Mr. Jeffries good morning, everyone. Earlier today we had a caucus call which began with a special tribute to the life and legacy of Supreme CourtJustice Ruth Bader ginsburg. Atragic loss for the country, tragic loss for the Supreme Court, a tragic loss for the principles of liberty and justice for all as well as democracy. Dehart from dr. Jayne who is a biographer, having written the authoritative piece on Justice Ginsburgs life in 2018. As well as Linda Greenhouse who of course is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who has covered the Supreme Court for over 30 years. This has been a very difficult year for many throughout america. Ts a time where leadership is desperately needed. We remain in the midst of a deadly pandemic. 200,000 or so americans dead. More than six million americans infected by the coronavirus. Over 100,000 Small Businesses have permanently closed, tens of millions of americans remain unemployed. Yet donald trump and the Senate Continue to do nothing about it. Its cruel, ka loused and coldhearted. But what else have we come to expect from trump, mcconnell, and the boys. And in the midst of all of this, before the country has even had an opportunity to appropriately mourn Justice Ginsburg and send already trying to jam a right wing conservative judge down the throats of the American People as part of a scheme to take away the health care of millions of americans. Thats what they want to do. We know it because theyve been trying to do it for ten years. They dont have an alternative to the Affordable Care act. Theyre in court right now trying to declare it unconstitutional, and they want to put a justice on the Supreme Court who will strip away the protections that millions of mericans, over 100 million americans, with preexisting conditions currently have under law. With millions more now having another preexisting condition because of the coronavirus infection. In part because the president s response has been an unmitigated disaster. So this has been a challenging year. It continues to get more challenging. But House Democrats are prepared to rise to the occasion. At some point in the next day or two, we expect there will be a continuing resolution on the floor that will continue the current spending agreement until december. Its my hope that that continuing resolution will be bipartisan in nature. That remains to be seen at the moment. Let me now yield to the caucus vice chair, katherine clark. Ms. Clark thank you so much, mr. Chairman. Thank you for bringing dr. Dehart and Linda Greenhouse before the caucus. It was a wonderful call as we mourn and remember and celebrate a hero for women and a hero for justice. Ruth bader ginsburg. Justice ginsburg faced and overcame discrimination and then made the fight to end inequality her lifes work. Her distinguished 27year career on the Supreme Court was defined by a simple, intrinsic truth. Women and men are equal. And with this as her north star she changed america. And guided our progress to become a more perfect union. Generations of people have been liberated by her work and inspired by her tenacity and intellect. And she redefined workplace right, reproductive rights, lgbtq rights, and health care access. She understood that womens rights are not just a gender issue but a civil rights issue that affects all of us. That equality for all americans made our nation stronger and without this commitment to justice for all we are not living up to our constitution and our founding principles. So its in her honor that we will, as the House Democrats, keep marching toward the marching down the path of justice. She taught us the power of dissent and dissent we do. To the continuing ka loused disregard for americans who are afraid for their lives and their livelihoods. During this pandemic. The house did its job. We passed a comprehensive, ontime budget, and we will prevent a shutdown by passing a continuing resolution to keep the government open. House democrats are going to continue to fight for relief package that supports moms without childcare, families without food, and workers without hope. What is clearer than ever is what matters most to donald trump and Mitch Mcconnell and as our chairman put it, the boys, is power. Not saving lives or jobs, not preventing millions of americans from spilling into homelessness, not defending our constitution. So as we are facing two heart breaks this week, losing 200,000 americans lives to covid19, and the loss of Justice Ginsburg, our commitment to the American People is unwavering. We will continue this fight for the people. And i just want to mention, as our chairman put so well, that this fight for Supreme Court justice really is about health care. And the upcoming a. C. A. Hearing on the case on november 11. And the Trump Administration has been clear what they would like to provide the American People. They have been pushing what some call shortterm limited Duration Health plans, others call junk plans. Let me just be clear what this vision of health care that this administration has, says to the American People. One, these plans restrict or deny coverage to people with preexisting conditions. We have just created this pan democrat this pandemic has just created millions more with preexisting conditions. 43 of these plans do not cover Mental Health services while we are seeing a spike, a crisis, in the need for Mental Health treatment. 62 do not cover Substance Abuse treatment as we are seeing fatal overdoses rise by 18 . 71 do not cover outpatient prescription drugs. Something that we have heard from the American People time and time again is an issue they are struggling with to afford the drugs and medication they need. And none of these plans cover maternity care. This is the vision for health care this administration has. This is the reason that we will continue to side with the American People and do everything we can to provide for them in this time of struggle and challenges. Thank you. Mr. Jeffries any questions . Reporter you mentioned coronavirus relief. With Everything Else going on, of course theres no deal between there arent even negotiations as far as we know between pelosi and the white house. Do you anticipate that there will be a vote on some form of covid stimulus before you leave for the elections, deal or none . There are a lot of members of your caucus who would like to vote on something before they go home. Mr. Jeff reets our focus mr. Jeffries our focus remains on getting a deal so we can provide relief in the middle of a deadly pandemic to the American People. Thats our north star. We have confidence that speaker pelosi, one of the best legislative negotiators in the history of the republic, working in partnership with leader chuck schumer, will be able to land us in a place where we have meaningful state and local stabilization so we can protect Public Health, public education, public housing, public transportation, and the public good. They will land us in a place where we have a meaningful extension of the emergency Unemployment Insurance benefit as well as meaningful support for renters and homeowners and of course another round of direct stimulus payments. Thats the goal. And were not operating on a timeline other than the fierce urgency of now dick stated dictated by a deadly pandemic. Whats your understand reporter whats your understanding of the status of those talks . Is a deal possible . There is a deadline for the airlines on october 1, for example, tens of thousands of people will lose their jobs. Mr. Jeffries in my view we acted over 125 days ago on may 15. Situation hasnt gotten better since then, its gotten worse. So wed like to arrive at an agreement now. But its got to be a meaningful agreement. Mitch mcconnell is negotiating against himself. At the end of july he put forth a plan to spend a a trillion dollars, he comes back after labor day, its down to about 650 million. Hes moving in the wrong direction when the number of american who was died is increasing at or around 200,000. So we cant have a cosmetic, fake agreement. Thats what the president wants, a fake agreement. We need a real agreement that deals with the pain, suffering, and death being experienced by the American People. Ms. Clark i would just briefly add that your very question is so very telling about where we are. Is it possible that the republicans will come and meet us, months after we passed the heroes act . That shouldnt even be a question in our minds. Of course we would have broad, bipartisan support to addressing the needs of the American People. Whether thats Unemployment Insurance, making sure theres another stimulus check, preventing homelessness, feeding our hungry children, a story of a mom who is putting her children to bed early so that the sleep she hopes will mask their hunger. This is not a question, certainly its not a question for the House Democrats of whose side were on, who were going to fight for. But the question of whether this is even possible to negotiate with this administration and with Senate Republicans tells us just about the ka louse indifference that were seeing and it should be shocking to the American People that they have been forgotten by this administration and by Mitch Mcconnell. Reporter you mentioned the continuing resolution bill. There has been back and forth on whether or not to include aid to farmers in it. If it means the difference between a Government Shutdown in eight days or not, are democrats willing to vote for a continuing resolution that includes that farmers aid that was not in the bill yesterday . Mr. Jeff reese hypothetically, i dont think it would be appropriate for me to answer other than to say, we are committed to making sure that we fund the government. As katherine indicated, we have den our jobs. The Appropriations Committee voted out every single appropriations bill that was on the legislative agenda for that committee. The house has passed 10 Appropriations Bills and sent them over to the United States senate. You know what the senate has done . Zim. Zero. Stingy with the nero. Nothing. They have not even acted out of their own senate Appropriations Committee. So we are in the situation right now because the senate has failed to do their jobs. The reason why they failed to do their jobs presumably is because they only really care about jamming extreme rightwing judges down the throats of the American People and now they are oing to do it on steroids. Effectively dancing on the life legacy and lessons we should be learning from ruth bader ginsburg. And theyre going to do it because they want to take away health care from the American People. So were committed to arriving at an agreement because we dont believe the government should shut down. We are not the party of Government Shutdowns. They are. But hopefully theyll come to their senses at least as it relates to a continuing resolution. Reporter there have been odd scenarios floated about what the house could do in terms of Supreme Court nominee developments. Has there been actually any discussion of impeachment proceedings against william barr or even the president as a stractive or slow down stall process . Mr. Jeffries no. When we proceeded earlier to make sure we held the president accountable for his corrupt abuse of power, we followed a pathway that was pretty simple. Follow the facts, apply the law. Be guided by the constitution. Present the truth American People. That was dictated by trumps corrupt abuse of power as it relates to the trumpukraine scandal. At the current moment were looking forward toward the election. Health care is on the ballot. Civil rights is on the ballot. Decency is on the ballot. Unity is on the ballot. And the American People will ultimately make the decision as to whether trump and his corrupt administration should be held accountable. There will be a hearing later on today that will be chaired by hank johnson of the courts subcommittee that will explore, i believe, court capture and address some of the issues and challenges that have presented themselves as a result of some of the extreme appointments that the president has made. But i dont think were contemplating anything other than to say as leader schumer indicated standing in front of Madison High School where hes an alum an Justice Ginsburg was an alum, that all options are on the table. Reporter you said in the next day or two for the c. R. Does that mean it wont be today . Mr. Jeffries thats a decision thats still, i think, being worked out by the speaker, steny hoyer, and chairwoman nita lowey. Reporter another member of your tested positive for coronavirus and was on the floor on thursday. She called out the lack of National Testing plan. Called out lack of testing for members. Is this a renewed conversation . Something your caucus needs to revisit for safety of those at the capitol . Mr. Jeffries our thoughts and prayers are certainly with congresswoman hayes and hopefully shes speeding toward a full retvry. The president s coronavirus Pandemic Response has been an unmitigated disaster and it has had deadly consequences. Theres no strategy. For testing, for tracing, for treatment. No strategy to flatten the curve. No strategy to conquer the virus. No strategy it appears to make sure that theres widespread dissemination of the vaccine when it is available. The president is behaving as if the coronavirus is a hoax. In fact, he has told the American People that its a hoax. And Public Health and the welfare and well being of the American People will also be on he ballot on november 3. Ms. Clark i just want to echo that we send our thoughts and prayers for a swift recovery to congresswoman hayes. And we will do everything we can to keep our colleagues safe. But its the American People who are suffering. This is a Staggering Number that we are about to hit. The grimmest of milestones. 200,000 people. And this administration, their responses their response is, it is what it is. And as we are dealing with this and the aftermath, the preexisting conditions that have been created for millions of americans, and as the science is informing us of the longterm possible effects on respiratory and cardio systems, we are engaged once again in this administration barreling ahead, trying to get rid of the a. C. A. And to replace it with lowcost, junk insurance for people that will drive up premiums in the long term and will leave so many more americans behind. What could be more stark a response to a pandemic than to say now is the time to make sure we take away the Affordable Care act . Its just a devastating response from beginning to end. Calling this a hoax. Admitting that he has tried to play this down. Why . Because of politics. His failed leadership came into stark relief with all the other inequities that we knew existed but that this pandemic brought out and magnified. And that there is still no response from this administration to the suffering of the American People. If we do not have Healthy People we will never have a healthy economy. And this president and our colleagues in the other party in the senate have to recognize that. Have to recognize the suffering were seeing. Nd they have to act. Reporter todays intense lobbying by the airlines, laborrelated unions and last weeks pressure altering the House Democrats view of what maybe they could do on stimulus and do it before the end end of the month . Defazio has pete been a leader on this issue. We came together to provide for the Airline Industry which is really a privately run public utility. Its in the best interest of the American People to make sure we keep it going through this pandemic and most importantly can keep the tens of thousands of people who are employed by the industry working and certified. Peter defazio led a letter a few weeks ago that was strongly supported throughout the House Democratic caucus expressing our position for the continuation of this assistance. Again, the republicans are paying lip service to the notion that we should step in to the situation but we havent really seen any movement in that regard. This is part of the negotiation, i know there are discussions taking place at a high level. Well see what happens in advance of october 1. Reporter so there could be a separate bill away from stimulus to address this . Mr. Jeffries its my expectation that any agreement will be a global agreement. Last question. Reporter moving forward filling the vacancy, how does that affect the covid negotiation . Obviously a lot of people are pushing for action on that. Mr. Jeffries let me be clear. Mitch mcconnell is exhibit a for the principle that absolute power corrupts absolutely. And the use of the current but fleeting power that the Senate Majority has perhaps in one instance to jam a extreme justice down the throats of the American People but in the other instance to refuse to provide relief to americans who are suffering through a once in a century pandemic is just an extraordinary dereliction of duty. Members of the caucus of course feel a need to act with a fierce urgency of now because the people we represent are in such pain. Both in terms of the Public Health aspect of the crisis and in terms of the economic distress. But that said, the reality of the Political Landscape in front of us is that we have an out of control president and a Senate Majority that is drunk on power. And we remain committed to trying to arrive at the Common Ground necessary to get something done for the American People but it has to be meaningful. It cant simply be a White House Press release that donald trump can promote at his rallies but does nothing to alleviate the pain, suffering, and death being experienced by the American People in the midst of a pandemic. Thank you. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2020] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] the house is currently in recess but its possible members will return tonight to work on a bill that extends Government Spending through december 11. Negotiations continue off the floor and the measure will need to be approved by the house and senate by september 30 to avoid a Government Shutdown. Also expected this week, a package of bills that promote the development of clean energy and Greenhouse Gas reductions. Earlier today, the house passed several bills relating to veterans issues. Follow the house live on cspan hen members gavel back in. Who will control congress in january . Stay informed on all the competitive congressional races leading up to election day. With cspans campaign 2020 coverage. Watch the candidates debate and Election Results on cspan. Watch online at cspan. Org. Or listen on the free cspan radio app. Cspan, your unfiltered view of politics. Cspans washington journal, every day were taking your calls live on the air on news of the day and well discuss policy issues that impact you. Coming up wednesday morning. Well discuss the role pennsylvania will play in the 2020 election with franklin an marshall colleges terry madonna. Watch cspan wees washington journal live wednesday morning, join the discussion with your phone call, facebook comments, Text Messages and tweets. And be sure to watch washington journal on thursday morning for a live interview with Washington PostInvestigative Reporter and author bob wood ward on his new book rage, about the trump presidency. On sunday we look back 60 years at the first ever televised president ial debates in the fall of 1960 between john f. Kennedy and richard nixon. Next a hearing examines the Trump Administrations afghanistan policy. We hear about protections for afghan women and girls in the u. S. Taliban agreement as well as troop withdrawal and russian influence in the region. Held by a House Oversight subcommittee this runs two hours. Good morning, this hearing of the National Subcommittee will