- Welcome folks to thisedition of The 700 Club.
Here's an alarming fact for you.
Recent surveys showed 50 percent of
senior citizens had zero savings.
Zero, no money at all, so the
total of expenditure, the total revenue
is countin' on Social Security, and
if anything happens to Social Security
those folks are in thecold, and that means
there should be someplan to do some saving.
Well, the President should have taken a
victory lap, he won big with the Mueller
Report, but instead of that he's
gone into the healthcare and it
may be a good move, we're not sure, but
Democrats are claiming the high ground on
healthcare, and they're making the issue a
central plank in the 2020 elections, and
the President, I said,has opened the door with
his latest attempt to kill Obamacare, and
what happened was that a district judge
ruled the individual mandate was
unconstitutional because there's no
separability clause in that law.
That would mean the entire law is out.
They could have killedit with the one vote of
Senator McCain, but hevoted to hurt Trump is
what it amounted to, it was kind of a
mean thing, but he did it, so now
people are saying if you don't
have a plan, you're in trouble.
The House had a very good bill and
the question is what it is so we're
going to be talking to our reporter about
health insurance, what is at stake, and
what the plan is to make that better.
John?
- [John] President Trumpmade a surprise turn by
reigniting the Obamacare debate.
- We're gonna be theparty of great healthcare
and the Democrats have let you down.
- [John] The first indication came
Monday when the Justice Department
agreed the Affordable Care Act is
unconstitutional and should be thrown out.
- Obamacare doesn't work,it's too expensive and
you take a look ateverything with deductibles
it's a disaster, it's adisaster for our people.
We're not gonna allow it to go.
- I think what the President is doing is
actually wise, which isfocusing Republicans'
intentions because if it does happen
and Republicans aren't ready with
anything, that's when they're in trouble.
- [John] Also in troublecould be the nearly
13 million peoplecovered under Obamacare's
medicaid expansion and52 million people with
pre-existing conditions,but the President says
this move does not mean Republicans
want to take away people'shealthcare, adding
that the repeal and replace plan would
send grants to states for them to
run their own healthcareinsurance programs.
- Trump's effort to repeal Obamacare
narrowly failed in theSenate back in 2017.
What needs to change topass this time around?
- I think people have alot more information and
have spent a lot of time thinking about
what could have gone better in 2017.
We have a plan that would lower
healthcare costs and improve people's
choices and make sure that we take care
of the most vulnerable among us.
People with pre-existing conditions.
- [John] It sounds like some Republicans
aren't on board, something Marie Fishpaw
of the Heritage Foundationhopes will change.
- House Minority leaderKevin McCarthy told
President Trump that his new healthcare
push makes no sense, do you agree?
- Well I certainly think that Republicans
ran for a very longtime on addressing these
problems and I'd like to think that
they'll be able to do so again.
- Protecting andstrengthening healthcare is
why Democrats are here on day one.
- [John] Democrats made healthcare a prime
campaign issue during the midterms and
just introduced a new bill to
strengthen the Affordable Care Act.
It would make more middle class people
eligible for subsidies and even help
lower income recipientsalready in the system.
- As you remember,Senator McCain ran against
Obamacare, Obamacare wasextremely unpopular and
it was failing and then it's been revived
because Republicansdidn't do much about it.
Ben Kennedy's joining us now from the
White House and Ben, the President has
taken on a fight that maybe he's getting
criticized for, you heardmaybe some reasons of
why they did it, can youtell us what you've heard?
- Well Pat we are hearing the renewed
healthcare debate actually began in the
oval office right here behind me at the
White House on Monday, the New York Times
reports that acting White House
Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney persuaded
President Trump to take the legal route.
Bring this case to thecourts, arguing that
since the GOP tax package added a
mandate that you weretalking about Pat that
people without coverage pay a penalty.
The Affordable CareAct is no longer valid.
Plus, a lawsuit to overturn the ACA will
help fulfill Trump's campaign promise.
Now, the JusticeDepartment got on board and
sent their request to the Fifth Circuit
Court of Appeals to get rid of Obamacare.
A legal battle is expected to
reach as high as the Supreme Court.
- Well if the Fifth Circuit rules it so
and the Supreme Court backs 'em up, what
happens next, is there a plan B?
Does the President have a plan?
- Yeah Pat he does, that is plan B.
If the High Court rules that the
Affordable Care Act is out, then
President Trump says theywill have a plan that
will be far better than Obamacare.
The Commander-In-Chief said Wednesday that
he understands thecomplexity of healthcare now.
He said people are going broke trying to
pay for their healthcarecosts, citing that
rising cost of premiums is to blame.
Many republicans wantgreater transparency.
More choices for consumers which creates
competition and could actually lead to
lowering the cost of healthcare.
The White House saysthat a new plan will be
introduced in the nextcoming months as the
Health and Human Services begins to
craft it, now rest assured, the
Trump Administration says that millions of
Americans that rely on Obamacare will
not be without health insurance.
In fact, I spoke to a White House official
just moments ago, he said that
pre-existing conditions will be covered.
Again, you heard President Trump say the
Republican Party will soon be known as the
party of healthcare aswe now wait, Pat, to
see this new plan unveiledin the next few months.
- Who is pushing thisparticular stand of the
President, was that MickMulvaney or somebody else?
- The acting White House Chief of Staff
Mick Mulvaney was in the President's ear
during what is considereda policy meeting on
Monday, said hey look we need to
get on top of this 'cause as you were
mentioning earlier in the show that
healthcare will definitely be a big
topic in the 2020 campaign and
President Trump, the White House, they
really wanna get ahead of this on the
campaign trail over the next year or so.
- Ben, keep us informed,it's an important issue.
Well, in other news,the immigration system
at our southern borderis at a breaking point.
Thousands, thousands of migrants
illegally enter the country every day.
John Jessup has more on that.
- Thanks Pat, in El PasoWednesday, Customs and
Border Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said
they're facing an unprecedented
humanitarian and border security crisis.
On two separate days this week, agents
arrested more than four thousand migrants
crossing the border, that's the
highest total in 15 years, right now
they're on track to deal with 100 thousand
migrants in March alone,putting a strain on
Border Patrol facilitiespacked beyond their capacity.
Well, President Trump is sending a
warning to Russia, get out of Venezuela.
Moscow back strongmanNicolas Maduro while the
US is standing by oppositionleader Juan Guaido.
The President reissued that warning after
meeting with Guaido'swife in the Oval Office
Wednesday, hearing stories of the
suffering in Venezuelaand the Maduro Regime's
arrest of one of Guaido's top aids.
Here's CBN's Jenna Browder.
- President Trump is calling on Russia to
get out of Venezuela following reports of
Russian troops and equipmentarriving in the country.
- [Interviewer] What sort of complications
does the Russian involvement now pose to--
- Russia has to get out.
- [Jenna] During a meetingwith Fabiana Rosales, wife of
Venezuela's OppostionLeader Juan Guaido, Trump's
message for the Kremlin was clear.
- [Reporter] You just saidRussia needs to get out.
Have you in any way communicated that?
- They know, they know very well.
- [Jenna] Both he and Vice President Pence
reaffirmed their support for Guaido.
- Our message, very simply, is that
we're with you, and isgoing to continue to
stand with you, stand with your courageous
husband, and stand withfreedom loving people
in Venezuela until yourlibertad is restored.
- [Jenna] The United States and 50 other
countries back Guaido,elected by Venezuela's
legislature to replaceDictator Nicolas Maduro.
Maduro is accused ofstealing the recent election.
Russia, though, supports the Maduro
regime, which is threatening Guaido's
friends and family and arrested his
top aid in a raid on his home last week.
The wife of Roberto Marrerodescribes what happened.
- At 2 AM the political forces of
Nicolas Maduro entered in a brutal raid
in our home, they destroyed our house, our
child's room, everything, they've
planted guns and things and this
has been for three hours,it was a nightmare.
After that they kidnap him and
we didn't know anything about him for
six days, so as a family we are afraid for
his life, we haven'thad any communication.
We have a seven year old kidwho doesn't know anything.
- [Jenna] There have also beenattempts on Guaido's life.
- [Translator] We awaitto warn the world that
what we are seeing is a way of
attacks against the President.
There's repression, there's prison, and
what they want is to attack him.
- [Jenna] All this asblackouts rock the country.
People are starving and dehydrated, and
riots break out in the streets.
- Venezuela was a country with tremendous
potential and is still a country with
tremendous potential, but people are
starving, people aregetting killed, they're
being beaten, what's goingthere is unfathomable
to everybody that sees andeverybody that gets reports--
- And President Trumpis refusing to rule out
military force againstMaduro saying all options
are open, even if Russiadoesn't leave the country.
In Washington, Jenna Browder, CBN news.
- Thanks Jenna, Pat, back to you.
- I've said many times if a thug is
terrorizing a neighborhood with
armed force and terrorizing the people and
taking captives and maybekilling people, then
the police department must move and
do something and it takesforce to do that, and
we haven't ruled out force, we keep saying
we won't rule it out, but we've
got to do something, now if the
Russians come in, we'vegot what's called a
Monroe Doctrine, foreign powers stay
out of our hemisphere,and so the Russians are
coming in to our hemisphere and they know
they're violating the Monroe Doctrine.
We have every right to get in there and
make something happen, but I know we
don't want the whole idea of America
taking it over because that doesn't
play well in Latin America, but the
organization of American states must, they
must come together andwe can back them up with
all kinds of weapons, withsatellite footage with
drones, with all thestuff we've got without
actually being one of the major players.
We can be there but we don't have to
put our troops in there, but something's
got to be done, either they're gonna kill
Guaido if he keeps up, you know he'll be
assassinated, and itwill be a bloodbath and
we need to stop just making threats and
get in there and help him.
John?
- Pat, video of an 85 year old
pro-life supporter outside a San Francisco
Planned Parenthood clinic is going viral.
According to the Pro-Life advocacy group
40 Days For Life, theelderly man named Ron
has been leading the campaignin San Francisco for years.
Last week, he tried to stop a Pro-Choice
advocate who stole his sign, as
you can see, the young man attacked him.
The man apparently had beencoming around for days.
This video is spurringcalls to fine the attacker.
According to the group, Planned Parenthood
refused to give policetheir security footage
because they said Ron broughtthe attack on himself.
Well, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise
fighting for legislation protecting
babies born after a botched abortion.
He's introducing a petition next week
forcing a vote on the Born Alive
Survivor's Protection Act as Paul Strand
explains, Scalise says the petition is
needed because Democrats are using
House rules to block a vote on the bill.
- Last night on thefloor for the 17th time
we asked to bring up theBorn Alive Protection
Act, for the 17th time,the Democrats refused.
- There are babies being born alive
and then ultimately murdered.
- [Paul] Pro-Life Caucusleader Chris Smith
describe one such murder ina Florida abortion clinic.
- The clinic owner took the baby who is
gasping for air, cut her umbilical,
cord, threw her into a biohazard bag and
put the bag in the trashlike so much garbage.
- [Paul] Not only arepro-life lawmakers prevented
from ending this practice,they can't even get a vote.
- This is the height of shamefulness.
It is absolutely an abomination that
this is going on and that we're having to
have this argument inthe United States today.
- [Paul] But Democratsare in charge of the
House these days and won't let the
Born Alive Protection Act come to the
House floor for a debate and vote.
Meanwhile in the States, some lawmakers
fear the Supreme Court could overturn
Roe V. Wade and legalizeabortion nationwide.
So states like New York, Rhode Island, and
others are pushing radicalabortion legislation
to keep such practiceslegal, so is Illinois.
- They have introduced theReproductive Health Act
which according to oneabortion group could
cement Illinois as theMidwest abortion oasis.
- [Paul] Melissa Cifuentes has been
fighting a similar law in Rhode Island.
- We are called to use our voice to
speak the truth onbehalf of innocent lives
that are sacred andworth of our protection.
- Halt this blood lust and work to
protect unborn and born babies
rather than provide a killing oasis.
- These legislators are pleading with
Americans to call on Congress members to
sign the discharge petition for the
Born Alive Protection Act, if that gets
218 signatures, speakerNancy Pelosi has to
let the bill come to the floor.
Paul Strand, CBN news, Capitol Hill.
- Thanks Paul, Pat, back to you.
- Can you imagine theDemocrats running on a
platform of we favor infanticide?
Can you believe they'll come before the
American people saying look we wanna
bankrupt the country, we wanna cut out
airplanes and automobiles and fossil fuel.
We want to run our, well, who knows
what they wanna run the generators on, and
we also favor infanticide,can you imagine a
Congressman standing on that platform?
What kind of insanity hastaken over that party?
My father was a leaderin the Democratic party.
I was a democrat when Iwas about 55 years old.
It was a wonderful party, and all
of a sudden, they've gone crazy.
