Interview with Florida Congressman Ted Deutsch.
WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. This July 4th holiday, members of Congress are back in their home districts and likely hearing an earful about the ongoing battle over health care and the latest Senate proposal. There was no vote in the U.S. Senate on the health care bill and now some lawmakers are proposing the August recess be shelved so that a health care plan can be reached. New fireworks sparked when President Trump tweeted "repeal now, replace later." That option introduced and supported by Senator Ben Sasse.</s>SEN. BEN SASSE (R), NEBRASKA: We can do a combined repeal and replace over the next week, that's great. If we can't, though, then there's no reason to walk away. We should do repeal with a delay. Let's be clear. I don't want to see anybody thrown off the coverage they have now. I would want a delay so that we could get straight to work.</s>WHITFIELD: All right, big problem, the repeal then replace plan is not on the table for Senate Leader Mitch Mcconnell. Meanwhile, at least one Senate Democrat is proclaiming his willingness to work with President Trump.</s>SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D), WEST VIRGINIA: He is our president and I want him to succeed. I want him to know there are Democrats that want to work with him. But right now, they can't even repeal it. They can't get 50 votes to repeal it because somebody is getting hurt more than what they're willing to sign on to. Then look at some of us, work with us Democrats who are willing to meet you in the middle. I'm looking everywhere I can to work with them and work with this White House and work with this president, my president, in trying to make things better.</s>WHITFIELD: All right. Joining me now to discuss all of this is Democratic Congressman Ted Deutsch of Florida. Welcome and happy holiday weekend.</s>REP. TED DEUTSCH (D-FL), FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: Thanks. Same to you, Fred.</s>WHITFIELD: Have you been receiving an earful from your constituents while home?</s>DEUTSCH: Sure. Absolutely, and there is just such anger over the way that this health care bill was done. The Senate crafted this thing in private behind closed doors. Then they sprung it on the American public. And it's little wonder they didn't want people to know. It would cut 22 million people off from access to health care. It guts Medicaid by 35 percent. It's going to result in people being kicked out of nursing homes. It's also going to result in people who desperately need treatment for opioid addiction, not being able to get that treatment and it's going to do away with the essential health benefits that the Affordable Care Act provides. This is a terrible bill. And the suggestion that somehow we would be better off if we simply cast aside the Affordable Care Act altogether and put insurance companies back in charge of our health care, that's even worse. So, yes, I've heard a lot about it. People don't like it. There's a reason that it's so incredibly unpopular.</s>WHITFIELD: So then, what do you say to your constituents who say something needs to be done to repair, fix Obamacare, even those who say replace it altogether? Are you in step with Democratic Senator Manchin who says he wants to see this president succeed? He wants to find other Democrats who are willing to assist in shaping a new plan? Are you there?</s>DEUTSCH: Well, Fred, I have been saying for years that instead of doing what we have been doing in Congress, which is having these meaningless votes to repeal Obamacare, we should have been working to strengthen it. And I still think the goal has to be to strengthen it to provide more competition, to bring down costs. There are a whole host of ways that we can do that but only if there's a willingness on the part of Republican leadership to actually work to accomplish that instead of trying to live up to some campaign promise to repeal Obamacare, a partisan stunt that would cost millions of Americans their access to health care.</s>WHITFIELD: So, it's your belief that this president and some members of Congress are too hung up on repealing, you know, as opposed to working on how to improve the existing plan?</s>DEUTSCH: Well, I don't think there's any question about that. All you need to look at is that the dozens of times that we've had votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act when President Obama was president, when we could have been working together to strengthen the markets, to ensure more competition, to bring prices down. Look at where we are now. Candidate Donald Trump said that we ought to give Medicare the ability to negotiate lower drug prices. Candidate Donald Trump said we would never cut Medicaid and yet here we are. And the president now, President Trump is taking the same reckless approach that Republican leadership has taken in the past. We should be working together to strengthen the Affordable Care Act, to provide more access at a lower cost instead of looking at a piece of legislation that cuts access to health care and raises costs on everyone else.</s>WHITFIELD: So what do you think is going to happen? The Republicans have had seven years to do away with or reshape Obamacare. There have been more than 50 votes to repeal, replace it. That didn't happen unsuccessfully. So now what? What do you see happening, particularly for people who are counting on health care right now, who are worried about what's going to happen next year? How do you see it playing out this year?</s>DEUTSCH: Right. Well, there are lots of -- millions and millions of Americans who are worried about not just whether or not they're going to continue to have coverage, but whether that coverage is going to continue to ban discrimination for pre-existing conditions. Whether that coverage is going to continue to provide access to essential benefits, like maternity care and pediatric care and emergency room care. They would like this partisan stunt to end and they would like the Republican leadership to be willing to reach out, sit down and have a conversation about strengthening what we have now. That's the approach that I hear my colleagues talking about. Let's make the Affordable Care Act stronger, not this really dangerous approach that would be so detrimental to millions of Americans.</s>WHITFIELD: Congressman Ted Deutsch, thanks for your time and happy Fourth weekend.</s>DEUTSCH: Thanks very much. Happy Fourth to you.</s>WHITFIELD: All right. This week, Trump and Putin will finally meet face to face, now that Donald Trump is president and might it resolve some real world problems, or will this just be a chance for the two men to size each other up? We'll discuss next.