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Transcript: House Intelligence Committee chair Rep. Mike Turner on “Face the Nation,” June 16, 2024
The following is a transcript of an interview with House Intelligence Committee chair Rep. Mike Turner, Republican of Ohio, on “Face the Nation” that aired on June 16, 2024.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We’re going to begin with the Republican Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Ohio Congressman Mike Turner. Welcome back to Face the Nation.
REP. TURNER: Good morning, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Chair Turner, last week, as you know, there were federal immigration arrests of these eight individuals with suspected ties to ISIS. They were rounded up in Philadelphia, Los Angeles and New York. They traveled from Central Asia, Tajikistan, across the southern border into the US. Do you have any indication that there is an act of terror plot?
REP. MIKE TURNER: Well, I’m, Margaret- I’m your- I can neither confirm nor deny all the details that you’ve just reported. But what’s important about these reports, and what we’re seeing, especially in conjunction with Director Wray’s public statements that we are at the highest level of a possible terrorist threat, that the administration’s policies have, absolutely, they’re directly related to threats to Americans. These are no longer speculative, no longer hypothetical. And we have actual administration officials stepping forward. And certainly our committee and our committee members have con- concurred on the intelligence that we’re seeing that as a result of the administration’s policies allowing people to cross the border unvetted. We have terrorists that are actively working inside the United States that are a threat to Americans.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, the issue, as we understand it from our reporting, is that there was vetting but that the vetting didn’t turn up any derogatory information. Doesn’t that indicate that there’s a broader problem with the system that Congress would also have to address?
REP. TURNER: Well, Margaret, you know, there are those who are vetted and- and in the vetting process. They- there is not evidence the United States currently has that they’re actively engaged in terrorist plotting or engaged with terrorist groups organizations. And this administration, by their own policy, are then allowing those individuals in instead of fully vetting them, fully understanding what the risk is the United States and for the fact that they’re letting them in, and there they are- they’re entering the United States through the southern border illegally. And that’s what the threat is. That’s what Director Wray is identifying, and is bringing forward. This administration’s policies are directly resulting in people who were in the United States illegally, who have ties to terrorist groups and organizations, and this is a threat.
MARGARET BRENNAN: The US has already been in a heightened threat environment. But this past week, our CBS colleague and the former deputy CIA director Mike Morel wrote a piece in Foreign Affairs, warning that the United States faces a serious threat of terrorist attack in the months ahead. He called on Congressional Intelligence Committee, like the one you chair, to have public hearings with the Director of National Intelligence, the CIA, the FBI and the National Counterterrorism Center. Will you commit to doing that?
REP. TURNER: But we have. In fact, that the testimony that you just played–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –Public unclassified information from those individuals–
REP. TURNER: –The- the testimony that you just played of Director Wray was a result of the intelligence committees, including mine, Director Wray was testifying before my committee and said exactly the same thing publicly. Of the threat, what we have done and continue to do, and what this administration needs to be held to, is that they need to declassify the information of the terrorist threats that they’re seeing so that there can be a public discourse concerning what the administration’s risk and threats are. You know, this was notable and expected as a result of the Biden administration’s policy, have an open southern border, and we are seeing it absolutely across the country. The- and my- my committee has been open, my members have been open and publicly discussing this threat and pointing the finger directly at the administration’s policies.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, as you know, the administration points back at Congress saying they asked for more authorities and Congress refused to act. But I want to ask you about the Intelligence Committee. You’ve tried to keep it nonpartisan, as you’ve said on this program. Speaker Johnson, though recently decided, as you know, to add two congressmen, Scott Perry and Dr. Ronnie Jackson, to your committee, reportedly at the behest of Donald Trump. One of your members, Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan, referred to Perry as a threat to intelligence oversight, quote, “he will be on the very committee that oversees the FBI while he is directly under investigation by this very agency.” Do you think that is a disqualifying conflict of interest?
REP. TURNER: Well, being concerned obviously, about that issue, and being the chairman, I contacted the IC to see whether or not there was an issue that, you know, in due diligence from our committee that we needed to resolve or address. They indicated that there was not an- a- an ongoing or continuing issue, or even a current issue that we needed to address–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –The FBI told you that?
REP. TURNER: The issue- I think here that’s most important- the IC told us that. I think what’s very important here is that the speaker makes this appointment and then what he’s done since. The speaker has absolutely committed himself to these two individuals, following the rules, not only the laws, both of them have military experience, both of them have had access to classified information before and there’s been no reports of any incidences of their handle- mishandling of classified information. The speaker has met with our committee, Republican members, he has spoken directly to Jim Himes. We’ve had a meeting with Mr. Perry, myself and the speaker, where all of these assurances have been made. But the Speaker has said this that he’s going to continue to monitor the situation if there’s any indication of anything improper happening, that he will intervene. And I believe the speaker will assert leadership here.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And withdraw that nomination potentially. Well, look, I- Scott Perry has come out and took aim at you, as you know, because he said, if he gets on this committee, he’ll conduct actual oversight, not blind obedience to some facets of our intelligence community. And he claimed they’re spying on the American people. How do you respond to that?
REP. TURNER: He has- he has apologized. And certainly those are the types of words that you would not want from somebody who’s joining a committee that is obviously very dedicated to national security and very dedicated to working on a bipartisan way. I think that upon him joining the committee, and looking at the work that both he gets to do and the work that we’re doing, that he’ll be absolutely satisfied that he can play a role to- in the work that we’re doing for national security.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So I understand you said you’ve- you received assurances about their ability to handle classified information that they’ll have access to but as you know, Dr. Ronnie Jackson was demoted by the Navy because the Pentagon inspector general report found that he had been taking sedatives while providing medical care to two US presidents. That kind of compromising behavior would be disqualifying for most people when it comes to receiving a security clearance or having any access to the nation’s secrets.
REP. TURNER: I’m aware of those reports. As you just indicate, though, they are unrelated to the handling of classified information. And certainly, the individuals in his district believe that those issues are resolved. He presents himself to- to Congress with his military background. And we’re going to be certainly working with the speaker and with the- Mr. Jackson so that- again, that he is a very productive member of our committee and if there are any incidences, the speaker has indicated that. As with Mr. Perry, that he will enforce our rules,
MARGARET BRENNAN: But there are- these seats could be filled by Republicans and national security backgrounds who don’t have these kinds of compromising situations over their heads.
REP. TURNER: And there certainly was a broad range of individuals who- who sought these seats.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You were with Donald Trump when he was on Capitol Hill this past week, and he met with lawmakers. Is it true, as Congressman Matt Gaetz claims, that Mr. Trump said Ukrainians are never going to be there for us, and that he was trashing the Ukraine aid bill to Speaker Johnson’s face, which Gaetz said is, quote, “so epic.” Is that true? And did anyone push back?
REP. TURNER: I don’t believe that the President- Trump did that. I was certainly present. He did raise issues of how the Ukraine issue is being handled. I think there’s certainly enough criticism to go around the Ukrainians not being given the authority to use weapons inside Russia to hit targets that are hitting them. But I think, overall, what was important is it that Trump was very focused on what his issues were as to why he was seeking the presidency and the changes in policies and the Biden administration. Border was an issue. Energy was an issue. The economy, China and inflation were an issue. All ones where he had real, concrete things that the Biden administration did to reverse his policies that have resulted in negative consequences for a country that he intends to reverse back.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We will see if he stands by Ukraine, then, if he is elected. Chair Turner, thank you–
REP. TURNER: –I believe- I- I believe he will. And certainly of the members who are strongly supporting Ukraine. We certainly believe that he will, and it certainly is essential.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Chair Turner, thank you for your time this morning.
REP. TURNER: Thank you.
Half of the eight battleground states in this year’s U.S. presidential election use the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, a rate that hasn’t changed since 2009 despite a 47% surge in the cost of living since then. In essence, that means minimum-wage workers in those states have seen much of their purchasing power vaporized by inflation over the past 15 years.
Donald Trump’s October 20 visit to a McDonald’s location in Feasterville, Pennsylvania, where the former president served food to pre-selected supporters, has renewed public attention on how much low-income workers earn. Asked by CBS News reporter Olivia Rinaldi if he thought the minimum wage should be raised after spending time behind the counter at the fast-food restaurant, Trump sidestepped the question.
“Well, I think this. I think these people work hard. They’re great,” he said. “And I just saw something a process. It’s beautiful. It’s a beautiful thing to see. These are great franchises and produce a lot of jobs, and it’s good and great people working here too.”
Trump’s campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the former president’s views on the minimum wage.
Vice President Kamala Harris has stated that she wants to raise the nation’s minimum wage, as well as the sub-minimum wage that is earned by tipped workers. Both Trump and Harris have proposed eliminating income taxes on tips as a way to boost earnings for people in the hospitality industry.
While the federal minimum wage has been frozen since 2009, 30 states have stepped in to boost wages for their lowest-earning workers, according to the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. That’s left 20 states still paying the federal baseline wage, representing annual earnings of $15,000. Those states are mostly in the South and Midwest, including the four battleground states that use the $7.25 an hour minimum: Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Experts note tha workers in these locations are at risk of falling behind people who reside in states providing a higher pay floor.
“It’s ridiculous that Pennsylvania has a lower minimum wage than its neighbors as well as states like Arkansas, Florida and Nebraska, where voters had a chance to pass raises through ballot initiatives,” Holly Sklar, CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, a group that advocates for higher pay, told CBS MoneyWatch.
Earning $7.25 an hour “is a poverty wage, and it’s bad for business as well as workers,” Sklar added.
The minimum wage versus inflation
The renewed focus on worker pay comes amid polling that shows many people continuing to struggle financially even as inflation fades and the job market continues to click.
A majority of Americans say they feel worse off than four years ago, according to Gallup, a pessimism that could sway their decisions in the November 5 election. And 6 in 10 voters describe the U.S. economy as either “fairly bad” or “very bad,” according to CBS News polling.
That is likely tied to elevated prices caused by the hottest inflation in 40 years, which outpaced wage growth during the pandemic. Yet since May 2023, the typical worker’s pay has outpaced inflation, boosting their purchasing power.
That isn’t the case for workers who earn the federal minimum wage because it isn’t indexed to inflation, a step that some states are now taking to ensure that people can keep up with the rising cost of living. If the federal minimum wage had been indexed for inflation, it would now stand at $10.61 per hour.
The four other battleground states have lifted their hourly minimum wage to about that level, or even higher:
- Arizona: $14.35 an hour
- Michigan: $10.33 an hour
- Nebraska: $12 an hour
- Nevada: $12 an hour
“In our region, the minimum wage has gone up in surrounding states but not in Pennsylvania,” noted Keystone Research Center, a think tank for Pennsylvania-related issues, in a blog post. “Minimum-wage workers in Pennsylvania have also lost ground relative to workers in the middle of the wage distribution, that is, relative to the median wage.”
Tom Zawierucha, 58, a building services worker in New Jersey, wishes candidates would talk more about protecting older Americans from big medical bills.
Teresa Morton, 43, a freight dispatcher in Memphis, Tennessee, with two teenagers, wants to hear more about how elected officials would help working Americans saddled with unaffordable deductibles.
Yessica Gray, 28, a customer support representative in Wisconsin, craves relief from high drug prices and medical bills that have driven her and her husband deep into debt. “How much are we going to pay?” she said. “It’s just something that’s always on my mind.”
Health care hasn’t figured prominently in this increasingly acrimonious presidential campaign. And the economy has generally topped the list of voters’ concerns.
But Americans remain intensely worried about paying for medical care, national surveys show.
Two in 3 U.S. adults in a recent nationwide poll by West Health and Gallup said they’re concerned a major health event would land them in debt. A similar share said health care isn’t getting enough attention in the campaign.
To better understand voters’ health care concerns as the 2024 campaign nears an end, KFF Health News worked with research firm PerryUndem to convene a pair of focus groups last week with 16 people from across the country. PerryUndem is a nonpartisan firm based in Washington, D.C., that studies public views on health care and other issues.
The focus group participants represented a broad swath of the electorate, with some favoring Republican candidates, and others Democrats. But nearly all shared a common complaint: Neither presidential candidate has talked enough about how they’d help people struggling to pay for medical care.
“You don’t really hear anything much about health care costs,” said Bob Groegler, 46, who works in residential financing in eastern Pennsylvania. Groegler said he’s worried he may never be able to retire because he won’t have enough money to pay his medical bills.
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, hasn’t offered a detailed health care agenda, though he criticizes current laws and said he has “concepts of a plan” to improve the 2010 Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare.
Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, has laid out more detailed health care proposals, including building on legislation signed by President Joe Biden to lower patients’ bills.
In 2022, Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, which limits how much Medicare enrollees must pay out-of-pocket for prescription drugs, including a $35 monthly cap on insulin. The legislation also provides additional federal aid to help Americans buy health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, though this aid will expire unless Congress and the president renew it next year.
Harris has said she will expand the aid and push for new assistance to Medicare enrollees who need home care. She also has pledged to continue federal efforts to relieve medical debt, a nationwide problem that burdens about 100 million people.
But most of the focus group participants said they knew little about these proposals, complaining that hot-button issues like abortion have dominated the campaign.
Many also expressed deep skepticism that either Harris or Trump would do much to lighten the burden of medical bills.
“I believe they’re out of touch with our reality,” said Renata Bobakova, 46, a teacher and mother outside Cleveland. “We never know when we’ll get sick. We never know when we’ll fall down or sprain an ankle. And prices really can be astronomical. … I’m constantly worried about that.”
Bobakova, who is from Slovakia, said she went back to Europe to give birth to her daughter 10 years ago to avoid crippling medical debt she knew she’d incur in this country. Parents with private health coverage face on average more than $3,000 in medical bills related to a pregnancy and childbirth that aren’t covered by insurance.
Other focus group participants said they or people they knew had left the country to get cheaper prescription drugs. The U.S. has the highest medical prices in the world, research shows.
Several focus group participants, such as Kevin Gaudette, 64, a retired semiconductor engineer in North Carolina, blamed large hospitals, drug companies, and insurers for blocking efforts to lower patients’ costs to protect their profits. “I think everybody has their finger in the pie,” Gaudette said.
Martha Chapman, 64, who is also retired and lives in Philadelphia, pointed to what she called “corporate greed.” “I just don’t think it’s going to change,” she said.
In the closing days of the campaign, that cynicism represents a particular problem for Harris, said PerryUndem co-founder Michael Perry, who led the two focus groups.
Harris has tried to distinguish herself as the candidate who is more serious about policy and more sympathetic to voters’ economic struggles, Perry said. And in recent weeks, she’s begun airing new ads highlighting health care issues.
But even focus group participants who said they lean Democratic seemed to blame both candidates for not addressing Americans’ health care concerns. “They’re not feeling listened to,” Perry said.
Many of the participants nevertheless continued to express hope that an issue as important as health care would someday get the attention of elected officials, regardless of political party.
“We’re all human beings here. We’re all people just trying to make it,” said Zawierucha, the building services worker in New Jersey. “If we get sick or have to go in and get something done, we should have that peace of mind that we can go in there and not have to worry about paying it off for the next 20 years.”
“Just give us some peace of mind,” he said.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling and journalism.
Cardi B says she’s been hospitalized with a medical emergency and will have to miss a Saturday night headlining performance at an Atlanta music festival.
“I am so sad to share this news, but I’ve been in the hospital recovering from a medical emergency the last couple of days and I won’t be able to perform at ONE MusicFest,” the Grammy-winning rapper wrote on Instagram. “It breaks my heart that I wont get to see my fans this weekend.”
She added, “I’ll be back better and stronger soon. Don’t Worry.”
Johanna Geron / REUTERS
The 32-year-old New York native gave no details on her condition.
Cardi gave birth to her third child with rapper Offset less than two months ago. The two are going through a divorce.
She was to have performed along with Earth, Wind & Fire, Nelly, Gunna and GloRilla at the two-day ONE Musicfest.