WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:24.480 This week, there have been dizzying developments in the war with Iran. 00:24.480 --> 00:30.400 Last week, the U.S. called the war concluded, moving instead, to project freedom, to open 00:30.400 --> 00:32.160 the Strait of Hormuz. 00:32.160 --> 00:35.320 But President Trump quickly quit project freedom. 00:35.320 --> 00:40.720 Now both sides are considering a peace plan in the midst of an uneasy ceasefire. 00:40.720 --> 00:46.160 How to make sense of this, even as the price of oil goes up and down with mixed messaging, 00:46.160 --> 00:49.360 while the price at the pump stays high. 00:49.360 --> 00:51.760 Democratic U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin is here. 00:51.760 --> 00:52.760 And thanks very much for being here. 00:52.760 --> 00:54.480 Thank you for having me. 00:54.480 --> 00:59.000 So with all that's happening, what in your mind is the best outcome? 00:59.000 --> 01:05.680 The best outcome would be for the war to come to a quick end and to use diplomacy to settle 01:05.680 --> 01:07.000 the issues. 01:07.000 --> 01:16.360 I always have to remind folks that in 2015, there was an international agreement that 01:16.360 --> 01:20.720 would have prevented Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. 01:20.720 --> 01:23.040 There were intrusive inspections. 01:23.040 --> 01:28.080 And Donald Trump, in his first term as president, ripped it up. 01:28.080 --> 01:35.560 I think we may end up in this conflict with a deal that's less robust than the one that 01:35.560 --> 01:39.640 was agreed to in 2015. 01:39.640 --> 01:42.400 Look, diplomacy is the answer. 01:42.400 --> 01:47.800 And instead, Donald Trump has brought us into a war of choice. 01:47.800 --> 01:53.160 And I emphasize that point, because we were not under attack from Iran. 01:53.160 --> 01:56.400 We were not under imminent threat of attack. 01:56.400 --> 02:01.320 And in those circumstances, the president needs to come to Congress to authorize use 02:01.320 --> 02:02.960 of military force. 02:02.960 --> 02:03.960 He didn't. 02:03.960 --> 02:07.440 So now we have 13 service members dead. 02:07.440 --> 02:11.560 We have hundreds more injured some very seriously. 02:11.560 --> 02:17.720 And we see these price shocks with gasoline, with fertilizer for our farmers that are just 02:17.720 --> 02:20.040 getting ready to plant. 02:20.040 --> 02:25.600 I've been a part of an effort with a number of colleagues to force votes on war powers 02:25.600 --> 02:28.160 resolutions. 02:28.160 --> 02:32.320 And we are gaining support over time from our Republican colleagues. 02:32.320 --> 02:38.960 But that's what we need to do is bring this to a quick end and use diplomacy to achieve 02:38.960 --> 02:39.960 our goals. 02:39.960 --> 02:45.320 Do you feel as though the administration is skirting the War Powers Resolution by declaring 02:45.320 --> 02:48.600 this war concluded, terminated over? 02:48.600 --> 02:57.520 I heard just a week ago, the Secretary of Defense say, well, you can't toll the days 02:57.520 --> 02:59.440 that we've been in a ceasefire. 02:59.440 --> 03:08.960 Those don't count as part of the 60 days that the War Powers Act references. 03:09.960 --> 03:16.280 But regardless, we are currently in hostilities. 03:16.280 --> 03:25.640 We are clearly in a war, and it is an unmitigated disaster for the U.S. and the global economy. 03:25.640 --> 03:28.800 Because you were just describing the best case outcome. 03:28.800 --> 03:31.280 What would be the worst? 03:31.280 --> 03:40.240 The worst is that we end up far less secure and as an economy as well as as a nation because 03:40.240 --> 03:45.720 of this war of choice, this illegal war of choice, you know. 03:45.720 --> 03:52.320 And while it's not tangible, the damage it's doing to the rule of law in this country is 03:52.320 --> 03:53.320 worth noting. 03:53.320 --> 03:57.520 What are your constituents saying about what it means for them here at home? 03:57.880 --> 04:00.040 Well, I'm hearing mostly about the costs. 04:00.040 --> 04:09.800 We have had the highest cost, really, ever on average for gasoline at $4.50 on average 04:09.800 --> 04:12.240 across the state. 04:12.240 --> 04:19.040 Farmers are really reaching out to describe the shortage of fertilizer as well as the 04:19.040 --> 04:21.640 high price if they can source it. 04:21.640 --> 04:25.200 This will affect what they're able to plant this year. 04:25.280 --> 04:32.040 And, you know, that's all on top of the president's previous trade wars that have cut off markets 04:32.040 --> 04:38.240 for our farmers and have really jacked up the cost of input. 04:38.240 --> 04:46.400 So I would say overwhelming opposition to the war, but mostly articulated by folks who 04:46.400 --> 04:48.160 are just feeling the squeeze. 04:48.160 --> 04:54.840 And they were already feeling the lack of affordability prior to the war beginning. 04:54.840 --> 04:57.560 This has just doubled down on that. 04:57.560 --> 05:01.960 Saying all of that, how do you think the war in Iran affects the midterm elections? 05:01.960 --> 05:09.240 I think that people will be more likely to vote for those who have opposed the war and 05:09.240 --> 05:18.920 have taken actions or spoken out against it and have articulated that they will be a check 05:18.920 --> 05:29.080 and a balance to this president, not, you know, not somebody who just lily goes down 05:29.080 --> 05:31.320 whatever path he takes us. 05:31.320 --> 05:37.160 So we were just talking about agriculture and fertilizer and inputs for farmers. 05:37.160 --> 05:41.800 The U.S. Senate is poised to take up the Farm Bill after the House passed the $390 05:41.800 --> 05:44.600 billion version of it. 05:44.600 --> 05:47.680 What are your priorities for the Farm Bill for Wisconsin? 05:47.680 --> 05:48.680 Yeah. 05:48.680 --> 05:54.080 Well, looking at the bill that was passed by the House, I realized that it doesn't really 05:54.080 --> 05:58.200 respond to the enormous headwinds our farmers are facing. 05:58.200 --> 06:03.960 Look, they're the hardest working people I know, supplying food for not only the country 06:03.960 --> 06:06.000 but the world. 06:06.000 --> 06:10.560 And the Farm Bill needs to address those challenges. 06:10.560 --> 06:15.160 One of the things that makes the House passed bill really a non-starter in the Senate is 06:15.240 --> 06:23.400 the refusal to restore some of the nutrition funding that was cut from the president, what 06:23.400 --> 06:26.440 he calls his One Big Beautiful Bill Act. 06:26.440 --> 06:32.680 It doesn't restore the $186 billion that was cut out of the SNAP program. 06:32.680 --> 06:39.240 And that is something that brings folks together in terms of farm policy. 06:40.240 --> 06:47.360 But in the terms of my priorities, the Dairy Business Innovation Act is one that I got 06:47.360 --> 06:49.780 in the last Farm Bill. 06:49.780 --> 06:56.120 It's been so successful for dairy businesses to grow and improve their bottom line. 06:56.120 --> 06:59.880 And I want to see increased support for that. 06:59.880 --> 07:06.080 The House passed bill does not include my Healthy H2O Act, which helps folks in rural 07:06.080 --> 07:11.600 areas check their water for PFAS and other contaminants, things that they really can't 07:11.600 --> 07:14.600 afford to do without some help. 07:14.600 --> 07:19.320 And also the Farmers First Act. 07:19.320 --> 07:24.520 Farmers because of the stresses, financial and otherwise that they face, have high rates 07:24.520 --> 07:25.920 of suicide. 07:25.920 --> 07:35.000 And so this is a mental health program that helps reduce that stress and helps make sure 07:35.000 --> 07:41.400 that there are support groups locally for them to turn to. 07:41.400 --> 07:45.400 How difficult will it be to pass the Farm Bill? 07:45.400 --> 07:51.280 I think that we can craft a bill on the Senate side that is bipartisan and that foresees 07:51.280 --> 07:57.640 what will be necessary to garner the bipartisan support necessary to pass a bill. 07:57.640 --> 07:59.960 We see this over and over again in the Senate. 07:59.960 --> 08:02.720 You need 60 votes to pass a Farm Bill in the House. 08:02.720 --> 08:07.440 It's a simple majority, so they can write a partisan package and pass it. 08:07.440 --> 08:12.640 But we need to write a bipartisan package that really addresses the challenges that we're 08:12.640 --> 08:14.560 hearing from our farmers. 08:14.560 --> 08:19.000 On disaster aid, we know that Governor Evers reached out to Wisconsin's congressional 08:19.000 --> 08:25.720 delegation for help getting more than $26 million in federal disaster aid to fix infrastructure 08:25.720 --> 08:29.920 after last summer's floods that the president had denied. 08:29.920 --> 08:34.400 What inroads is our delegation making into recovering that aid? 08:34.400 --> 08:44.240 Yeah, I mean certainly I was pleased that the administration approved some of the grants 08:44.240 --> 08:49.440 for personal loss, that individual losses that were faced. 08:49.440 --> 08:54.040 But for the public infrastructure, they turned it down and I see no reason for that. 08:54.040 --> 08:57.760 In fact, I'm concerned that there were politics involved. 08:57.760 --> 09:04.480 Meanwhile, we have a new set of tornadoes and flood damage that has just happened in 09:04.480 --> 09:05.960 the past month. 09:05.960 --> 09:13.600 And we need to work with the administration to make those citizens and communities whole 09:13.600 --> 09:18.360 as best as possible through work with FEMA. 09:18.360 --> 09:23.160 You know, the president came into office pledging to abolish FEMA. 09:23.160 --> 09:24.760 He hasn't succeeded in that. 09:24.760 --> 09:30.880 We understand that there is a role for the federal government in emergency management 09:30.880 --> 09:33.320 and emergency relief. 09:33.320 --> 09:36.360 And we need to hold them accountable to that. 09:36.360 --> 09:37.360 All right. 09:37.360 --> 09:38.360 We will see. 09:38.360 --> 09:39.360 Senator Tammy Baldwin. 09:39.360 --> 09:40.360 Thanks very much. 09:40.360 --> 09:40.380 Thank you.