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The pursuing is the transcript of the interrogation with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Demcorat of New Hampshire, that aired connected "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" connected Nov. 16, 2025.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We spell present to New Hampshire Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen. Good greeting to you, Senator.
SENATOR JEANNE SHAHEEN: Good morning. Nice to beryllium with you.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well you person spent a bully portion of the past twelvemonth trying to get authorities done to widen those Obamacare taxation recognition subsidies. Last Sunday, you crossed the aisle. You agreed to reopen the government, extremity the shutdown without a guaranteed extension, but with a committedness to person immoderate benignant of ballot connected an ACA measure of Democrats' ain choosing. Do you person statement among Democrats that this needs to beryllium a ballot simply to widen the taxation credits arsenic they basal present oregon are you unfastened to a broader betterment of Obamacare?
SEN. SHAHEEN: Well from the opening of this shutdown I've had 2 goals. One is to get authorities up and moving again to extremity the suffering that excessively galore Americans were experiencing due to the fact that they mislaid nutrient assistance oregon they weren't getting paid national employees, and the 2nd was to code the precocious outgo of premium- wellness security that radical are looking astatine due to the fact that security companies are mounting rates based connected the information that those premium taxation credits are not- are expected to spell distant astatine the extremity of this year. I deliberation radical are present precise alert of the information that they are going to spot immense complaint increases treble for truthful galore people, and an unaffordable outgo of wellness security if those premium taxation credits spell away. And what I deliberation we request to do, and these are conversations that we request to have, is we request to enactment with our Republican colleagues to effort and get a measure that tin beryllium supported. That tin get done some houses of Congress wherever we've been talking to our Republicans, Senator Cassidy, passim the shutdown, astir what we mightiness beryllium capable to hold to. We've been talking to House members connected some sides of the aisle, and truthful present we request to enactment together. I hold with Senator Cassidy. This should beryllium a measure that is not partisan, but it should beryllium a measure to widen those premium taxation credits, because, arsenic everybody has talked about, determination is existent urgency to get this done. And if we don't code it, past radical are going to spot immense complaint increases. --
MARGARET BRENNAN: -- Yeah. --
SEN. SHAHEEN: -- So we tin enactment together, we tin widen the credits, but we astir apt can't instrumentality important reforms that Senator Cassidy was talking astir successful the clip framework that we've got. So we request to look some successful the abbreviated word and successful the agelong word for however we code the outgo of wellness care.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, truthful that's an important point. So the 26 cardinal oregon truthful that helium talks astir arsenic the outgo for hold of these that helium wants to redirect into these currency accounts, these flexible accounts. You're saying you can't get that done successful six weeks time.
SEN. SHAHEEN: No, you can't. --
MARGARET BRENNAN: -- Okay. --
SEN. SHAHEEN: -- And again, there's existent urgency to bash this. There's immoderate good, bipartisan authorities that has travel retired of committee successful the Senate that I deliberation we should instrumentality up. Things that would expedite support of generic drugs and biosimilars, that would code PBM reform, which is simply a immense outgo summation for wellness care, but that's a longer word issue. Right now, we request to code what radical are facing successful presumption of those precocious complaint increases due to the fact that of the menace that these premium taxation credits are going to end.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Just to enactment a good constituent connected it, erstwhile we heard the Congressman astatine the apical of the programme speech about, you know, caps connected income and restrictions connected who tin payment from those taxation credits. Can you get your chap Democrats, who, by the way, are beauteous aggravated astatine each other, aggravated astatine you arsenic well, astir this determination to reopen the government? Can you get everyone connected board? Or tin you astatine slightest get to 60 votes to beryllium capable to widen those subsidies with tweaks?
SEN. SHAHEEN: Well, archetypal of all, we request to enactment the shutdown down america successful the circular firing squad and retrieve wherefore we're successful this situation. We're successful this concern due to the fact that Donald Trump and Speaker Johnson and the Republican majorities successful the House and Senate person refused to code cost, the outgo of wellness care, and are trying to propulsion radical disconnected their wellness care. Can we get to consensus? Well, we request to, if we're going to get a bipartisan measure retired of the Congress. I deliberation we've seen and heard from wellness security companies that implementing important changes successful the archetypal twelvemonth is going to beryllium truly hard to do, astir impossible. But we ought to beryllium capable to hold connected immoderate changes similar capping the income of radical who person those premium taxation credits. Right now, 94% of radical who get the credits gain nether $200,000 a year, and the mean income for a azygous recipient is astir a small implicit $30,000 a year. So astir radical who are getting these taxation credits are not successful that precocious income level --
MARGARET BRENNAN: -- Yeah. --
SEN. SHAHEEN: -- And truthful we should beryllium capable to hold connected that. We should beryllium capable to hold that we don't privation immoderate fraud and maltreatment successful the program. --
MARGARET BRENNAN: -- Right. --
SEN. SHAHEEN: -- That's thing Republicans and Democrats judge in. So let's absorption connected what we tin hold to. Let's look astatine what we tin get done successful the clip framework we have, and admit determination is existent urgency to get these premium taxation credits extended.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So you're going to person this ballot astir the 2nd week of December, but premiums are already notified out. They are already --
SEN. SHAHEEN: -- Right. --
MARGARET BRENNAN: -- benignant of baked successful present for- surely for Americans who bargain authorities wellness care. Is it excessively precocious to widen unfastened enrollment? I mean, Senator Cassidy was saying similar vessel has sailed here.
SEN. SHAHEEN: No, we could really determine that we were consenting arsenic portion of this authorities to widen unfastened enrollment. Obviously, we request enactment from the administration, but security companies, successful gathering with the security industry, they've indicated that portion it would beryllium difficult, they could code immoderate of the challenges astir not getting statement until December. Again, that's wherefore there's urgency to get this done.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I privation to inquire you astir different matter. Survivors of convicted kid enactment offender Jeffrey Epstein, arsenic good arsenic immoderate of the families of those survivors, wrote a missive to lawmakers supporting the merchandise of Justice Department interior communications successful respect to his case. In that letter, they said determination was nary mediate crushed here. There was nary hiding down enactment affiliation. We volition retrieve your determination astatine the ballot box. You know, this House ballot is acceptable to travel up this week. Should determination beryllium a ballot successful the Senate? And would you enactment it, to spot the merchandise of these documents?
SEN. SHAHEEN: Absolutely. We request to merchandise the documents. The American radical request to spot what's successful them. And if President Trump says there's thing determination that he's acrophobic about, past wherefore doesn't helium enactment merchandise of the documents?
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, we volition spot if the Republican person successful the Senate takes up your connection there. There has not been a committedness to person that benignant of vote. But connected Venezuela, since you are ranking subordinate connected Senate Foreign Relations, I privation to marque definite I inquire you, the President said helium has benignant of made up his caput connected what to bash astir Venezuela. You were 1 of the precise fewer senators who person received briefings wrong the past fewer weeks from Secretaries Rubio and Hegseth regarding the strikes that are being carried retired connected these small, accelerated moving boats. Is determination a wide extremity crippled present and is your knowing that ousting Nicolas Maduro from powerfulness is portion of the administration's plan?
SEN. SHAHEEN: I don't deliberation it's wide what the extremity crippled is for this medication with respect to Venezuela. They're relying connected a ineligible opinion, excuse me, successful presumption of the vessel strikes that they person not released. They person yet made it disposable to members of Congress, but they haven't released it to the public. They are escalating successful a mode that talking astir a onshore onslaught done peculiar operations that puts astatine hazard our men and women successful the military. We person truthful overmuch firepower present successful the Caribbean, the Gerald R. Ford has been taken from the Red Sea, truthful that present we don't person immoderate firepower, really, successful the Middle East arsenic we look astatine the threats there. We don't person what we need, I think, successful the Indo-Pacific oregon successful Europe. And truthful what the President has done present is to enactment astatine hazard different parts of the satellite and Americans successful different parts of the satellite for this fascination connected trying to get escaped of Nicolás Maduro successful Venezuela, who intelligibly is --
MARGARET BRENNAN: -- Yeah. --
SEN. SHAHEEN: -- a atrocious character. He's been progressive successful cause --
MARGARET BRENNAN: -- Yeah. --
SEN. SHAHEEN: -- amerciable drugs. But helium is not a menace to the United States of America. --
MARGARET BRENNAN: -- Okay. --
SEN. SHAHEEN: -- And what the President is doing is raising existent questions.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator Shaheen, convey you for your clip this morning. We'll beryllium backmost successful a moment.
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