0:04

Welcome to Washington Today on Cspan

0:06

radio for Friday March Twenty Second:

0:08

Twenty Twenty Four Us House narrowly

0:10

passes one point two trillion dollar

0:12

fiscal year Twenty Twenty Four spending

0:14

bill covering the Department of Defense,

0:16

Homeland Security, State and Health, sending

0:19

it to the Senate which has

0:21

until midnight tonight to pass it

0:23

and get President Biden to signed

0:25

into law or there could be

0:27

a partial government shutdown. Republican Congressman

0:29

Marjorie Tell Green filed a motion

0:31

to vacate to remove Republican Speaker

0:33

Mike. Johnson. She tweets, we need

0:36

a Speaker of the House who

0:38

will fight to secure America's border

0:40

at all cost. Not one that

0:42

passes a trillion dollar democrat wish

0:44

list that continues the border invasion,

0:46

funds to weaponize government and breaks

0:48

our own conference rules. The White

0:50

House Press Secretary Korean Jean Pierre

0:52

is asked about what happened at

0:54

the Us. Mexico border in El

0:56

Paso, Texas when hundreds of migrants

0:58

broke through razor wire and overcame

1:00

National guard soldiers. A Us back

1:02

Un Security Council resolution calling. For

1:04

a ceasefire in the war between Israel

1:06

and Hamas and the release of hostages

1:09

held by Hamas fails after both Russia

1:11

and China exercise their veto power sector

1:13

said Nc Blinken in Israel meet with

1:15

the Prime Minister and his war cabinet

1:17

and also the White House responding to

1:19

the news they Kate Middleton, Princess of

1:22

Wales has been diagnosed. With cancer. Story.

1:26

From The hill.com The House approved one

1:28

point two trillion dollar government funding bill

1:30

Friday, sending the sprawling package to the

1:32

senate hours before the deadline and. Officially

1:34

capping off the fiscal. Twenty Twenty Four

1:36

Appropriations Process in the Lower Chamber. The

1:38

legislation, which includes six funding bills, cleared

1:40

the house in a two hundred and

1:42

eighty six, two hundred and thirty vote.

1:45

Hours. Before slew of agencies and programs

1:47

are set to run out of funding

1:49

says is expected to quickly ticket package

1:51

with hopes of getting it over the

1:53

finish line before midnight. So. Lawmakers

1:55

can avoid all apps and funding and

1:57

begin their to week Easter recess present

2:00

by I said he will sign a

2:02

bill that was from the hill. Here's

2:04

the house for debate Beginning with the

2:06

Appropriations committee chair. And. Ranking:

2:08

Democrat: Both. Of whom supported the

2:10

bill. Kay Granger publicly from Texas is the

2:12

chair. Madam. Speaker. I

2:14

arrived today and supported the Appropriations

2:16

package and I want to start

2:19

by citing all the members and

2:21

staff who are involved in this

2:23

process. We looked hard at our

2:26

needs and developed a package to

2:28

carry us through the process. Two

2:32

weeks ago I talked about

2:34

the changes. House Republicans made

2:36

regarding how we signed the

2:38

government we may targeted cuts

2:41

to a small. Programs

2:43

and developed a package that is

2:45

proof of that. We.

2:48

Looked at each the and it was clear.

2:50

That the world is becoming

2:52

a more dangerous place. We.

2:54

Made changes and decided on effort

2:56

said include. Countering sign on

2:59

developing next generation weapons,

3:01

Investing in the quality

3:03

of life of our

3:05

service members. I'm

3:08

proud to say this: This

3:10

bill strengthens our national security

3:13

and son's critical to sense

3:15

efforts. This package also includes

3:18

other key priorities it continues

3:20

are: strong support of Israel,

3:23

combats the flow of illegal

3:25

drugs, and fuck fully. Funds

3:28

medical research for cancer

3:30

and chronic diseases. Against

3:34

all odds, the House Republicans reason

3:36

focused sending the American America's most

3:38

crucial need of home and abroad

3:40

or urged Va colleagues to support

3:42

this bill and I reserve the

3:45

balance of my time. Congresswoman Kay

3:47

Granger republican from Texas the Appropriations

3:49

Committee chair on the house floor

3:51

sheets and already announced that she's

3:54

not going to run for reelection

3:56

this year. She announced today that

3:58

step. as a

4:00

Appropriations Committee Chair for the remainder of

4:02

her term. Rosa DeLauro

4:04

from Connecticut is the Appropriations Committee

4:07

ranking Democrat. She too supported this

4:09

funding package. I strongly

4:11

support the bipartisan bill which

4:13

funds the majority of the

4:15

United States government. This

4:18

bill sides with the hard-working

4:20

majority of Americans. It

4:23

helps to lower the cost of living. It

4:25

protects women's rights and access

4:28

to reproductive health care. It

4:30

reinforces America's global leadership and

4:32

it helps our communities be

4:34

safe and secure. I

4:37

am pleased that Democrats and

4:39

Republicans again united to make

4:41

government work for the people

4:43

of this country. Like

4:46

the funding bill we passed earlier

4:48

this month, this legislation does not

4:50

have everything either side may

4:53

have wanted. But I

4:55

am satisfied that many of

4:57

the extreme cuts and the

4:59

policies proposed by House Republicans

5:02

were rejected. I

5:04

am enormously proud that we are

5:06

providing an increase of $1 billion

5:08

for child care for Head

5:10

Start, expanding access to

5:13

quality and affordable child care

5:15

for hard-working families. We increased

5:17

Title I education funding, protecting

5:19

224,000 teachers' jobs House Republicans

5:24

tried to eliminate. I

5:26

am also pleased that we successfully defeated

5:29

every one of the Republican's

5:31

extreme policy riders in the

5:33

Labor HHS bill. In

5:36

this package we prioritize the men

5:38

and women in our armed services

5:40

and their families by securing pay

5:42

and allowance increases of over 5

5:44

percent, the highest increase

5:46

in decades. We invest in

5:48

global health and support 12,000 special

5:51

immigrant visas for Afghans that

5:54

assisted the United States and

5:56

critically we strengthen and critically.

6:00

We strengthened our border

6:03

security. I urge swift

6:05

package of this passage and I look forward

6:08

to moving on how we can best serve

6:10

the American people in the fiscal year 2025.

6:13

I reserve the balance of my time.

6:16

Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, Democrat from Connecticut,

6:18

the ranking member on the Appropriations

6:20

Committee on the House floor today,

6:22

Congressman Chip Roy, Republican of Texas,

6:24

member of the Freedom Caucus, opposed

6:26

this bill. Well, here we are again. The

6:30

swamp is back in full force.

6:33

We have a 1,000 page bill of

6:36

$1.2 trillion filled

6:38

with all manners of spending

6:40

priorities that are at odds with the American

6:42

people. That's what we have in front of us.

6:46

This bill is over 1,000 pages long,

6:49

contains hundreds of pages of report language,

6:51

1,400 earmarks, and we've had about 24

6:53

hours to review it. That is

6:55

not the way to do business. And

6:57

the American people and American families are the ones

6:59

left holding the bag. This

7:02

is business as usual in the swamp. And here's

7:04

the deal to my Republican colleagues. You

7:07

will own every single bit of this. If

7:10

you vote for this bill, you own it. DHS

7:14

funding contingent on signing H.R. 2 into law.

7:16

That's what we did last year to make

7:18

sure our border would be secure. That is

7:20

punted. So you own it. Defunding

7:23

Alejandro Mayorkas. We did that in our bill.

7:26

This punts that. It's no longer there. You

7:28

own it. Prohibiting

7:30

mass parole and release of illegal aliens via

7:33

the CBP1 app. We did that in our

7:35

bill last year. This bill gets rid of

7:37

it. You own it. You

7:39

own the continued mass

7:41

parole of illegal aliens

7:43

into our country. You

7:46

own that. That's

7:49

the truth. And it was

7:51

mass parole that led to a Venezuelan

7:53

gang member coming into the United States and killing Lake

7:55

and Riley. And

7:57

you can't go campaigning. campaign,

8:01

my Republican colleagues cannot go

8:03

campaign against Mass

8:06

Perol and use the name

8:09

of Lake and Riley because you pass a

8:11

bill in her name when

8:14

you fund the very policies

8:16

that lead to her

8:18

death. I

8:21

hear all this that we're going to

8:24

increase beds, ICE beds. We're going to

8:26

increase the numbers for Border Patrol. The

8:29

increased numbers for Border Patrol will process more

8:31

illegal aliens. The increased number of

8:33

beds for ICE will not be used

8:35

because there's memos in place by Alejandro

8:37

Mayorkas, whom we impeached and

8:39

whom this bill will fund. Those

8:42

ICE beds will not be filled. They won't be

8:44

used and we know it. We've

8:50

set out to prohibit DHS from fast-tracking

8:52

asylum. This bill doesn't do that. We've

8:54

set out to make sure this border would be

8:56

secure and you could end what happened yesterday in

8:59

Texas where 100 illegal aliens

9:01

bum rushed our border, rolled over the

9:03

Texas National Guard, fled into this country

9:05

and went to Border Patrol to get

9:07

released into the United States. That

9:10

is what this bill continues to fund. And

9:14

any of my Republican colleagues who want

9:16

to spend this year campaigning against open

9:18

borders, it's a

9:20

laugh because today if

9:22

you vote for this abomination of a bill, you

9:25

will be voting to fund it. You

9:27

will be voting to fund the very policies that

9:30

you will campaign against. Congressman

9:32

Chip Roy, Republican from Texas, on the House

9:34

floor. The House went on to pass this

9:36

$1.2 trillion spending package

9:38

for fiscal year 2024. Six

9:42

of the 12 annual spending bills

9:44

included. Defense, financial services, homeland security,

9:46

labor, health and human services, education,

9:49

legislative branch, and state

9:51

department and foreign operations. The

9:53

vote was 286 to 134, more than the two-thirds vote

9:55

needed, just more. barely

10:00

more than the two-thirds under the procedure

10:02

that they used. More Democrats than Republicans

10:04

voted in favor of the bill, 185

10:06

Democrats to 101 Republicans. On

10:10

the no side, 112 Republicans and 22 Democrats. You

10:16

heard from Congressman Roy some of the reasons

10:18

why Republicans were voting no. On the Democratic

10:20

side, one of the issues was

10:22

a one-year ban in the bill on

10:25

funding the United Nations Relief and Works

10:27

Agency for Palestine Refugees, or UNRWA.

10:31

Congressman Ro Khanna, Democrat from California, posting

10:33

on X, I will vote

10:35

no on this bill that bans aid to children

10:37

in Gaza who are dying of hunger. Forget the

10:39

politics and procedural jargon. This is a test of

10:42

first principles. America, I believe

10:44

in, must never be indifferent

10:46

to the man-made starvation of

10:48

children. From Fox News,

10:50

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of

10:52

Georgia, told reporters on Friday that

10:54

she filed a motion to vacate

10:56

House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of

10:58

Louisiana, accusing him of

11:01

having betrayed the confidence of the

11:04

House GOP Conference by ushering through

11:06

a bipartisan $1.2 trillion federal

11:08

funding bill to avoid a partial government

11:10

shutdown. Johnson won the gavel

11:12

in late October after his predecessor was

11:14

ousted by a motion to vacate resolution

11:17

earlier that month. That was from Fox

11:19

News. Congresswoman Greene spoke to reporters on

11:21

the steps of the U.S. Capitol building.

11:24

This bill was basically a dream and

11:26

a wish list for Democrats and for

11:28

the White House. It was

11:30

completely led by Chuck Schumer, not our

11:32

Republican Speaker of the House, not our

11:34

conference. And we weren't even allowed to

11:36

put amendments to the floor to have

11:38

a chance to make changes to the

11:40

bill. I filed the motion to

11:42

vacate today, but it's more of

11:45

a warning and a pink slip. I respect

11:47

our conference. I've paid all my

11:49

dues to my conference. I'm a member in

11:51

good standing, and I do not wish to

11:54

inflict pain on our conference and to

11:56

throw the house in chaos. But

11:58

this is basically a warning and it's

12:01

time for us to go through the

12:03

process, take our time and find a

12:05

new speaker of the House that will

12:07

stand with Republicans and our Republican majority

12:10

instead of standing with the Democrats.

12:12

That's a warning. If

12:17

it's a warning, does that mean that you're next not going

12:19

to go through and force a vote? No, I will.

12:22

There's nothing that can convince you to back off. There's

12:25

not a time limit on this. It doesn't

12:28

have to be forced and throw the House into

12:30

chaos. I don't want to put any

12:32

of our members in a difficult place like we

12:34

were for three and a half weeks. We're

12:37

going to continue our committee work. We're going

12:39

to continue our investigations. There's a

12:41

lot of good investigations going that have to be

12:43

able to proceed and the American

12:45

people deserve that. But I'm not saying that

12:47

it won't happen in two weeks or it

12:49

won't happen in a month or who knows

12:51

when. But I am saying the clock has

12:53

started. It's time for our conference to choose a new

12:56

speaker. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor

12:58

Greene, Republican from Georgia, speaking to reporters

13:00

on the steps of the U.S. Capitol

13:02

building. She filed that motion

13:05

to vacate, but as she noted, it

13:07

would only force a vote if she

13:09

files it as a privileged resolution, meaning

13:11

House speakers would need to act within

13:13

two legislative days and the

13:16

House is starting a two-week

13:18

recess today. Speaker

13:21

Johnson's office telling Fox News Digital in a

13:23

statement, Speaker Johnson always listens to the concerns

13:25

of members but is focused on governing. He

13:28

will continue to push conservative legislation that secures

13:30

our border, strengthens our national

13:32

defense and demonstrates how it will

13:34

grow our majority. Also

13:36

at least one Democrat, Tom Swazie,

13:39

just elected in a special election

13:41

from New York telling CNN that

13:43

he would not vote to remove

13:45

House Speaker Mike Johnson should it

13:47

come to that. The

13:49

fiscal year 2024 spending bill, now that

13:51

it's passed the House, heads over to

13:53

the Senate this morning, the Majority

13:55

Leader Chuck Schumer anticipating House passage and calling

13:58

on senators to be ready to move. move

14:00

quickly on the bill. At

14:02

about 1201 a.m. tonight, about

14:05

70 percent of the federal

14:07

government will run out of funding if

14:09

Congress does not act. Democrats

14:12

and Republicans have about 13 hours to

14:14

work together to make sure the government stays

14:16

open. That's not going to be

14:18

easy. We will have to work together

14:21

and avoid unnecessary delays. This

14:24

morning, the House will move first on the funding

14:26

package, and as soon as they send us a

14:28

bill, the Senate will spring into action. To

14:31

my colleagues on both sides, let's

14:33

finish the job today. Let's

14:36

avoid even a weekend shutdown. Let's

14:38

finish the job of funding the government for the

14:40

remainder of the fiscal year. There

14:43

is no reason to delay. There

14:45

is no reason to drag out this process. If

14:48

senators cooperate on a time agreement, if

14:50

we prioritize working together just as we

14:52

did two weeks ago, I'm

14:55

optimistic we can succeed. But

14:57

if individual senators resort to partisanship

14:59

and stonewalling and dithering, those

15:02

individuals will almost guarantee that we

15:04

shut down and the

15:06

process could drag into Saturday, Sunday,

15:08

and possibly beyond. Now,

15:11

this appropriations process hasn't been easy,

15:14

but I'm glad that after months of hard work

15:16

we've arrived at a funding package that both sides

15:18

can be pleased with. The

15:20

funding package will go a long

15:22

way to supporting American families, strengthen

15:24

our economy, safeguarding our national security.

15:27

The Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat from New York

15:29

on the Senate floor as they met about 11 a.m.

15:31

Eastern. And

15:33

as we are now on the air just after 5 p.m.

15:36

Eastern, no agreement yet on moving

15:38

forward towards a final vote on

15:40

that $1.2 trillion

15:43

government funding bill. Mid-afternoon,

15:45

one of the opponents, Senator Rand Paul,

15:47

Republican from Kentucky, spoke on the floor.

15:50

The ever-increasing heights of our debt mean

15:52

a weak economy, high inflation,

15:55

and confiscatory tax rates. In

15:57

other words, today's spending threatened.

16:00

tomorrow's prosperity. We're

16:02

approaching a predictable economic crisis

16:04

in the U.S. In

16:07

my time in the Senate, I have proposed spending

16:09

freezes, balanced budgets, spending

16:11

cuts designed to get our nation back on

16:14

path. Today, though,

16:16

instead of a balanced budget, I merely ask

16:18

this, that this bill be sent back to

16:20

the Appropriations Committee and that they report to

16:23

the full Senate about how to responsibly cut

16:26

5% from this bloated monstrosity.

16:28

We wouldn't eliminate anything, but

16:30

everything you're gonna spend money

16:32

on, grandma, motherhood, apple

16:34

pie, it's gonna get 5% less.

16:38

That's what it would take to start balancing our budget.

16:40

Wouldn't do it just on this bill because we'd

16:42

actually have to do that to everything in all

16:44

the spending, but doing it here today would show

16:46

that somebody's serious about the spending. My

16:49

instructions even leave the Appropriations Committee

16:51

open to determine where to reduce

16:53

the spending. This isn't asking

16:56

that much. It's a lopsided compromise

16:58

in which the select handful of

17:01

members who wrote this bill get 95% of everything

17:03

they want. That's

17:05

what it would mean if we were past this cut. Realize

17:08

when we vote on this cut, though, that not

17:10

one Democrat will vote to cut one penny. Seriously,

17:14

if we offered an amendment to cut one

17:16

penny, every Democrat would vote no

17:18

on it. They're resisting voting at all now

17:20

because they're worried that people at home will

17:23

discover what they're voting for, but

17:25

it's more than just the Democrats. No

17:27

Democrat cares about the deficit. Many

17:30

Republicans profess to care, but half of

17:32

them will vote with the Democrats as

17:34

well. So this is really a bipartisan

17:37

problem. So don't let anybody tell you

17:39

this is just all about Joe Biden.

17:41

It's about the previous administration as well.

17:43

They borrowed $7 trillion. They shut the

17:46

economy down. The Covid lockdown fled to

17:48

extravagant borrowing more than we've ever seen,

17:50

and we're continuing it now. But this

17:53

is a bipartisan problem. It

17:56

means that rather than spending $1.2 trillion

17:59

in this past, package, my proposal would spend

18:01

1.14 trillion. Some

18:04

would look at that and say, well, gosh, that's not even very dramatic

18:06

at all. How did you become

18:08

so moderate? That

18:10

is true, and quite the moderate.

18:13

But it will cut $60 billion. $60

18:16

billion. But they will unanimously on

18:19

the Democrat side vote against this because they're

18:21

against cutting one penny, and our side, half

18:23

of our people on our side, will vote

18:25

against any cuts also. This is

18:27

a modest cut and only the

18:29

beginning of what you would have to do to bring

18:32

fiscal sanity. I'm willing to

18:34

accept a reasonable compromise, even

18:36

one that does not balance the budget significantly

18:38

or even cut the necessary spending.

18:40

I'm willing to vote for something

18:43

to cut some spending. Senator

18:45

Rand Paul, Republican from Kentucky, on

18:47

the Senate floor. Washington

18:50

Post has an article that says this legislation's

18:52

passage in the Senate is not in doubt.

18:54

It has the support of President Biden, Senate

18:57

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Minority Leader Mitch

18:59

McConnell. But a single senator can

19:01

throw up procedural roadblocks that push the government

19:03

past the deadline and force a vote days

19:05

later. The consequences of a

19:08

brief shutdown would be mostly muted.

19:10

Many federal workers at unfunded agencies

19:12

would be off for the weekend

19:14

anyway. But if a closure

19:16

goes longer, more than half of IRS employees

19:18

would face furloughs at the height of tax

19:21

filing season. Border patrol officers

19:23

and about 1.3 million active duty

19:25

military service members would remain on the

19:27

job without pay, so would

19:29

Transportation Security Administration screeners, many of whom

19:32

called in sick as a protest after

19:34

a previous shutdown dragged on for weeks,

19:36

sparking nationwide travel delays. That from the

19:39

Washington Post. And again,

19:41

to summarize, the $1.2 trillion government

19:43

funding bill, covering about 70% of

19:46

the discretionary part of the

19:48

budget, has passed. The House

19:50

is pending in the Senate, and tonight,

19:53

midnight, is the deadline for that partial

19:55

government shutdown. From

19:57

the Daily Caller, the White House blamed former

19:59

President Donald Trump. Trump for a new dramatic

20:01

video of illegal immigrants storming across the border,

20:04

tearing down a barrier and overwhelming the

20:06

Texas National Guard Thursday in a statement

20:08

shared with Daily Caller. Illegal

20:11

immigrants were caught at the U.S.-Mexico border

20:13

Thursday pulling a barrier open while four

20:15

National Guardsmen tried to keep the situation

20:17

under control. The White House blamed Donald

20:19

Trump for the chaos, pointing to his

20:22

opposition toward a bipartisan Senate bill proposed

20:24

last month that would have allocated funds

20:27

to Ukraine, Israel and the southern border crisis.

20:29

That was from the Daily Caller. Here's

20:32

more on this from today's White House

20:34

briefing with Vice Secretary Kareem John Pierre.

20:37

Thank you. So on this border video,

20:39

what does President Biden think should happen

20:42

to adult men who are

20:44

assaulting and overpowering U.S. National

20:46

Guardsmen? Well, let me just first say

20:49

we're grateful, and I said this moments ago,

20:51

to Border Patrol agents to

20:54

quickly work and get the situation under

20:56

control and apprehend the migrants. So I

20:58

want to be really clear that everyone

21:00

who was apprehended was apprehended by Border

21:03

Patrol. They were able to do

21:05

their job, even though it's made it more,

21:07

even though Republican governor in

21:09

particular, Governor Abbott, has made it difficult for

21:12

them. They need more resources. We need more

21:14

personnel. I mean, we have to

21:16

have the backs of our law enforcement on the

21:18

ground are who are dealing

21:20

with this every day. But Republicans are

21:22

getting in the way. Republicans in Congress

21:25

do not want to help. And you

21:27

have a governor, Governor Abbott, who's politicizing

21:29

it. That is what's happening.

21:31

Border Patrol agents did their job, even

21:34

though, you know, the governor is getting

21:36

in the way of them doing their jobs. But

21:39

I get that you know, you talk so

21:41

much about having a more humane immigration system.

21:43

This video does not show helpless

21:45

women and children begging for a safe place

21:48

to come in. It

21:50

shows adult men landing haymakers on U.S.

21:52

troops in uniform. And if that was

21:54

happening anywhere else in the world, wouldn't

21:57

President Biden send reinforcements? So two things.

22:00

Everyone was apprehended by the Border Patrol

22:02

agents. That is important to know. They

22:04

were apprehended. Where they supported. They were

22:06

apprehended. I can't speak to individual cases.

22:08

That's not something I can do from

22:10

here. But they were all

22:13

apprehended. That's number one. And the

22:16

reason why you're talking about the Texas

22:18

National Guard, they were there

22:20

because of the Governor of

22:23

Texas. The Governor of Texas put

22:25

the Texas National Guard there. We

22:28

didn't put them there. He put them there. What

22:31

we need is actually real solutions. We need

22:33

to see resources. The Border

22:35

Patrol agents deserve resources. They

22:38

deserve to be able to do their jobs. And

22:41

we're not getting that from Republicans.

22:43

They're rejecting a bipartisan agreement that came

22:45

out of the Senate. The White

22:47

House Press Secretary, Corrine Jean-Pierre, at her

22:49

news conference at the White House. The

22:52

fiscal year 2024 spending bill that passed the

22:54

House today, the $1.2 trillion, pending in

22:58

the Senate includes $25.3 billion

23:00

for FEMA, the Federal Emergency

23:02

Management Agency, most of that

23:04

for disaster relief. The head

23:06

of FEMA, Deanne Criswell, spoke today

23:08

about new policies for getting people

23:10

federal aid during and after natural

23:12

disaster to make it

23:15

easier, quicker, less frustrating, and less

23:17

bureaucratic. She was at the

23:19

Atlantic Council in Washington. These

23:21

are the most transformational changes that

23:24

we've made to this program in 20 years. And

23:27

it's allowed us to truly take all

23:29

of the information we hear from people

23:32

and the barriers that they have in

23:34

trying to access assistance from

23:36

our state and local emergency managers and

23:38

the struggles that they have in trying

23:40

to help people get the assistance that

23:42

they need, and really breaking down those

23:44

barriers and removing them so we can

23:46

help people on their road to recovery

23:48

faster. A couple of examples,

23:51

and I think the biggest one that I get probably

23:53

the most applause when I talk to people about is

23:56

in the past, yesterday, we'll just

23:58

say yesterday. day,

24:02

you would if you were down if your

24:04

home was damaged for a certain

24:07

part of FEMA's programs I would actually go

24:09

make you apply for an SBA loan have

24:11

you get denied and then come back

24:13

and then you would be eligible for

24:16

FEMA assistance. Sounds like health care.

24:18

Perhaps. But

24:21

I think the biggest part of that is we're

24:23

asking the people who we know are the

24:25

most vulnerable right the most

24:28

resource deficient to

24:30

go through this extra step just to

24:32

be told yes you are resource deficient

24:35

and then you can get federal help.

24:38

It was to me a bit demoralizing

24:40

and so now we've taken that away

24:42

now that is we've decoupled those two

24:44

programs and so now any

24:46

of FEMA's programs you don't have to go

24:49

through that process first. You can

24:51

apply for FEMA grants but you can also

24:53

apply for an SBA loan at the

24:55

same time which some people will

24:58

use right it's a really great

25:00

resource because our programs help jumpstart

25:02

the recovery and there are things

25:04

like insurance or SBA loans that

25:06

really help provide additional resources and

25:08

so that's one big example of

25:11

one of the barriers that we continued to

25:13

hear that people

25:15

weren't applying. There's a large number of people that

25:17

we would send to that route that we knew

25:19

needed help but then would never come back because

25:21

it was just confusing. Administrator

25:24

of FEMA the Federal Emergency Management Agency

25:26

Dean Criswell at the Atlantic Council today

25:28

in Washington DC she was talking about

25:30

changes to the federal

25:33

disaster relief aid programs that kick

25:35

in to death. On

25:38

Wall Street the Dow down 305 NASDAQ up 26 S&P down 7.

25:40

Washington today

25:45

continues in a moment. Hi it's

25:47

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27:03

the next Washington to do they will as

27:05

a podcast where have you found your purchase

27:07

and in a free suspend Now Obama. Says

27:11

you to press reporting that Russia

27:13

and China on Friday vetoed a

27:15

Us sponsored Un resolution calling for

27:17

an immediate and sustained ceasefire in

27:19

Israel Hamas war in Gaza to

27:21

protect civilians the naval humanitarian aid

27:23

to be delivered to more than

27:25

two million hungry Palestinians. The vote

27:28

in the fifth team member Security

27:30

Council was eleven members in favor,

27:32

three against. And one abstention. Before.

27:34

The Vote: Russia's Un ambassador pursuing

27:37

a bed see I said that

27:39

Moscow supports an immediate ceasefire, but

27:41

he questioned the language in the

27:43

resolution. Accused Us Secretary of State

27:45

Nc Blinken and Us Ambassador Linda

27:47

turns green field of misleading the

27:49

internet community for politicized reasons. Resolution:

27:52

declared that a ceasefire is imperative.

27:54

That draft that was put to a vote lead

27:56

no direct link to the release of hostages taken

27:59

during. some on

28:01

Israel, which was in the

28:03

previous draft, but it unequivocally supported diplomatic efforts

28:05

to secure such a ceasefire in connection with

28:07

the release of all remaining hostages. That

28:10

was reporting from the Associated Press. Here are some of

28:12

the statements, first from U.S. Ambassador to

28:14

the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield, on

28:17

the vetoes. Colleagues,

28:20

today the United States put

28:23

forward a resolution in good faith after

28:25

consulting with all council

28:27

members and after

28:30

multiple rounds of edits.

28:33

The vast majority of this

28:36

council voted in favor of

28:38

this resolution, but unfortunately, Russia

28:40

and China decided to exercise

28:42

its veto. And

28:45

now, Russia and China will

28:47

give you all sorts of explanations for its

28:49

obstruction. But whether

28:51

or not it will admit it, there

28:54

are two deeply, deeply cynical

28:56

reasons behind its votes. First,

29:02

Russia and China still could not bring

29:04

itself to condemn Hamas's terrorist attacks on

29:06

October 7. Can we

29:09

just pause on that for a moment? Russia

29:12

and China refuses to condemn

29:14

Hamas for burning people alive,

29:17

for gunning down innocent civilians at

29:19

a concert for raping women and

29:22

girls, for taking hundreds of people

29:24

hostage. This was the

29:26

deadliest single attack on Jews

29:28

since the Holocaust. And

29:31

a permanent member of this council can't

29:33

even condemn it. I'm sorry, it's really

29:35

outrageous, and it's below the dignity of

29:37

this body. The

29:40

second reason behind this veto is not

29:42

just cynical, it's also pity. Russia

29:46

and China simply did not want to vote

29:49

for a resolution that was pinned by the

29:51

United States, because it would rather see us

29:53

fail than to see this council succeed. Even

29:57

after inclusive consultations over

29:59

weeks, weeks and weeks, even

30:02

after negotiations and edits

30:04

produced a draft that

30:06

received overwhelming council support.

30:09

And as you saw today, nearly every

30:11

council member voted to put the full

30:13

weight of this body behind the diplomatic

30:16

efforts to secure an

30:18

immediate and sustained ceasefire as

30:21

part of a deal that leads

30:23

to the release of all

30:25

hostages that will allow much

30:27

more humanitarian aid to get

30:29

into Gaza. But

30:32

once again, Russia put politics over progress.

30:36

Russia, who has

30:39

carried out an unprovoked war on

30:41

its neighbor, has

30:43

the audacity and hypocrisy to throw

30:46

stones when it lives in a

30:48

glasshouse itself. So

30:50

let's be honest, for all

30:52

the fiery rhetoric, we all

30:54

know that Russia and China

30:56

are not doing anything diplomatically

30:58

to advance a lasting peace

31:00

or to meaningfully contribute to

31:02

the humanitarian response effort. Colleagues,

31:06

there is obviously another resolution that some

31:08

of you would like to be considered,

31:11

but in its current form, that

31:13

text fails to support sensitive

31:15

diplomacy in the region. Worse

31:18

it could actually give

31:21

Hamas an excuse to walk away

31:23

from the deal on the table.

31:26

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations,

31:28

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, at today's Security Council

31:30

meeting at the UN in New

31:32

York City. The Russian

31:34

Ambassador, Vasily Nebetsiya, spoke against

31:37

the resolution before the veto.

31:40

Here is some of his remarks. You'll be

31:42

hearing the interpreter. Six months

31:44

have elapsed. Gaza has virtually

31:46

been wiped from the Earth. And

31:49

now the U.S. Representative, without blinking,

31:51

has been asserting that Washington has

31:54

finally begun to recognize the need

31:56

for a ceasefire. sluggish

32:00

thought process in Washington has come

32:02

at the cost of the lives

32:04

of 32,000 peaceful Palestinians,

32:09

two-thirds of whom are women and children.

32:11

And even now, we have observed the

32:13

typical hypocritical spectacle when wrapped

32:16

up in a ceasefire. The United States

32:18

has been trying to sell a product

32:20

to the membership of the Security Council

32:22

and to the entire international community. They've

32:25

been trying to sell something completely different,

32:27

namely the alluded formulation

32:29

about a

32:31

definition and determination of the imperative

32:34

for a ceasefire. This kind of

32:37

philosophical passages about moral

32:39

imperatives are

32:41

seen in limited quantities in the

32:43

work of Emmanuel Kant. However,

32:47

to save the lives of peaceful

32:50

Palestinian civilians, this is not enough. And

32:53

this is in no way what is stipulated

32:55

in the mandate of the UN Security Council,

32:58

the Council which is vested with a unique

33:00

mechanism to demand a ceasefire

33:02

and were necessary to

33:05

compel compliance therewith. U.S.

33:08

Secretary of State Antony Blinken,

33:10

during an official interview in Jeddah

33:12

on the 20th of March

33:15

with the correspondent Al-Haddakh stated,

33:17

and I quote, well,

33:20

in fact, we actually have a resolution

33:22

that we put forward right now that's

33:25

before the UN Security Council that

33:27

does call for an immediate ceasefire

33:29

tied to the release of hostages,

33:32

and we hope very much that

33:34

countries will support that, end

33:36

quote. However, in the

33:39

text of the U.S. draft, which

33:41

has been put to the vote today, there is

33:43

no such call. So what turns

33:45

out is that either the U.S. representative

33:48

of the United Nations or

33:50

the U.S. Secretary of

33:52

State have been deliberately

33:55

misleading the international community.

34:00

Russian Ambassador to the United Nations, Vasily

34:02

Nebesiya, at today's Security Council meeting.

34:04

The vote on the U.S.-backed

34:07

resolution was 11 in

34:09

favor, three against Russia,

34:11

China, and Algeria, and one

34:13

abstention, Guyana. The votes

34:15

of Russia and China, since they're permanent

34:17

Security Council members, count as vetoes. A

34:20

story from Reuters Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

34:22

said on Friday that Israel remained determined

34:24

to send troops into the southern Gaza

34:27

city of Rafa, where more than 1

34:29

million Palestinians are sheltering and would do

34:31

so without U.S. backing if necessary. Netanyahu

34:33

said in a statement he had told

34:35

visiting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken

34:37

that there was no way to defeat

34:39

the Islamist movement Hamas without going into

34:41

Rafa. He said, and I told him

34:44

that I hope we will do it with the support

34:46

of the U.S., but if we have to, we will do

34:48

it alone. That from Reuters. Secretary

34:51

Blinken spoke to reporters at the airport

34:53

before he left Israel. Can

34:55

you tell us in practical terms what the

34:57

U.S. was trying to achieve with the resolution

34:59

that was put forward at the United Nations

35:01

today? And then on your conversations

35:04

today, you described in

35:06

broad strokes some themes that are familiar.

35:08

I wonder whether you delivered or heard

35:10

any messages today that are new and

35:13

different from your past conversations here. So

35:16

on the resolution, which

35:18

got very strong support, but

35:21

then was cynically vetoed by

35:25

Russia and China, I think

35:27

we were trying to show the

35:29

international community sense of urgency about

35:31

getting a ceasefire tied to the release

35:33

of hostages, something that everyone,

35:36

including the countries that vetoed the resolution,

35:38

should have been able to get the

35:41

high. The resolution, of course, also condemned Hamas.

35:43

It's unimaginable why countries

35:46

wouldn't be able to do that. I

35:50

think the fact that we got such

35:52

a strong vote despite the veto by

35:54

two of the permanent members of the Security Council,

35:57

again, is evidence and demonstration of the

36:00

the convention of countries

36:02

around the world, notably on the

36:04

Security Council, to see about getting

36:06

the ceasefire, getting the

36:08

release of hostages. Now, that's

36:11

what the resolution said, that's what it called

36:13

for, and I think it showed

36:15

a strong commitment to that from many, many

36:17

countries. With

36:19

regard to the conversations we had,

36:22

look, this is

36:25

an ongoing process. As

36:27

I said, we really were focused on three things,

36:30

the hostage negotiations, humanitarian assistance,

36:33

and raw food. It

36:37

was important that, again,

36:39

we focus on all three things.

36:41

I'm not going to get into

36:43

the details of what we discussed, but

36:47

I think from my perspective, at least, it

36:50

is one of the four handed conversations to have at

36:52

a critical time on all three of those

36:54

issues. Is it clear that it will

36:56

be isolated if it doesn't change

36:58

its path? Again, what I shared, and I

37:01

think what they've heard

37:03

from President Biden as well, directly,

37:06

is we have the same goal,

37:08

the defeat of Hamas, Israel's long-term security,

37:10

but a major ground operation about that

37:12

is not, in our judgment, the way

37:14

to achieve it. And we've been

37:17

very clear about that, but most

37:19

important, we have a senior

37:21

team coming to Washington next week. We'll

37:23

all be taking part in those discussions. We'll be able to

37:26

lay out for them in detail. I started

37:28

to do that today, but the board of

37:30

the teams along the expertise, they have

37:32

to detail how those goals can best

37:34

be accomplished with an

37:36

integrated humanitarian, military, and political

37:39

plan. We'll put all that on the table. Of

37:42

course, we'll hear from them, too. And

37:44

we'll take it to next week. Secretary

37:47

of State Anthony Blinken speaking to reporters

37:49

at the airport in Tel Aviv, Israel,

37:51

after meetings with the Prime Minister Benjamin

37:54

Netanyahu and his War Cabinet.

37:56

This is the sixth trip to the Middle East at

37:58

Secretary Blinken. has taken since

38:01

the start of the war between Israel and

38:03

Hamas last October. So see the press from

38:05

Moscow reporting several assailants burst into a large

38:07

concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed

38:09

the crowd with gunfire, killing at least

38:12

40 people, injuring more than 100 others

38:14

and setting fire to the venue

38:16

in a blazing attack just days

38:18

after President Vladimir Putin cemented his

38:20

grip on power in a highly

38:22

orchestrated electoral landslide. AP goes

38:24

on, it wasn't immediately clear what happened to the

38:26

attackers and there were no

38:28

immediate claims of responsibility for the

38:30

raid, which the Moscow mayor described

38:32

as a huge tragedy and which

38:34

state authorities were investigating as terrorism.

38:37

This was happening as John Kirby, the

38:39

White House National Security Communications Advisor, was

38:42

beginning a briefing at the White House

38:44

in Washington. Obviously we've all seen

38:47

the reports and the video

38:49

coming out of Moscow, this violent

38:52

shooting at a, looks like a shopping mall.

38:55

Can't speak much to the details of it. I

38:58

mean, this was all just breaking before I

39:00

came on out here, so we're trying to

39:02

get more information, but really would refer to

39:05

Russian authorities to speak to it.

39:08

The images are just horrible and

39:12

just hard to watch and our thoughts obviously

39:14

are going to be with the

39:17

victims of this terrible, terrible shooting

39:20

attack. And

39:22

I think you look at

39:24

that video if you have and

39:26

you got to recognize that there's some moms and

39:28

dads and brothers and sisters and

39:30

sons and daughters that haven't gotten the news yet.

39:33

And this is going to be a tough day,

39:36

so our thoughts are with them. You might

39:38

have also seen, hopefully you saw our State Department

39:40

around the city there put

39:43

out a notice to all Americans in

39:45

Moscow to avoid any large gathering

39:47

concerts, obviously shopping malls, anything like

39:50

that, just for their own safety. They

39:52

should stay put where they are and stay

39:54

plugged into the State Department for any additional

39:56

updates and information. I'm afraid

39:59

that's really all I have on that. that. John

40:01

Kirby, White House National Security Communications Advisor,

40:03

responding to the news out of Moscow.

40:05

Yahoo News from United Kingdom is a

40:07

story that King Charles has said he's

40:09

proud of the Princess of Wales after

40:11

she revealed she has been

40:13

diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing a

40:15

course of preventive chemotherapy. In

40:17

an emotional video message recorded on Wednesday

40:20

released on Friday, Kate said it

40:22

had come as a huge shock and that

40:24

she and William were doing everything to manage

40:26

this privately for the sake of our young

40:28

family. The announcement follows a

40:30

prolonged period of absence from public

40:33

life as she recovered from abdominal

40:35

surgery in January, which at times

40:37

sparked unfounded speculation over her health

40:39

issues. That was from Yahoo News

40:41

United Kingdom. Here's part of the

40:43

video that Kate Middleton put out.

40:46

It has taken me time to recover from major

40:48

surgery in order to start my treatment.

40:51

But most importantly, it has

40:53

taken us time to explain everything to George,

40:55

Charlotte and Louis in a way

40:58

that's appropriate for them and to reassure

41:00

them that I'm going to be okay. As

41:03

I've said to them, I am well and

41:06

getting stronger every day by focusing on the things

41:08

that will help me heal in my

41:10

mind, body and spirit. Having

41:12

William by my side is a great source

41:15

of comfort and reassurance too, as

41:17

is the love, support and kindness that has been

41:19

shown by so many of you. It

41:22

means so much to us both. We

41:25

hope that you'll understand that as a

41:27

family, we now need some

41:29

time, space and privacy while

41:32

I complete my treatment. My

41:35

work has always brought me a deep sense of

41:37

joy and I look forward to being back when

41:39

I'm able. But for now,

41:41

I must focus on making a full recovery.

41:46

At this time, I'm also thinking of

41:48

all those whose lives are being affected

41:50

by cancer. For

41:52

everyone facing this disease, and

41:54

what have I for? Please do not

41:56

lose faith or hope. You

41:58

are not alone. video message part

42:01

of it from Kate Middleton, Princess of

42:03

Wales. The video was being

42:05

released right as the White House Press

42:07

Secretary, Queen John Pierre, started her news

42:09

conference in Washington. We just heard,

42:11

obviously all of us just heard the terrible news.

42:15

Our thoughts are with the

42:17

Duchess of Cambridge and her family members

42:19

and friends during this incredibly difficult

42:22

time. And certainly we

42:24

wish her a full recovery.

42:27

And I think it's important that

42:29

we respect their privacy, especially at

42:31

this time. So I'm not going to

42:33

go further than that. I'll

42:36

just, I will do one more thing

42:38

before that though. I know folks are going to ask

42:40

if the President has spoken

42:43

to her or the family. I

42:45

can just say right now that we don't

42:48

have anything to share at this time. And

42:50

obviously we wish the

42:52

Duchess of Cambridge a full

42:54

recovery. And we are incredibly sad to hear

42:57

of the news. The White House

42:59

Press Secretary, Queen John Pierre. This

43:02

is Washington Today. Story from

43:04

the New York Times, defying boundaries

43:06

of taste and time, Martin Greenfield

43:08

made suits for President Dwight D.

43:11

Eisenhower, the gangster Meyer Lansky, Leonardo

43:13

DiCaprio, and LeBron James. Men

43:15

skilled in the arts of power

43:17

projection, along with fashion writers and

43:19

designers, considered him the nation's greatest

43:21

men's tailor. For years, none of

43:23

them knew the origins of his

43:25

expertise, a beating at Auschwitz. As

43:28

a teenager, Mr. Greenfield was Maximilian

43:30

Grunfeld, a skinny Jewish prisoner whose

43:32

job was to wash the clothes of Nazi

43:35

guards at the concentration camp. In

43:37

the laundry room one day, he accidentally ripped the

43:39

collar of a guard shirt. The man whipped Max

43:41

in response, then hurled the garment back at the

43:43

boy. After a fellow prisoner taught Max

43:45

how to sew, he mended the collar, but then

43:47

sighed to keep the shirt, sliding it

43:49

under the striped shirt of his prison uniform.

43:52

And that was from the New York Times.

43:54

Martin Greenfield was announced on Wednesday, has

43:56

died in New York. He emigrated to

43:59

the United States. after the war, he was 95

44:01

years old. In 2015,

44:03

he was on C-SPAN 2's book TV, talking

44:05

about his memoir, Measure of

44:07

a Man from Auschwitz Survivor to

44:09

President Taylor. And

44:11

I wrote the book the

44:14

way my, he's my brother

44:16

now, told you why

44:18

I wrote it for America to thank

44:21

America. Because I was

44:23

shocked that there were so

44:25

many survivors who survived and

44:28

they didn't do it, but

44:30

I had to do it. Because

44:33

five million of us are

44:35

alive today, not they're all

44:38

alive. Some of them died,

44:41

but they were saved by the Americans. I

44:44

knew the past that

44:46

Roosevelt sent back 300 Jews to die, who

44:50

came here in a boat. But

44:53

that was history to

44:55

me that I read about. But

44:58

it doesn't matter what Roosevelt did,

45:00

that's all merit to me, what

45:02

the soldiers did in America.

45:06

And what they have to do all the day, because

45:09

the only thing that work

45:12

is strength. Strength,

45:15

America, is the strongest country

45:17

in the world. You

45:20

don't go around apologizing, you

45:22

go around fighting for

45:24

the right of America. Because

45:27

everybody wants to come here. Everybody,

45:31

we all want

45:34

to come here because there is no place

45:36

like it. You can't change it. And

45:39

don't try, nobody should try to

45:41

change it. And it only

45:43

takes the young people. In my

45:45

business, the most important people

45:48

are the young people. Because

45:51

you are the guys that dress. The

45:53

older people like us, we need a

45:55

wedding, we need a funeral without suit.

45:58

You need a... You

46:00

need, you are our future. Because

46:04

you dress to become,

46:06

and you are the future. We are

46:08

older, and you are

46:10

our future. That's how I look at you,

46:12

and that's what I expect of you. Martin

46:16

Greenfield talking about his book Measure of a Man, from

46:19

Auschwitz survivor to President's tailor. On

46:21

C-SPAN 2's Book TV in 2015,

46:25

he has died this week at the age of 95. Mike

46:27

Bloomberg, former New York City Mayor and Presidential candidate,

46:30

posting, Martin Greenfield personified

46:32

the very best of New York City,

46:35

and his life is one of the most inspiring

46:38

stories of our time. It was a great honor

46:40

to be a customer. Thanks for listening to Washington

46:42

Today. Subscribe to C-SPAN's free evening newsletter, Word for

46:44

Word, and you'll get the stories

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at c-span.org/connect. Have a good night

46:53

and weekend. [♪

46:58

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