[Baldwin:] Got some breaking news for you from Capitol Hill. Republican aides say Republican lawmakers have just added a repeal of the Obamacare individual mandate now to this whole new senate tax bill. So why did this happen? Phil Mattingly, let's go to you, congressional correspondent there on Capitol Hill, who saw how Obamacare went or didn't this year. Why do this?
[Phil Mattingly, Cnn Congressional Correspondent:] Yes, poorly would probably be the best way to describe it or the nicest way to describe it. Revenue. That's the primary issue, Brooke. No question about it, Republicans are opposed to the individual mandate. Opposed to Obamacare altogether. But Republican leaders despite President Trump calling for this, despite several rank and file members of the U.S. Senate calling for this, have been very wary of including this in the tax proposal for one primary reason, what happened to health care reform. They don't want a repeat of that. They don't want to co- mingle two things. Particularly because in their view right now the tax reform process, it's already moving through the house. It's moving through the senate committees right now. Has actually been going very well. There was only one way this was going to be added to the bill, that's if they needed money. We've gone through this a couple of times, Brooke, but I'll do it quickly again. Why this actually adds money. According to the CBO this will be about $338 billion in deficit savings over a decade. Why is that? Well, fewer people will enroll in Obamacare exchanges and therefore the government will save money on subsidies. Also, fewer people will enroll in Medicaid. So, the government would save money there, $338 billion total. Why is that important? Two primary reasons, one they believe in order to kind of shore up the support from their own Republican members. Doing things related to middle class tax cuts, making sure taxes don't rise toward the end of a 10-year cycle or they could make corporate cuts more permanent, things like that. They need money for it. Even more importantly, the budget rules that will allow them to pass this on a simple majority vote requires them to have more money. This was not something they wanted to do. I can't stress that enough. This is something that Republican leaders have been very wary of. But it's something that they have decided and made the calculation they have to do to move this bill forward, Brooke. Obviously, the president supports it. Rank and files up until this point supports it. The big question now is, can they keep from happening to tax what happened to health care now that they're including health care into this? Because the bottom line number you're going to hear about repeatedly in the days and weeks potentially months ahead, CBO also calculates that because of the repeal of the individual mandate, 13 million fewer people will have health insurance. That's what they're worried about. That's the headline they don't want. But that's what they're going to have to deal with now they've decided to make this play Brooke.
[Baldwin:] I get it. Revenue. We are already hearing those Senator Susan Collins. She's already concerned. Might Moore, you know chime in? That's the concern for these rank and file so far. Phil Mattingly, thank you so much for the update on all things tax reform. Let's get to some encouraging news, though, from Capitol Hill here from speaker, Paul Ryan, moments ago announcing That the House will now require training to prevent sexual harassment and discrimination. This just happened as two female lawmakers have accused two sitting members of Congress, both men, of harassment.
[Rep. Jackie Speier , California:] In fact, there are two members of Congress, Republican and Democrat, right now who serve. Who have been subject to review or not have been subject to review, but have engaged in sexual harassment. These harasser propositions such as, are you going to be a good girl? To perpetrators exposing their genitals. To victims having their private parts grabbed on the House floor. All they ask in return as staff members is to be able to work in a hostile-free work environment. They want the system fixed and the perpetrators held accountable.
[Rep. Barbara Comstock , Virginia:] Somebody who I trust told me the situation. This member asked a staffer to bring them over some materials to their residence and the young staffer is a young woman went there and was greeted with a member in a towel. It was a male. Who then invited her in. At that point, he decided to expose himself. She left and then she quit her job. She left. She found another job. But that kind of situation, what do you you know, what are we doing here for women right now who are dealing with somebody like that?
[Baldwin:] Let me bring in several incredible fellow CNN ladies who have been working hard on reporting on this important issue from Capitol Hill. CNN national politics reporter MJ Lee. You were in that hearing. Juana Summers is a senior writer for CNN politics. CNN correspondent. Sarah Ganim. And we should also give a shout out to Sunlen Serfaty, who is not here. But the four of you who put this incredible piece together for CNN.com. Where you interview 50 people, you know, current, former, Hill, staffers, aides, et cetera, on their stories and what hasn't been done. But, MJ, first to you. Just hearing from Congresswoman Speier about these two current members of Congress accused of sexual harassment. What more do we know about that?
[Mj Lee, Cnn National Politics Reporter:] Yes, Brooke, this was a really stunning hearing. I think, first of all, the fact that this hearing even happened is pretty significant. It's sort of this recognition on Capitol Hill right now that this is a serious problem in both the House and the Senate. And members are interested in having a discussion about how these antiquated policies can be changed. And then the stories that Congresswoman Speier and Comstock told of various stories they've heard about sexual harassment on the Hill. They were pretty jaw-dropping. And if I could I know you played sound of Congresswoman Speier and her telling of the story, but I think it's worth repeating that some of the stories that she's heard about have involved harassers exposing their genitals and also victims having their private parts grabbed on the House floor.
[Baldwin:] Unbelievable.
[Lee:] I want to take a moment to let that sink in. I mean, I'm just a couple of steps away from the House floor right now. We are talking about some of the most grotesque and horrible behavior reportedly taking part on the House floor, in this room where members of congress, elected officials, do their business and take their votes. So, really stunning about these stories are now starting to come out. I will note, though, these members are so far not named. A lot of folks who spoke to us for this story, they're very hesitant to go there. They don't want to face the potential repercussions of naming these members by name. And that goes for female lawmakers as well, the ones who have shared their stories say they don't feel like they can go forward and name some of these male congressmen who are their colleagues.
[Baldwin:] The stories coming out. Juana, to you. I mean, the piece in the article where you all talk about some of the stories just even from these member-only elevators. Right, if you're a member of Congress you can hop in the elevator and is part of these unwritten rules you ladies write about about if you are a lady by yourself, don't get in one. Tell me why?
[Juana Summers, Cnn Politics Senior Writer:] Absolutely, we heard from a number of women who said that when those elevator doors close and it's them alone with a male member of Congress, a male superior on the Hill. There has been indecent behavior, groping, inappropriate hand gestures, inappropriate language. We spoke to one woman who said years later, she's been off the Hills for years, she still doesn't like to get in elevators with men. Think it's important to point out that as reporters when we're gathering, talking to lawmakers, these are things that we're seeing firsthand, too. And this is something that came up to us time and time again is that a number of these women say they try to steer clear of these elevators. But then again, that leads to a really important question, how does that impact the access these women have? If they're aides who are looking to climb on Capitol Hill if they can't be alone with these men who hold position office power? How can they climb and become more successful on the Hill and rising to you these jobs like being chiefs of staff and being lawmakers themselves one day? It's something I certainly found very troubling during the course of our reporting Brooke.
[Baldwin:] Explain this to me. I wish I had so much more time. I've got two more minutes. Sara Ganim, here's this to you. You think about sexual harassment in Hollywood and you think of Harvey Weinstein, and the Kevin Spacey and the Louis C.K. and the consequences they are already facing. Why is it not the same in politics?
[Sara Ganim, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes, we really did see that. But we heard time and time again from people that they did not believe that there would be thought there would be some watershed moment that was imminent on the Hill as we've seen in the entertainment industry and in the media industry. A lot of this is about the power dynamic of Capitol Hill. You have very young staffers working directly for very powerful men. That was something that I heard repeatedly. That it's a very insular place. So, if you move on or complain and then you become labeled a complainer, you're less likely to get another job working for someone else on Capitol Hill, or even in politics in Washington. You know, one of the things that we heard, MJ and I and many of us, that there is sort of like an informal list of people to stay away from. And this is not something we just heard from women, it's something we heard from men, too, on the Hill. They know who the so- called creeps are and not only do the women stay away from them but also the men try to keep women protected from them. I mean, think about that for a second. The fact that everybody sort of knows who these people are, that the same names kept coming up over and over and over again. Yet you really don't see people stepping forward saying that they want to do something about this publicly Brooke.
[Baldwin:] This hallowed ground, and it makes you wonder how many years this all goes back, the unwritten rules, the creep list, and finally men and women strong enough to speak out. Ladies, I thank you so much for your reporting. Please check it out on CNN.com and thank you all so much for being with me. We're going to continue this discussion tomorrow, I can promise you that. In the meantime, I'm going to send it to Washington. I'm Brooke Baldwin. "THE LEAD" starts now.