WJLA ABC News - Transcript: 2016 Presidential Election and Maryland Priorities in Senate

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

AUTRIA GODFREY, WJLA: Congressman Chris Van Hollen has served in the U.S. House of Representatives for Maryland's Eighth Congressional District since 2003, and now he's taking on a new role after defeating Kathy Szeliga in their race for the Senate.

LARRY SMITH, WJLA: So now things change for him. He has big plans for the state of Maryland and plenty to say about a Donald Trump Administration. And we certainly welcome Senator-elect Van Hollen to tell us more. Let's just say first off, thanks for joining us.

REP. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN: It's great to be here, thanks to you both.

SMITH: Good to have you here. Interesting past week for you and our country.

VAN HOLLEN: It has been an interesting week. First, I do want to thank the people of Maryland for the confidence -- both those who have voted for me, as well as those who voted against me. I look forward to working with everybody in the state of Maryland.

We've got a lot of work to do, and where we can find common ground with the new administration, we'll do that. One area we've talked a lot about is modernizing our national infrastructure. In this area, we know what our challenges are. We've got a Metro system in Maryland, we've got the Purple Line, we have I-270 congestion -- lots of other issues in Maryland and the region. So that would be great. I've put forward proposals in the past.

On the other hand, it's very troubling to see some of the people that Donald Trump is bringing in his new administration -- especially this person, Steve Bannon, who's been running a website, a news site, that has catered to a lot of the folks who are fear mongering and hate mongering. That's why so many of us have called upon Donald Trump to reverse that decision. If he really wants to be the President for all Americans, don't bring in a guy whose career has been dividing people with ugly rhetoric.

GODFREY: And speaking of that ugly rhetoric, we've seen a lot of protests all across the country since election day, and a lot in Maryland. Specifically with high school students -- Montgomery County superintendent just this morning came out and said enough is enough, go back to class. What do you think about these protests? And should kids get back to the classroom?

VAN HOLLEN: Well look, I think students are exercising their First Amendment rights. These are unexcused absences, and they're making the decision to go out and protest. Look, I think those students have a lot to say. We want to encourage our young people to participate in the political process. Obviously, they need to do it within some boundaries, but this is an expression of their views. And so long as they're orderly, I think students have a right to do that. The schools obviously are going to have to enforce their own rules, and the students are going to have figure out how to deal with that.

GODFREY: Speaking about something that was also discussed at great length on the campaign trail, and that is the Affordable Care Act and whether or not to repeal it and replace it, maybe tweak it a little bit. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, a lot of people on this plan will see their premiums go up. And in Maryland in particular, they're anticipated to see the highest rate increases out of the entire DMV, somewhere between 20 or 29 percent next year.

You have said that you would agree with maybe changing it in some way, but throwing it out all together is a bad idea. How do we fix it?

VAN HOLLEN: So, the challenge has been within the Affordable Care Act exchanges. This is where you're seeing the price hikes, and there are a number of ideas that some of us have put forward -- including creating a public option, which would create more competition and help drive down the prices within the exchanges. I actually supported that as part of the original Affordable Care Act. I think we need to do it now.

But it is really important to distinguish between the exchange and everything else in the Affordable Care Act. The overwhelming majority of Marylanders and people in this area get their insurance through their private employer. And if you look at the rate of increase there, it's actually been lower rates of increase than before the Affordable Care Act.

[For] seniors on Medicare, we're closing what's called the prescription drug donut hole, where seniors with high drug costs, they fall into it. If you get rid of that [provision], those seniors are going to be exposed to higher costs. And then there's the fact that over 20 million Americans now have access to more affordable healthcare then they had before.

So, I am in favor of working to fix those parts that need fixing, but it would be a huge mistake to throw out the entire Affordable Care Act.

SMITH: You've got about 20 seconds -- biggest challenge for you in the Senate in the first year of this new Administration?

VAN HOLLEN: Well, the biggest challenge is going to be to find out where we can common ground and work together. That's why infrastructure is a good idea. For many us, we'd like to close some of the tax breaks that actually encourage American businesses to move jobs and keep their money overseas -- change that to invest here. But we will fight to the end any effort to roll back the clock on social justice. We need to continue to build a more perfect union in the United States, and we're not going backwards. We'll fight the Trump administration every step of the way if they try to move in that direction.

GODFREY: Sadly, we have to leave it at that. I've got many more questions for you, but we're out of time. We do appreciate you taking the time to come in and chat with us this morning and hope you come back.

VAN HOLLEN: I will be delighted to. Thank you.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source