but to give that signal to World Leaders that the United States congress understands the dangerousness of the course that this president has put us on. And we want to restore the good faith and name of the united tates. Reporter do you think the president s conduct in syria gives you bolsters your case that the president needs to be impeached . Mr. Jeffries no. I dont think we connected one with the other. The facts speak for themselves as it relates to the president s conduct in terms of syria and turkey, reckless and irresponsible, jeopardizing an ally, enhancing the position of our different enemies. The actions of the president as it relates to the trumpukraine scandal speaks for hemselves. The timeline speaks for itself. All right. Congress, in a bipartisan way, authorized 391 million in military and economic aid to the ukraine. Ukraine is a friend. Russia is a foe. Ukraine is a democracy. Ussia is a dictatorship. Ukraine is currently under attack by russianbacked separatists. The United States is probably the only thing standing between Vladimir Putin and ukraine being completely run over by russia. In that context, ukraine is incredibly vulnerable. Yet, 391 million in aid was withheld as a highpressure tactic. In february, the Trump Administration wrote to us in congress and said that aid is on the way. It never arrived. In may, the department of defense wrote to congress and said the aid is on the way and ll necessary preconditions for the receipt of the aid have been met, including the implementation of anticorruption anticorruption protocols by the new ukrainian administration. The aid never arrived. Twice during the summer Mitch Mcconnell called up the administration and asked about the aid. He never got a satisfactory answer, because there is no legitimate answer. Then, on july 25, the president pressures a foreign power to target an american citizen for political gain. The ukrainian president appears to agree, buckling to the pressure of the withheld aid. And subsequently, thereafter, the aid is finally released. That is an abuse of power, and the timeline of the president s actions, the betrayal speaks for itself. Congress has a responsibility to legislate. Congress has the need to itigate. Congress has a constitutional obligation to investigate. We will do all three, and we will do it well. Thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] [captions Copyright National able satellite corp. 2019] watch live thursday morning at 10 00 eastern on cspan3. Online at cspan. Org, or listen live on the free cspan radio app. Today, President Trump hosted italys president at the white house. Here are their remarks during the meeting. President trump thank you very much. Its a great honor to have the president of italy with us. He is a man of great distinction. Hes highly respected in this country. Nice to have you at the white house. Thank you very much. Mr. President