Congressman Andy Biggs

April 13, 2017

Transcript:

TED SIMONS: FRESHMAN U.S. REPRESENTATIVE ANDY BIGGS IS MAKING WAVES IN WASHINGTON MOST NOTABLY BEING PART OF THE GROUP REFUSING TO PASS TRUMP'S HEALTH CARE LAW. GOOD TO SEE YOU. YOU HAD A RECENT TOWN HALL AND A LITTLE RUCKUS. WHAT IS YOUR THOUGHTS ON GETTING OUT THERE?
ANDY BIGGS: IT IS FUN. IT A GREAT DEAL OF FUN. WE HAD A NICE CROWD THERE. I TOOK SOME GOOD ADVICE PEOPLE GAVE ME. SMILE, ENJOY IT, WHEN THEY FLIP YOU THE BIRD GIVE IT TWO THUMBS UP.
TED SIMONS: YOU UNDERSTAND THE CONCERN. THE REPEAL OF THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT WAS A MAJOR CONCERN AT THE TOWN HALL. IT HAS BEEN A MAJOR CONCERN FOR A LOT OF FOLKS. WHY DID YOU VOTE AGAINST THE REPUBLICAN PLAN TO REPEAL?
ANDY BIGGS: WELL, WE NEVER HAD THE VOTE.
TED SIMONS: WHY WOULD YOU HAVE VOTED AGAINST IT?
ANDY BIGGS: FAIR ENOUGH. MY POSITION IS WE PROMISED, WHEN I WAS CAMPAIGNING PEOPLE SAID I WANT WE WANT YOU TO REPEAL THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT WILL YOU DO THAT? AND I SAID I WILL DO MY BEST. I WILL SPONSOR A BILL AND VOTE FOR SUCH A THING. THIS BILL DOES NOT REALLY REPEAL OBAMACARE. IT IS NOT A TOTAL REPEAL. IT LEAVES IN PLACE THE FIXTURES OF OBAMACARE. SO IT IS NOT REALLY WHAT WE PROMISED. THAT WAS THE ISSUE FOR ME PERSONALLY.
TED SIMONS: WAS IT AN IMPROVEMENT OVER THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT?
ANDY BIGGS: WELL, I AM NOT SO SURE IT WAS. NOBODY DISPUTED PREMIUMS WOULD GO UP FOR TWO OR THREE YEARS AND AFTER THAT PREMIUMS WOULD GO DOWN FROM A YOUNG PEOPLE, 20-35, SOMEWHERE IN THAT GROUP. BUT 50-65 YEAR OLDS WOULD SEE A CONTINUED INCREASE N THEIR PREMIUM. THAT IS NOT WHAT A CALL A SOLUTION.
TED SIMONS: MAYBE NOT BUT AN IMPROVEMENT BECAUSE WHAT I AM HEARING FROM SOME REPUBLICANS IS THAT THEY ARE REVISING THE OLD YOU GET 80% WHAT OF YOU WANT AND YOU GOT WHAT YOU WANT.
ANDY BIGGS: BUT WE ARE NOT GETTING 80%. PERFECT WOULD BE REPEAL AND ALTERNATIVES. NEXT IS THE 2015 BILL WHICH WAS PASSED BY THE REPUBLICANS IN THE HOUSE AND SENATE. THAT WAS THE BASELINE BUT NOT WHAT WE GOT.
TED SIMONS: WHY WASN'T IT?
ANDY BIGGS: I AM NOT SURE. I DIDN'T GET TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS BUT IT WASN'T THERE AND THAT CONCERNED ME. YOU ARE LEAVING THE REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT IN PLACE. WHATEVER YOU DO ISN'T GOING TO BE PERMANENT EVEN. THAT IS PART OF THE PROBLEM.
TED SIMONS: MY IMPRESSIONS IS PEOPLE LIKE THESE THINGS CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG BUT THE IDEA OF DENYING COVERAGE FOR PREEXISTING CONDITION, ELIMINATING WHAT FAMILIES PAY FOR HEALTH CARE, THE ADULTS 26 AND UNDER GETTING TO STAY ON PARENT'S PLANS. PEOPLE I AM GUESSING AND HEARING THEY LIKE THOSE IDEAS.
ANDY BIGGS: WELL, LET'S THINK ABOUT IT. WHEN I TALKED TO BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD WHO IS OUR ONLY INSURER LEFT THAT COVERS THIS MARKET WHAT THEY SAID IS THIS. ANDY, BEFORE THE LAW CAME IN WE COVERED UNTIL AGE 29. SO, YOU SEE THE OLD MARKET DROVE THAT. THE FACT YOU DID A STRAIGHT REPEAL DIDN'T MEAN YOU WOULD NOT COME BACK AND PUT CERTAIN THINGS IN PLACE SUCH AS WE TALKED ABOUT A HIGH RISK SHARING POOL WHICH PROBABLY ISN'T A BAD IDEA BECAUSE I THINK IT WILL DRIVE DOWN COST. WE CAN SEE IF WE CAN MAKE THAT WORK SOMEHOW.
TED SIMONS: I THINK A LOT OF FOLKS HEARD THE FREEDOM REPUBLICANS TALK ABOUT PRICING A LOT, A LOT ABOUT COST. WHAT THEY DIDN'T HEAR AS MUCH OF WAS HUMAN BEINGS WHO NEED MEDICAL COVERAGE.
ANDY BIGGS: THEN THEY WERE NOT LISTENING. WE REPEATEDLY SAID WE ARE WORKING, IN FACT, THE TWO GUYS THAT WROTE THE AMENDMENT FOR THE HIGH-RISK SHARING POOL ARE BOTH FREEDOM CAUCUS GUYS. GARY PALMAR FROM ALABAMA, DAVID SHIEKER FROM ARIZONA. THE OTHER THING IS PEOPLE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT THE MILLIONS ON THE OTHER SIDE THAT WERE THROWN OFF UNDER OBAMACARE AND WHAT IS THE HUMAN COST GOING TO BE? WHAT WOULD THE HUMAN COST BE WHEN OBAMACARE SEIZES TO OPERATE? YOU HAVE HALF OF TENNESSEE THAT WILL NOT HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE IN THE FUTURE. SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE. I THINK SMNG IS GOING TO GET DONE.
TED SIMONS: IF THE FREEDOM CAUCUS HAD WON OUT AND YOU HAD GOTTEN THINGS OFF OBAMACARE AND THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT TO DISAPPEAR THE SENATE WASN'T GOING TO VOTE FOR THIS.
ANDY BIGGS: TWO THINGS ABOUT THIS. SENATE LEADERSHIP HAD ALREADY SAID THAT THE BILL THAT WAS UNDER CONSIDERATION WAS NOT GOING TO PASS OUT OF THE SENATE EITHER. BUT THE ONE THING YOU KNOW ABOUT STRAIGHT REPEAL IS THAT PASSED OUT OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE BY REPUBLICANS UNANIMOUSLY BEFORE TOO. THAT WOULD HAVE WORKED. I THINK YOU WILL SEE SOMETHING DONE WHETHER THE DEVIL WAS IN THE DETAILS. DON'T FORGET YOU PROBABLY HAD A COUPLE DOZEN MODERATES THAT ALSO SAID THEY ARE NOT GOING TO VOTE FOR THAT BILL.
TED SIMONS: AT THE TOWN HALL YOU WERE BOOED FOR SKEPTICISM ABOUT CLIELT CLIMATE CHANGE. WHAT IS YOUR BELIEF REGARDING MAN-MADE CLIMATE CHANGE?
ANDY BIGGS: LET'S TALK ABOUT CYCLICAL CLIMATE CHANGE. I ACCEPT THAT IDEA. BUT WITH THE IDEA OF CLIMATE CHANGE THAT IS ACTUALLY BEING CONTESTED BY A LOT OF VERY GOOD SCIENCES.
TED SIMONS: BUT IT IS BEING PRESENTED BY MANY. NASA, THE UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENCE. A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO CREDENTIALS THAT PUT PEOPLE ON THE MOON. THEY ARE SEEING MAN -- IT IS HARD FOR ME TO UNDERSTAND WHY THE SMALL GROUP OF SCIENTISTS SAY ONE THING BUT THE MAJOR GROUP OF SCIENTISTS SAY THE OTHER AND YOU ARE GOING WITH THE SMALL GROUP.
ANDY BIGGS: HERE IS THE THING. LET'S CONSIDER THIS -- WISH WE HAD LONGER TIME TO TALK. MY FAULT FOR BEING LATE. BUT I WISH WE HAD LONGER TO DISCUSS THIS. HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO THINK ABOUT. IT ISN'T JUST A SMALL GROUP OF SCIENTISTS AND CLIMATOLOGIST THAT SAY THE MODELS COULDN'T TEAM SOOB TO BE ACCURATE. THE SCIENTISTS ARE SAYING WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE DATA NASA AND THE EPA HAS. THEY ARE NOT BEING TRANSPARENT WITH THE DATA. WE ARE SEEING A HIGHLY CREDENTIAL PEER REVIEWED ACADEMICS WHO ARE SAYING THERE ARE ISSUES HERE. LIKE DR. CHRISTY WHO CAME IN AND TESTIFIED TO THAT COMMUNITY. THEY TALK ABOUT THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD AND HAVE ISSUES. I THINK THESE ARE VALID QUESTIONS TO ASK. I RAISED THIS AT MY TOWN HALL. I SAID WHEN EINSTEIN WAS CHALLENGING NEWTONIAN PHYSICS THAT GOVERNED FOR 250 YEARS HE WAS VILIFIED, TOO. BUT BECAUSE YOU COULD TEST HIS HYPOTHESES AND YOU TESTED IT AND EVEN AFTER THE ECLIPSES BORE OUT IT TOOK YEARS TO SATISFY AND CHANGE THE FORMS AND ACCEPT IT.
TED SIMONS: WHAT KIND OF DATA WOULD CONVINCE YOU OF MANMADE CLIMATE CHANGE? WHAT WOULD YOU NEED TO SEE?
ANDY BIGGS: I THINK SOMETHING THAT SAYS IN 250 YEARS WORTH OF MODELING, YOU CAN ALSO EXPLAIN THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD OF WARMING BEFORE THERE WAS ANY CARBON IN THE AIR. THERE IS NO CONSISTENCY WITH THAT AND THE PROJECTION. I WOULD HAVE TO UNDERSTAND WHY THEY THEY WERE PROJECTING THE COMING ICE AGE JUST 25-30 YEARS AGO. NOW THEY MOVED INTO GLOBAL WARMING.
TED SIMONS: LAST POINT ON THIS. MELTING ICE CAP, RETREATING GLACIERS AND OCEANS RISING AND HIGHER TEMPERATURES. ALL THIS IS GOING ON AND YOU ARE --
ANDY BIGGS: TED, THAT IS NOT EVEN ACCURATE.
TED SIMONS: ARE YOU SAYING --
ANDY BIGGS: WHAT I AM SAYING IS ON ONE SECTION WE HAVE ICE SHEETS MELTING. ON THE OTHER SIDE, YOU HAVE GROWING AND EXPANDING ICE SHEETS.
TED SIMONS: ARE YOU SAYING THE GLACIERS ARE NOT RETREATED?
ANDY BIGGS: THAT IS CONTESTED SCIENCE. PORTIONS ARE RETREATING BUT OTHER SIDES ARE EXPANDING. THIS IS WHAT THE PEOPLE WHO QUESTION SAY. WE WANT TO SEE THE EFFECTS. THEY ARE SHOUTING DOWN IN MIAMI. THIS HAS NOTHING DO TO WITH THE MODEL. IF WE ARE GOING TO TALK SCIENCES WE WILL TALK SCIENTIFIC METHODS.
TED SIMONS: WE HAVE SCIENTISTS ON THE SHOW ALL THE TIME. IT IS HARDLY DEBATABLE. YOU HAVE TO SEARCH TO FIND SOMEONE TO DISAGREE. YOU HAVE TO WANT TO FIND SOMEONE TO DISAGREE.
ANDY BIGGS: I HAVE A BOOK AT HOME AND THERE MUST BE 50 HIGHLY CREDENTIALED SCIENTISTS THAT SAY HERE IS OUR QUESTION AND WHAT WE ASK. IF YOU SAY THAT, PEOPLE SAY OH, MY, GOSH YOU ARE A HERETIC AND WE WILL BURN YOU AT THE STAKE. MY POSITION IS WHY CAN'T WE BE MORE TRANSPARENT? WHY CAN'T WE ADDUCE WHAT THESE PEOPLE ARE SAYING AND APPLY IT AND QUESTION? WHY CAN'T YOU QUESTION? IT USED TO BE YOU COULD QUESTION AUTHORITY. THAT WAS THE MANTRA OF THE LEFT
TED SIMONS: YOU THINK THIS IS A LEFTIST IDEA? NOT APOLITICAL?
ANDY BIGGS: NOT IN THE LEAST. I DON'T SEE IT BEING AS NON-PARTISAN AT ALL.
TED SIMONS: I WISH WE HAD MORE TIME. IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU.
ANDY BIGGS: IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU.
TED SIMONS: AT LEAST NO ONE IS BOOING YOU HERE.
ANDY BIGGS: I THOUGHT YOU WERE FOR A SECOND.
TED SIMONS: GIVE ME SOME TIME, GOOD TO SEE YOU.
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