Good morning, good morning, good morning, and welcome, welcome, welcome.
We have Josh ur Keen are representative here in Congress on with the phone
with us year. How are you doing today, Josh, yeah, Tom,
Tom's I can fog a me here. But you got a lot going
on here. You just recently wrapped up some uh some town halls, and
of course the telephone town hall went went pretty good. What did you what
did you learn from the constituents. Well, then we're always learning. Between
ninety two town halls in a little over a year, live town halls governing
twenty eight counties in the second congressional district. And then we you know,
try to do a telephone town hall, which you know we're from eight to
you know, twelve thousand people I think or attend those, and I wish
the telephone town halls, you know, opportunity for questions, for the number
of people that you know call in was you know, much greater. That's
why we try to do the live town halls, get people a chance.
It is with us, but if you look at some total, it's the
border, it's our overspend, our budget inflation. What reckless overspending continues to
do to our economy, and you know, then we'll have you know the
different issues that make the news from time to time, but definitely the border
and definitely our budget. Speaking of the budget, you recently voted against that
continuing resolution. Those seem to be popping up an awful lot. Yeah,
that extends year levels thirty billion more year over year compared to what it was
under Pelosi. I can't understand why we continue to do this. I know
I'm a broken record on your show and others, Tom, but it's just
so important people know this. One hundred percent of what Congress spent an entire
year debating these funding levels for in the discretionary budget is borrowed money. The
only revenue support, the only thing we have enough revenue now is Medicaid,
food stamps, Medicare, social Security, veteran benefits, and interest on the
debt. Those who have been locked away in past generations into mandatory spending consumes
two thirds of our budget. Where Congress can't touch them. All the Congress
can do is adjust who's eligible and who's not. Because of their status is
mandatory, as the word implies, their first in line for the revenue,
and they consumed all the revenue last year. So for everything else that Congress
in the discretionary budget, there was no money for the discretionary budget last year.
All troops salaries, all of defense spending, all education AD, USDA,
Department of Labor, Department Entergy, FBI, Department of Justice, it's
all borrowed money. So until we're going to get serious and stop doing,
what I saw last week is voting to reauthorize spending on sea turtles. And
I'm not making this up. That happened last week. On the floor of
the House representatives there were only like forty to fifty of us that said no,
looks the days of that type of silliness need to end. And because
one hundred percent of what we're debating is borrowed money, and we're going to
continue to spend money on conservation programs of sea turtles, well interesting, And
meanwhile, we've got some real things that need to be taken care of and
in the long run, now, well we know that our children and grandchildren
will be spending this and will be paying this off as well as our great
grandchildren. Want to get your react go ahead, Can I say something on
that front, so you know, when Tom Cobran was talking about that twenty
years ago. He was probably the most known and respected. We were talking
about this is going to be your kids and your grandkids. I want everybody
to hear this. Now we're down the track far enough from that timeframe.
That inflation costing the average family for fifteen thousand dollars more to afford the same
goods and services compared to what you were just three years ago. That's what
inflation's costing you, fifteen thousand average family for more. You don't get any
increase in your buying power. So it's on us now. It's not just
our kids and our grandkids. A devaluation of your currency is the future of
this nation unless we get serious about cutting spending. And so for everybody who
says, well I just want my government to do this and this and this,
I want you to pause, everybody and just think, whatever my government's
given me to these little programs, is it taking more from me in terms
of devaluing the currency and how it's lessening my purchase value. I will continue
whatever you're getting from your government. Those six thousand dollars checks under COVID,
you paid it by a plus interest on devaluation of your currency, So it
is time to rethink this thing. The most effective legislature is not the one
who's bringing home the most back to your state. The most effective legislature is
the one who's going to shore up to sound money to make sure that inflation
stops. That's the real ball game. We're talking with Congressman Josh Bourkeen.
Congressman, I want to get your reaction to the business that's been taking place
in the Middle East, and especially over the last several days with what appears
to be escalation and fighting over there, and it seems that the United States
we're hearing that we're behind is real but kind of like maybe if and kind
of sort of and it just seems like there's a little shaky SAand there.
So we had some Israeli Defense Force, a captain and a major representing twenty
thousand Israeli defense forces came to the capital a couple of weeks ago, and
I, along with staff, became kind of the one who shepherd didn't them
around. I set up a meeting with them with Congressman Hearn, you know,
because of his role with the republic Study Committee. A quick meeting with
him and Congressman Hearn with Speaker Mike Johnson a quick meeting, trying to let
them share with those individuals what I'm hearing from them, and that is that
representing twenty thousand is really Defense Forces a captain and a major. The major
told me said, look, we've cleared out Gods at four different times in
my twenty year career. We've cleared out the same spots in Gods at four
different times, only to see them return and to you know, returned to
the same level of authoritarian authoritaian authoritative state and and a loss of course ultimately,
you know, the one raging in those positions they take back over,
which has led to the you know, the horrendous actions of October seventh.
And he's saying his message to the speaker, his message to those that we
sit out with was let us finish the job. We All we know is
we see the United States coming in and doing humanitarian aid drops and it's going
to our enemy. All we know is got the US on it. And
so from Israel's viewpoint, this mixed message that you are sending, let us
finish the murderer lives in our set shed. We don't need any mixed messages
about letting us go in and and and put fire to the murderer who's living
in the shed. Let us finish this so we don't have to, as
history shows us, clean them out this time, and then we don't finish
the job, that just canna be back in there within a few years.
My goodness sakes, Josh Vi Keen is what this year? He is our
congressman, King Gresteal District too here in Oklahoma. Tell us what you what
you got coming up here on the horizon. Things you've been working on.
Well, look, I'm always working on things that are border related because I'm
on Homeland Security, so committee Jurisdiction over the physical Barriers over is trying to
make sure that we're stopping illegal interest, superiod coming into our country. And
then I'm on budget, so that means if you get excessive information on spending
from me, it's because that's the committees that I'm casked with. But particularly
this week, tom as Faiza, we're gonna go go back and the first
thing that we're going to address is is the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Again,
I voted against the final product because it did not include a warrant,
and there were two members of the Freedom Caucus, which I'm a part,
that said we're going to capture the bill, which forces a revote. And
so there's people I know they're going to be hearing from the constituency to you
know, to make sure there's a warrant, which is you know, in
my attention, you have to. I mean, it's what Benjamin Franklin said,
those who would be willing to give up essential liberties for a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. That this is a Fourth Amendment we're talking
about, and however well intentioned, this fishing enterprise, that our Department of
Justice is this big, big, sane netting of just capturing a wide net,
and the Fourth Amendment not mattering like they didn't approve to the American people
they can be trusted. This isn't a thing where we go, well,
we'll give you another chance. No. Then they've been doing this to a
president of the United States two hundred thousand times, two hundred seventy thousand times
after they said, oh, we promise, we'll do better. You know,
in twenty twenty one, two hundred and seventy thousand times they violated their
own rules, Like I don't see, especially with the fact that Amy Bigs's
amendment on the warrant that said in exigence circumstance, because the exegen is just
another word for urgent, that they would still give our you know, our
national security systems a chance to intervene if it was urgent. If there's truly
a scenario of somebody, you know, we caught an email of somebody in
the United States that was a US citizen coordinating with terrorists saying, yeah,
I'll drop off the ball at the X time this morning. And even Indivision's
amendment requiring a warrant gave gave it ability if a warrant wasn't time enough to
be retrieved in that in that instance that there could be exitgen circumstances that would
allow them to intervene. So, given that key element of exigen circumstances emergency
circumstances built into the warrant, there's no justification in my mind, no justification
whatsoever for this to be absent a warrant, especially with the abuse of our
weaponization of our government against its citizens. Incredible, I tell you what I
learned so much every time we speak and by getting the inside baseball from you,
and how you're able to share that with your constituents in a manner that's
easily digested, and a lot of the pretty complicated stuff, but you do
a great job of a boiling down so that everyone can understand what's going on
and get a very clear picture. Josh for Keen, how can folks get
a hold of you if they need to because you're very excessive. Yeah,
Claremore Office nine one eight two eight three sixty two six' two call a
Clamore office. I actually read that call report. So people wonder, doesn't
my voice make a difference. It doesn't mean I'm always going to agree with
you, but I'm going to hear you out. And so you call into
our office. I read that call report. You send an email our staff.
I will tell you this. The emails thousands a week, right,
And so I sit down with it's an issue, and if you want to
know where's my where's my position on an issue? I'll sit down with staff
and we'll talk about that through and you'll get a response as to why I
have a position on a particular issue. So we call our DC office called
Clamore Office. I've got field reps that are that are tasked with being responsive,
that are tasked with when they're not in meetings on my APF within district,
they're out there knocking on business doors saying what would you like to remember
Congress to know on your behalf then we have you know, we did ninety
two town halls last year or over a little over a year, trying to
get out there and make sure that people can come and see us in person,
even those who can't come to d C. Very good, Josh Keen,
thanks for being our guest. Thanks Tom, appreciate you