At a town hall event on Monday, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) was asked about Social Security.
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00:00What has the right to determine what a child reads?
00:06The parents, the ministers, the government, or other strangers?
00:10This is Barbara Resnick from the Eagles.
00:14Hi Barbara. Hi Barbara. How you doing?
00:17In 2017, who has the authority? Is that correct, Barbara?
00:24Okay. In 2017, I passed legislation to say before,
00:28that allowed for parents and community members
00:32to be able to examine all instructional materials
00:34in front of children in Florida schools.
00:37There is a process that was set up in that bill
00:39that when parents are community members,
00:41this is, again, regardless of your politics,
00:43the bill language, which I wrote the bill,
00:46parents, community members, could examine all instructional materials.
00:49They could take that instructional material to the local school board
00:52and they could present that to the local school board.
00:54And the local school board would then have the authority,
00:56which is the last two, to remove that material from the schools
01:00or leaving.
01:01In the state of Florida, the only body that has the authority
01:04to remove material from the kids
01:06are the elected local school board members.
01:09That is who has the authority,
01:10because they're the taxing authority that receives money
01:13and spends it on behalf of public education
01:15in the state of Florida.
01:16I can't speak to other states.
01:18I can speak to Florida.
01:18All right.
01:20All right.
01:21Hold on a minute.
01:22Hold on a minute.
01:22I want to hear it.
01:23Hold on a minute.
01:28Yes.
01:36And then that's what I said.
01:37I wrote the law.
01:38So it's the law for our debate.
01:40It is parents or community members.
01:44So community members.
01:45And the reason why, and I'll tell you exactly why, the reason why the language is drafted that way, because I drafted it, is because community members of, say, in Southwest Florida, let's just be honest, the bulk of taxpayers in Southwest Florida do not have children in K-12 schools.
02:05We have a lot of retirees who pay taxes as well. So their money goes to fund instructional materials. And the way I drafted the bill was, if you're a parent and or a taxpayer community member in that county, you have the authority to bring instructional materials.
02:23The final saying was the local school board. We have a school board member in the room today. The local school board is the body that goes up or down on whether an instructional material can be in that classroom.
02:36That's, I mean, I'm going to say it. That's what democracy looks like. That's literally what democracy looks like. People brought a grievance to the governing body. The governing body made a decision whether to keep it or not.
02:52And if we can't abide by that, how are we ever going to agree on how to do it?
02:58Next question.
03:00Ellen, what is the table?
03:03Ellen, what is the table?
03:06What we do is to protect our Social Security and make it benefits.
03:12So this is a good question.
03:15So, here's the one. First of all, nobody's touching Social Security. Technically speaking,
03:20all right, we're in rapid fire now. I'm trying to address Ellen's question. Respect Ellen.
03:26If you don't want to have respect to me, please respect Ellen.
03:28Try on the question.
03:30What happens right now is in the budget reconciliation, which is the process,
03:34Social Security is not allowed to be touched in budget reconciliation.
03:39So there is nothing going on with Social Security.
03:42The President has been clear.
03:44He does not want anything happening to Social Security.
03:46He wants to preserve the program for seniors and retirees.
03:50When it comes to Medicare, when it comes to Medicare,
03:53the President has also been clear.
03:55He does not want to touch Medicare at all.
03:57If anything happens in Medicare,
03:59it would be to get some of the waste and farm out of the system
04:02so the benefits are actually being allocated to seniors who are unappropriate.
04:06That's a good thing.
04:07I raised all your minds, everybody.
04:10Let me just give you information.
04:12Go Google it.
04:13Go Google it.
04:14And then if you don't agree, don't agree.
04:16The same GAO report that I wish I wrote,
04:18I wish I actually printed the GAO report and left it in everybody's seat
04:21because you could read it all the time.
04:22The GAO, in their report, they say that in Medicare today,
04:27actually in Medicare last year,
04:29there was $57 billion in waste farm in the Medicare system.
04:34So if we do anything, what we should, in Medicare, sir,
04:38Medicare, that's the first one.
04:40So if anything should happen there,
04:43what we should do is make sure to squeeze out waste farm in use of Medicare
04:46so that way those resources are going to be used.
04:49Last thing on Social Security and Medicare,
04:51we have a real situation that's coming.
04:54Both programs go unsolved in about eight years.
04:57They go unsolved.
04:59Under federal law, when a program is going to be solved,
05:01there is an automatic 22% benefit done.
05:04That's federal law today, not Republican or Democrat.
05:08We have to reform.
05:10Insurance is wrong.
05:12Insurance is wrong.
05:14We have to reform.
05:16We are going to have to reform these programs.
05:19What we can't do, and this is important,
05:21regardless of how you vote and regardless of your politics,
05:25what we have to be honest about is that these programs have to be reformed
05:29so they are reserved for seniors who are on them.
05:32If we put our heads in the sand and we want to play politics,
05:36and everybody remembers the old Paul Ryan commercial
05:38where Paul Ryan was going raining off the cliff,
05:41or when George W. Bush wanted to reform Social Security back in 2005
05:45and he was vilified for wanting to touch the program.
05:48If we don't do anything,
05:50there will be automatic benefit cuts for every senior citizen in the United States.
05:54That is highly irresponsible.
05:57That's highly irresponsible.
05:59That's highly irresponsible.
06:01So I hear the common refrain of raise the cap.
06:06Let me provide you more information.
06:10You cannot lift simply the tax cap on FICA and that be enough.
06:15It does not work because Social Security and Medicare today are being funded
06:19by current workers in the pool.
06:22There are now two workers for every one beneficiary on Social Security and Medicare.
06:27And I'm going to hear what you want to learn.
06:30I'm telling you the truth.
06:31There are two workers for every one beneficiary on Social Security and Medicare.
06:38That's the METMO.
06:39I said two.
06:40And from years ago, it was three.
06:42Now it's two.
06:43That's the way it is right now.
06:45The programs are really installed.
06:46We have to be honest as Americans to fix these programs
06:51and not use them as political weapons against one side or the other.
06:55Listen, if you're more than happy to play red versus blue,
06:59Republican versus Democrat,
07:00blood versus Greek,
07:01or whatever you want to do,
07:02if you're happy to do that,
07:04as opposed to actually being honest and responsible
07:06in preserving these programs,
07:08that's a very sad thing.
07:11Because when they change,
07:13when these programs don't solve it,
07:15nobody can prepare them to vote for it.
07:16What do you want to do?
07:17It's not like we're going to have to refuse it.
07:21All right.
07:22One last question.
07:24Robert picked out from Fort Myers,
07:27and I didn't want to miss this.
07:28He said he had somebody watching it.
07:30Remember, it's the name of Robert.
07:32I just don't want him to think we can vote.
07:34All right.
07:35That's Robert's question.
07:36All right, I'm not going to ask you today,
07:37but Robert's question.
07:38I'm watching the live stream of the party.
07:41Do you vote party or do you vote countries?
07:46That's actually a good question.
07:49Before we get to that question,
07:51I do want to thank everybody for your viewers.
07:54I want to thank everybody for being here tonight.
07:56Actually, I'm the first thing I had to vote.
07:59Thank you for being here.
08:00I felt like you were talking to a serious debate,
08:03and that's okay.
08:04That's my purpose of our country.
08:06We're allowed to disagree.
08:07We're allowed to have disagreements.
08:09That's what elections are for.
08:11And then, if you're going to be another election.
08:13I love you too, man.
08:14After a while.
08:16I mean, but we're allowed to have these disagreements.
08:20But I will tell you,
08:22as somebody who came to politics,
08:24labor and life,
08:25the thing that concerns me more than anything else
08:28is that we don't even have conversations
08:31about disagreements.
08:32We just yell and shout at one another.
08:34And if that's what our republic is going to come to,
08:38our issue is not going to be the Chinese.
08:40It is not going to be the Russians.
08:42It will be us.
08:43So, if you want to yell,
08:48if you want to yell as opposed to talk,
08:51that's not going to help the country.
08:53I probably see that.
08:56That's not going to help the country.
08:57Now, to the question.
09:00I'm going to answer two things.
09:01First, I'm going to answer it with the other hand.
09:03And then I'm going to answer the piece.
09:05I'm going to answer the piece about,
09:06and I'm going to answer the piece of,
09:08do I know, are your countries.
09:09First of all, something was made about,
09:12oh, I missed those.
09:13Yes, I did miss those.
09:15And I'll be turning on it.
09:17One of the big things,
09:18or two days of the whole time,
09:19this is because I was helping President Trump
09:21campaign for president.
09:22That's all.
09:23That's all.
09:24That's all.
09:25That's all.
09:30Only before that day,
09:31I was campaigning for the president.
09:32I think I was in Georgia at the time.
09:34I think I was in,
09:35I think I was in Georgia at the time.
09:37There was a series of amended votes
09:40on the floor,
09:41an appropriation vote.
09:41I think it was about 50 million dollars
09:43in the vote.
09:44So I was the Minnesota votes.
09:45Now, do I vote party or conscience?
09:49I vote constitution.
09:54I vote constitution.
09:57If you actually examine my voting record,
10:00there are votes that House leadership
10:01will say if you recommend a yes,
10:03and I vote none.
10:05Because I vote constitution.
10:06I vote constitution.
10:07I vote does it make this a sense.
10:09I vote common sense.
10:11And then, yes,
10:12I vote conscience.
10:14That's how I vote.
10:20So, let me just look at it.
10:22Hold on, everybody.
10:23Now, we went through a lot of questions.
10:26It was very scary.
10:27This is not my old story.
10:30This belongs to us there on high school.
10:31Our time now is over.
10:35I have to...
10:36Hold on, hold on.
10:37Hang on.
10:39Sir, I have to...
10:41What's your question?
10:42I don't know.
10:42What's your question?
10:43Our service men and veterans
10:44face danger as they carry out
10:46their assigned mission
10:47in defense of our nation
10:48against our enemies.
10:49However,
10:50they now have to fix that danger.
10:52They're also facing danger
10:53from the lack of operational security.
10:56at the very time
10:57that this occurred
10:58to the president.
11:00We have to have an offer
11:02on the secretary of the man
11:04that provides president
11:05by gross capital service
11:07for unauthorized disclosure.
11:10These people have participated
11:11in the most of the filial
11:12of the Espionage Act.
11:15So, sir,
11:16I will tell you.
11:17Today,
11:18we're going to make a public station
11:20asking the president
11:21to come to the fire
11:22of these people
11:23who are willfully stupidly
11:26and needlessly
11:27endangering our service
11:28men and women
11:29and then we'll be back
11:30to the president
11:31and the president
11:33and the president
11:35and the president
11:37and the president
11:38and the president
11:39and the president
11:39of the Espionage Act.
11:41Let's say no.
11:43The answer is no.
11:46Vice President Hayes,
11:48except that I've said,
11:50did not violate the Espionage Act.
11:51They did not do that.
11:54I mean,
11:55the signal check
11:56that this case
11:56is very clear.
11:58They did not do that.
12:01And so,
12:02the answer is no.
12:03And I will tell you
12:05that the men and women
12:06in the military
12:06actually look very happy
12:08with the court leadership
12:09because it's a perilous,
12:10because it's a perilous,
12:11because it's a perilous.