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<v Speaker 1>If you're just joining us, you missed some audio that

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<v Speaker 1>I just played one from Congressman Thomas Massey predicting back

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<v Speaker 1>in November that we would be sitting at the end

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<v Speaker 1>of December with a giant crap sandwich as a continuing resolution,

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<v Speaker 1>and he was absolutely right. And joining me now to

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<v Speaker 1>talk about the crap sandwich, although he may call it

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<v Speaker 1>something different. Kurt Couchman, he is a senior fellow in

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<v Speaker 1>Fiscal Policy for Americans for Prosperity, and he looks for

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<v Speaker 1>innovative solutions to federal and state budget challenges. How about

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<v Speaker 1>Congress being the problem with our federal budget problems.

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<v Speaker 2>Kurt, Congress is absolutely the core of our federal budget problems.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm calling the still of the cr isthmus bus or

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<v Speaker 2>the Christmas Boss. Oh nice, but yeah, it's not. It's

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<v Speaker 2>not the way that Congress should be legislating. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>the appropriations bills, which fund which which are collectively a

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<v Speaker 2>quarter of federal spending and none of the revenue. Those

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<v Speaker 2>are supposed to be done in August with YESCR, they

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<v Speaker 2>won't be done until at the earliest March, mid March sometime,

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<v Speaker 2>so agencies will have half of a fiscal year to

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<v Speaker 2>carry out their stuff with normal appropriations maybe, and there's

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<v Speaker 2>all this extraneous stuff that I'm sure some of it

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<v Speaker 2>is fine. Some of them might not be, but some

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<v Speaker 2>of it's fine. That's just sort of stuck in there

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<v Speaker 2>based on what the chairs and ranking members of the

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<v Speaker 2>different authorizing committees. So yeah, we were probably with that

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<v Speaker 2>being in there, But like, why isn't there an authorizing

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<v Speaker 2>process that lets them bring this stuff to the floor

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<v Speaker 2>as routine business and get Congress to vote on and

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<v Speaker 2>all that. It's such a mess and Congress really doesn't

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<v Speaker 2>need to fix the system.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, I mean, Kurt, I mean you kind of you

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<v Speaker 1>know the answer to the question of why we can't

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<v Speaker 1>do the bills the right way? With these omnibus bills

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<v Speaker 1>or these giant continuous resolutions. They do stuff them full

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<v Speaker 1>of all the crap sandwich stuff so they can slide

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<v Speaker 1>it through on a mus pass bill. And now we've

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<v Speaker 1>got this is my frustration. We talked yesterday about some

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<v Speaker 1>polling that was post election polling about voters voted the

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<v Speaker 1>way they did, and they voted the way they did

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<v Speaker 1>because they perceived Trump to be a more effective leader

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<v Speaker 1>and therefore would have a more effective government. But the

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<v Speaker 1>reality is neither Republicans nor Democrats have shown any real

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<v Speaker 1>backbone when it comes to tackling deficit spending. So what

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<v Speaker 1>has to happen here?

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<v Speaker 2>Oh, there's so much that has to be done. I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>I wrote a piece back in January twenty seventeen when

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<v Speaker 2>President Trump first took office talking about how he can

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<v Speaker 2>help make Congress responsible again, and none of those things

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<v Speaker 2>got fixed, unfortunately, and so there's still a lot of

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<v Speaker 2>work that needs to be done. I'm actually pretty excited

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<v Speaker 2>about this Elon musk devek Ramaswami Doze the Department of

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<v Speaker 2>Government Efficiency, even though it's early governmental commission, because it's

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<v Speaker 2>just the constant drum meat that there's all this stuff

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<v Speaker 2>that the the federal government has no business doing, that

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<v Speaker 2>it does wastefully, that it does inefficiently, and for that

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<v Speaker 2>to be just hanging over the heads of everyone for

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<v Speaker 2>the next well however long it last year and a half,

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<v Speaker 2>at least, that will help with discipline Congress and helping

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<v Speaker 2>them make the tough but necessary decisions. There's a lot

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<v Speaker 2>more that needs to be done, but that I think

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<v Speaker 2>could be a really powerful messaging framework for people to

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<v Speaker 2>be thinking about things.

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<v Speaker 1>Under I heard a pundit kind of poo pooing the

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<v Speaker 1>notion of dog's effectiveness. But we're in kind of uncharted

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<v Speaker 1>territory with Elon Musk and vivike Ramaswami and social media.

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<v Speaker 1>We have never been able to directly vent our spleens

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<v Speaker 1>in the fashion that we're now seeing on X and

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<v Speaker 1>other social media platforms. And for Elon Musk and vivike

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<v Speaker 1>Ramaswami to be heading this up and they're already dripping

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<v Speaker 1>stuff out on the daily on X dot com, this

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<v Speaker 1>is a whole new This is a big difference than

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<v Speaker 1>what we've seen before. I'm kind of hopeful that that

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<v Speaker 1>kind of pressure that you're talking about where people are

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<v Speaker 1>going to look at their Congress people and say, what

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<v Speaker 1>are you doing? Because now they're more informed because of DOJ.

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<v Speaker 1>But Congress loves to protect its own power to spend,

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<v Speaker 1>and I am not hopeful that that is going to

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<v Speaker 1>be enough. I mean, I hope it is, but I

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<v Speaker 1>don't know. I mean, if we continue to go like this,

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<v Speaker 1>how much longer can we sustain this?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah? I mean people are worried about the fiscal crisis.

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<v Speaker 2>Former Congressman Jeff Penclin had a peace in the Wall

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<v Speaker 2>Street Journal just today talking about how, you know, we

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<v Speaker 2>can't keep borrowing like we are, and so we're going

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<v Speaker 2>to have to cut spending in order to you know,

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<v Speaker 2>keep the bond markets happy. So that's absolutely true. The

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<v Speaker 2>thing about the Doge and the broader Trump administration's focus

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<v Speaker 2>on the wasteful spending and the spending that is not

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<v Speaker 2>just wasteful but like actively harmful to the American people

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<v Speaker 2>and getting all that out of people's way is that

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<v Speaker 2>it's a big megaphone. And yes, it's truth that the

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<v Speaker 2>Doge won't have a lot of formal power. They can

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<v Speaker 2>come up with ideas and then promote them within the

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<v Speaker 2>administration with Congress, but it's that extension of the bully

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<v Speaker 2>pulpit that they'll have on task they're dogged. It could

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<v Speaker 2>be something that will create more space for Congress to

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<v Speaker 2>actually put in place the processes that will help them

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<v Speaker 2>fix things in the long run. So we need to

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<v Speaker 2>be looking at this in a whole lot of different ways.

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<v Speaker 2>Do the tax extensions, cut spending, cut regulations fix the system?

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<v Speaker 2>These are all things that are possible for Congress to

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<v Speaker 2>do in the next year, year and a half.

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<v Speaker 1>But I think the frustration is is that I gotta

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<v Speaker 1>somebody just hit me up on Twitter and said, Kurt,

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<v Speaker 1>where did the seer come from? Who wrote it? And

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<v Speaker 1>I think people are starting to ask that question, where

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<v Speaker 1>did it come from? It didn't just get birthed, you

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<v Speaker 1>know yesterday somebody had had a say in this.

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<v Speaker 2>It's about a dozen members of Congress and the White House,

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<v Speaker 2>and that means that four hundred and no, oh sorry,

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<v Speaker 2>five hundred and thirty five members minus those twelve were

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<v Speaker 2>barely involved, if at all. I mean, that's one of

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<v Speaker 2>the things that gets people like Thomas Matthews so upset

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<v Speaker 2>is that they have ideas, they have perspectives, they have values,

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<v Speaker 2>they had they represent seven hundred and fifty thousand people

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<v Speaker 2>each of them in the House and then depending on

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<v Speaker 2>the Senate. But they don't have a seat at the

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<v Speaker 2>table and crafting which policies actually advance, and they don't

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<v Speaker 2>have an opportunity to make them better or like weed

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<v Speaker 2>out nonsense. So they're there, but they're not really able

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<v Speaker 2>to act as legislators, and that's the fundamental problem.

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<v Speaker 1>Why is that, I mean, is it because Speaker Johnson

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<v Speaker 1>is too willing to do the CRS or which I'm

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<v Speaker 1>more mad at the Republicans on this stuff than I

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<v Speaker 1>am the Democrats, because at least the Democrats are honest

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<v Speaker 1>about wanting the government right, Like why can't my Johnson

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<v Speaker 1>get this done? Why can't they do twelve separate bills?

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<v Speaker 1>Why are we still doing this again?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, the centers and the system are bad. I mean

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<v Speaker 2>the I think that the leadership has done as good

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<v Speaker 2>of a job as it is possible with this system,

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<v Speaker 2>but that just tells you how bad it is. Like

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<v Speaker 2>all the committees should be managing their stuff every single year,

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<v Speaker 2>not just the appropriate. There shouldn't even be shut downs,

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<v Speaker 2>don't They don't. They'll only started happening because of the

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<v Speaker 2>Jimmy Carter administration, and it creates all the wrong incentives.

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<v Speaker 2>It encourages leadership to wait until the last minute and

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<v Speaker 2>then jam everybody with it, Whereas if you didn't have shutdowns,

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<v Speaker 2>you'd actually have to earn the votes for the new

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<v Speaker 2>bills instead of forcing them on people right before a

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<v Speaker 2>holiday deadline.

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<v Speaker 1>And that's exactly what they're doing. So, I mean, they're

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<v Speaker 1>obviously this bill is going to pass. I mean, there's

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<v Speaker 1>all just a zero percent chance it's not going to pass.

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<v Speaker 2>Correct, Oh, I guess we'll see. I've seen some reporting

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<v Speaker 2>by Chad Pergram at Fox News that Republicans are having

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<v Speaker 2>a hard time, you know, being sure that they're going

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<v Speaker 2>to have the votes. So we'll see what happens. It's

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<v Speaker 2>already a left leaning package, probably just because that's where

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<v Speaker 2>the votes are. They had to make a bunch of

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<v Speaker 2>concessions to Democrats because there are enough Republicans that will

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<v Speaker 2>refuse to vote for any sort of cr appropriations bill.

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<v Speaker 2>And then Elon Musk has been out there talking about

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<v Speaker 2>how it's so bad. So I think it remains to

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<v Speaker 2>be seen what will pass. It might be this large bill,

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<v Speaker 2>or it might have to be something scaled back. But

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<v Speaker 2>I don't think it's certain right now what will happen.

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<v Speaker 1>From your lips to God's ears, Kurt Couchman, he is

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<v Speaker 1>with Americans for prosperity. You are more optimistic than I am.

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<v Speaker 1>I really, you feel more optimistic to me than I am.

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<v Speaker 1>I am at the point now, I've been screaming about,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, the deficit and debt spending, and how people

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<v Speaker 1>basically say, no, it's no big deal. It is a

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<v Speaker 1>huge deal, And I just knowing history, I'd hate to

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<v Speaker 1>see us become the next victim of our own hubris

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<v Speaker 1>in thinking that we can't spend ourselves into oblivion.

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<v Speaker 2>We absolutely can send ourselves into oblivion, and I hope

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<v Speaker 2>we don't find that out. If we do, though, we

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<v Speaker 2>need to make sure that the least bad way of

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<v Speaker 2>sorting that back out is possible. So, you know, I

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<v Speaker 2>am optimistic, at least in the long run, because America

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<v Speaker 2>is an incredible place for generating ideas, and you know,

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<v Speaker 2>free speech is one of the greatest blessings we have.

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<v Speaker 2>So I'm hopeful that people can get the word out

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<v Speaker 2>and we can figure out how to fix these things

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<v Speaker 2>and move forward. But it's going to take a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of work, and there's a lot of risks and a

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<v Speaker 2>lot of dangers along the way.

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<v Speaker 1>Kurt Jasman, I appreciate your time today.