Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
From the nation's capital and Michigan's capital too, radio stations
across the state of Michigan. It's Michael Patrick Shields with
Tom Barrett, member of Congress, Republican from Charlotte on our
at and T line, our radio stage. Happy new Year
to you, Happy.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
New year, Michael Patrick from Capital to Capitol. Good morning
to you and your listeners.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Fantastic, welcome to the program. And that is very super cool.
The President was in Michigan the other day. I think
you were in Washington probably when he was here. But
what's number one on your agenda today? And you but
see you've had one lap around the calendar now as
(01:01):
a member of Congress, how's it going?
Speaker 3 (01:04):
I have?
Speaker 2 (01:05):
And you know, I think being a member of Congress
is something you can anticipate a bit, but not fully.
You know, know what you're walking into. And that's fine.
You know, We've got a lot of big problems to
solve in the country and that's why I ran for office.
I wanted to fix big things and come to Washington,
d C. And you know, probably represent my community and
(01:26):
the families that sent me here, that our families just
like the one that I have back home, that I
leave behind when I get on a plane to come
here to wash in d C. And I don't forget
that when I come here. And I think people are
still really suffering the effects of the installed economy, the
high inflation, and the overly regulatory burden of the Biden administration,
the Biden era, and we've got to do a more
(01:48):
aggressive job of digging out of that. And I think
the President realizes that he's taken on some aggressive measures.
You know, I was really, you know, really interested and
thankful to see that he took on this issue. You
of large institutional buyers, really you know, private equity, foreign investors,
things like that, buying up massive tracts of homes in
(02:10):
neighborhood communities that these people have never even been to,
and that I think is one of the driving factors
of leading to the crisis we have in home ownership
right now. I actually just introduced the bill this week
that would expand the VA home loan program to National
Guard and reservists earlier than they would have otherwise been
(02:31):
eligible right now, if you're a National Guard or reservist,
you've got to serve six years before you'd be eligible
for the VA home loan program. We want to speed
that up so that more of our young men and
women serving in the military in a capacity where they
might be working in their community, wanting to lay down routes,
wanting to start and raise a family, but they're not
eligible for that VA home loan rate yet. Well, let's
(02:54):
get them into the program. They're being asked to serve
in a capacity now, especially during the War on Terror
in the after effects, where we know they're likely to
get deployed at some point in their service. Let's give
them that via home Loan program earlier so that they
can get into a home and build a family. You know,
those are incremental movements that we can make, but bigger
(03:14):
changes have to be done reducing the regulatory burden on
new construction. I talk to home builders all the time,
and they tell me I can't build a two hundred
or two hundred and fifty thousand dollars home anymore because
of the regulatory environment. I have to build a four
or five hundred thousand dollars home just to fit the
regulations in and still have the clearance to pay my workers,
(03:36):
make a little bit of profit, and you know, continue
building other homes. So there's a lot we have to
work on. I'm working on a very aggressive reform agenda
and I'm excited to roll that out over the next
few weeks.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Tony Cuthbert, what would you guess a little numbers game,
if you will, What would you guess the average age
in America right now is of a first time home buyer,
the first time when they buy a home.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
What's the average age.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
I would like to say like twenty five or twenty six,
but it's probably thirty three.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Tom Barrett, what's the answer.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
It's over over forty years old now. I think I
bought my first home at about twenty seven. I was
fresh off a plane coming home from a deployment. My
wife had found the time we were engaged at the time,
gave her a power of attorney, and four days after
I got off the plane, I was able to buy
a home. People can't do that today, and that's I
think having an effect of people delaying having children, having
(04:32):
a family, and doing those connected things in community that
we need to see for our country and our culture
to be successful. So this is a big problem, but
we're working on a lot of bigger reforms. I think
there ought to be term limits for members of Congress.
I think that we ought to lock in the fact
that our Supreme Court has nine justices so that any
you know, political power, you know, President or Congress can't
(04:55):
pack the court. You know, that's always a threat that
we see. Let's just constitutionally lock that in. Let's make
redistricting once every ten years. Let's make it so that
only citizens are counted for the purpose of legislative districts.
These are things that we should be doing that are
common sense, that are all, you know, tinkering with the
confidence that people have in our government right now. And
(05:18):
you know, I'm excited about this. I realize that a
lot of these are things that are going to take
time to do, but I think they're the right thing
to do, and I'm excited to be rolling them out.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
They're in Barrett's Blueprint for a Better America. Having been
to Washington, d C. There's like a little train that
goes down in the tunnel underneath to connect some of
the buildings to the Capitol. Do you ever wish you
were happened to be seated on that train with Nancy
Pelosi and be able to overhear her on the phone
with her stock market expert.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
I sure, do you know? Nancy's office is tudors down
from mine, and I sometimes wander by and wonder if
I can, you know, through osmosis pick up some of
her financial you know, wizardry. I've been unsuccessful in that,
but we did introduce a bill this week as well
to really ban the purchase of stocks by members of Congress. Now,
(06:11):
some members come here who are, you know, independently successful
in different path sets of life before coming to Congress.
They might own financial holdings, and if they want to
sell those after they're here, they would have to provide
notice ahead of time to the public. But it would
also prohibit them from buying individual stocks while they are
serving as a member of Congress. And you know, they've
(06:32):
degraded the trust of the American people in this way,
and I think this is the appropriate way to make
steps to restore that.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Well, if you limited their ability to make money in
the stock market, maybe they wouldn't stay in Congress so
long and you wouldn't need the term limits.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Yeah, there you go. Let's do both and see which
one is more effective. But and you know, look, building
wealth and becoming wealthy, that's not wrong or bad, and
that's a you know, that's a good, you know, goal
to have in life, but it shouldn't come at the
expense of the trust and confidence of people that we represent.
I made this point in in my campaign that I've
(07:06):
made this point as I've introduced this bill. More than
half of the members of Congress are already millionaires, but
more than half of the people we represent certainly are not.
So I think we have to have more ordinary people
coming into office and serving in Congress who have a
little bit of awareness of what regular families are going through.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
As a veteran, are you hearing anything about Iran and
what may happen or may not happen there in the hallways?
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Well, I'm very, very hopeful that the people of Iran
can really just take back control of their country. I've
heard from so many people who were living in Iran
before the Ayatola and before the Islamic regime took control.
They have been a belligerent force against American interests and
(07:55):
really against the interests of just human rights and everything
for fifty years now. Iran is really the country that
is responsible for the death of thousands of American soldiers'
friends of mine have been killed by Iranian weapons on
the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, and the end of
the regime of the Ayatola, the Islamic regime there cannect
(08:18):
come quick enough. I'm very encouraged by what we're seeing
on the ground. We've been close before where the Iranian
people have stepped up and demonstrated and protested, and sadly
they've been retaliated upon by the people by the regime
rather in Iran, and I just you know, I'm sure
not many of them are probably listening this morning, but
(08:39):
you know, we want to give them all the encouragement
we can. You know, if there are ways that we
can get access to technology and the Internet into the
hands of the Iranian people, I know there are efforts
underway through Starlink and other things that we are trying
to do to break the ability of the regime.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Thank you, Congressman Tom Behar Republicans.
Speaker 5 (09:00):
Sure you can't have access to quality medical care without
affordable health insurance. At Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan,
we understand increasing health insurance costs are becoming more of
a strain on the budgets of the businesses and people
we serve affordability matters. It affects real families, real decisions,
and real care. That's why at Blue Cross were dedicated
to finding solutions to learn about this critical issue in
(09:23):
our efforts to make healthcare affordable for all. Visitmi bluedeli
dot com slash affordability today.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
Whether they're dough boys, commets, or even gremlins, Every public
school in Michigan is proud to be known for something,
and the Michigan Lobry is proud to be known for
something too.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
Education.
Speaker 4 (09:40):
One hundred percent of lottery profits go to support public schools.
With the help of players across our great state, the
lottery provided over one billion dollars to the state School
Laid Fund for the seventh straight year. So whatever hometown
school you're from, the Michigan Lottery is rooting for all
of them. Michigan Lottery for Fun for schools. Knowing your
limits is always the best bet.
Speaker 6 (10:00):
Dean Transportation is looking for compassionate people to join our
team of school bus drivers and attendants. Visit deanjobs dot
com to see all openings. Dean Transportation provides paid training
to obtain a commercial driver's license, Increased starting pay, comprehensive
benefits and flexible schedules with no weekend shifts, no experience needed.
(10:22):
Apply today at Dean jobs dot com and train for
back to school season. That's da n Jobs dot com.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Change is bright. It's a clean energy future fueled by
fields of solar. It's led lighting in every home, and
Consumers Energy is making it happen with their industry leading
clean energy plan. This year, They're going all in on
their commitment to protecting the planet while serving nearly seven
(10:52):
million Michigan neighbors. Learn more and join the movement at
Consumers Energy dot com. Slash clean Energy
From the nation's capital and Michigan's capital too, radio stations
across the state of Michigan. It's Michael Patrick Shields with
Tom Barrett, member of Congress, Republican from Charlotte on our
at and T line, our radio stage. Happy new Year
to you, Happy.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
New year, Michael Patrick from Capital to Capitol. Good morning
to you and your listeners.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Fantastic, welcome to the program. And that is very super cool.
The President was in Michigan the other day. I think
you were in Washington probably when he was here. But
what's number one on your agenda today? And you but
see you've had one lap around the calendar now as
(01:01):
a member of Congress, how's it going?
Speaker 3 (01:04):
I have?
Speaker 2 (01:05):
And you know, I think being a member of Congress
is something you can anticipate a bit, but not fully.
You know, know what you're walking into. And that's fine.
You know, We've got a lot of big problems to
solve in the country and that's why I ran for office.
I wanted to fix big things and come to Washington,
d C. And you know, probably represent my community and
(01:26):
the families that sent me here, that our families just
like the one that I have back home, that I
leave behind when I get on a plane to come
here to wash in d C. And I don't forget
that when I come here. And I think people are
still really suffering the effects of the installed economy, the
high inflation, and the overly regulatory burden of the Biden administration,
the Biden era, and we've got to do a more
(01:48):
aggressive job of digging out of that. And I think
the President realizes that he's taken on some aggressive measures.
You know, I was really, you know, really interested and
thankful to see that he took on this issue. You
of large institutional buyers, really you know, private equity, foreign investors,
things like that, buying up massive tracts of homes in
(02:10):
neighborhood communities that these people have never even been to,
and that I think is one of the driving factors
of leading to the crisis we have in home ownership
right now. I actually just introduced the bill this week
that would expand the VA home loan program to National
Guard and reservists earlier than they would have otherwise been
(02:31):
eligible right now, if you're a National Guard or reservist,
you've got to serve six years before you'd be eligible
for the VA home loan program. We want to speed
that up so that more of our young men and
women serving in the military in a capacity where they
might be working in their community, wanting to lay down routes,
wanting to start and raise a family, but they're not
eligible for that VA home loan rate yet. Well, let's
(02:54):
get them into the program. They're being asked to serve
in a capacity now, especially during the War on Terror
in the after effects, where we know they're likely to
get deployed at some point in their service. Let's give
them that via home Loan program earlier so that they
can get into a home and build a family. You know,
those are incremental movements that we can make, but bigger
(03:14):
changes have to be done reducing the regulatory burden on
new construction. I talk to home builders all the time,
and they tell me I can't build a two hundred
or two hundred and fifty thousand dollars home anymore because
of the regulatory environment. I have to build a four
or five hundred thousand dollars home just to fit the
regulations in and still have the clearance to pay my workers,
(03:36):
make a little bit of profit, and you know, continue
building other homes. So there's a lot we have to
work on. I'm working on a very aggressive reform agenda
and I'm excited to roll that out over the next
few weeks.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Tony Cuthbert, what would you guess a little numbers game,
if you will, What would you guess the average age
in America right now is of a first time home buyer,
the first time when they buy a home.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
What's the average age.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
I would like to say like twenty five or twenty six,
but it's probably thirty three.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Tom Barrett, what's the answer.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
It's over over forty years old now. I think I
bought my first home at about twenty seven. I was
fresh off a plane coming home from a deployment. My
wife had found the time we were engaged at the time,
gave her a power of attorney, and four days after
I got off the plane, I was able to buy
a home. People can't do that today, and that's I
think having an effect of people delaying having children, having
(04:32):
a family, and doing those connected things in community that
we need to see for our country and our culture
to be successful. So this is a big problem, but
we're working on a lot of bigger reforms. I think
there ought to be term limits for members of Congress.
I think that we ought to lock in the fact
that our Supreme Court has nine justices so that any
you know, political power, you know, President or Congress can't
(04:55):
pack the court. You know, that's always a threat that
we see. Let's just constitutionally lock that in. Let's make
redistricting once every ten years. Let's make it so that
only citizens are counted for the purpose of legislative districts.
These are things that we should be doing that are
common sense, that are all, you know, tinkering with the
confidence that people have in our government right now. And
(05:18):
you know, I'm excited about this. I realize that a
lot of these are things that are going to take
time to do, but I think they're the right thing
to do, and I'm excited to be rolling them out.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
They're in Barrett's Blueprint for a Better America. Having been
to Washington, d C. There's like a little train that
goes down in the tunnel underneath to connect some of
the buildings to the Capitol. Do you ever wish you
were happened to be seated on that train with Nancy
Pelosi and be able to overhear her on the phone
with her stock market expert.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
I sure, do you know? Nancy's office is tudors down
from mine, and I sometimes wander by and wonder if
I can, you know, through osmosis pick up some of
her financial you know, wizardry. I've been unsuccessful in that,
but we did introduce a bill this week as well
to really ban the purchase of stocks by members of Congress. Now,
(06:11):
some members come here who are, you know, independently successful
in different path sets of life before coming to Congress.
They might own financial holdings, and if they want to
sell those after they're here, they would have to provide
notice ahead of time to the public. But it would
also prohibit them from buying individual stocks while they are
serving as a member of Congress. And you know, they've
(06:32):
degraded the trust of the American people in this way,
and I think this is the appropriate way to make
steps to restore that.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Well, if you limited their ability to make money in
the stock market, maybe they wouldn't stay in Congress so
long and you wouldn't need the term limits.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Yeah, there you go. Let's do both and see which
one is more effective. But and you know, look, building
wealth and becoming wealthy, that's not wrong or bad, and
that's a you know, that's a good, you know, goal
to have in life, but it shouldn't come at the
expense of the trust and confidence of people that we represent.
I made this point in in my campaign that I've
(07:06):
made this point as I've introduced this bill. More than
half of the members of Congress are already millionaires, but
more than half of the people we represent certainly are not.
So I think we have to have more ordinary people
coming into office and serving in Congress who have a
little bit of awareness of what regular families are going through.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
As a veteran, are you hearing anything about Iran and
what may happen or may not happen there in the hallways?
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Well, I'm very, very hopeful that the people of Iran
can really just take back control of their country. I've
heard from so many people who were living in Iran
before the Ayatola and before the Islamic regime took control.
They have been a belligerent force against American interests and
(07:55):
really against the interests of just human rights and everything
for fifty years now. Iran is really the country that
is responsible for the death of thousands of American soldiers'
friends of mine have been killed by Iranian weapons on
the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, and the end of
the regime of the Ayatola, the Islamic regime there cannect
(08:18):
come quick enough. I'm very encouraged by what we're seeing
on the ground. We've been close before where the Iranian
people have stepped up and demonstrated and protested, and sadly
they've been retaliated upon by the people by the regime
rather in Iran, and I just you know, I'm sure
not many of them are probably listening this morning, but
(08:39):
you know, we want to give them all the encouragement
we can. You know, if there are ways that we
can get access to technology and the Internet into the
hands of the Iranian people, I know there are efforts
underway through Starlink and other things that we are trying
to do to break the ability of the regime.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Thank you, Congressman Tom Behar Republicans.
Speaker 5 (09:00):
Sure you can't have access to quality medical care without
affordable health insurance. At Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan,
we understand increasing health insurance costs are becoming more of
a strain on the budgets of the businesses and people
we serve affordability matters. It affects real families, real decisions,
and real care. That's why at Blue Cross were dedicated
to finding solutions to learn about this critical issue in
(09:23):
our efforts to make healthcare affordable for all. Visitmi bluedeli
dot com slash affordability today.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
Whether they're dough boys, commets, or even gremlins, Every public
school in Michigan is proud to be known for something,
and the Michigan Lobry is proud to be known for
something too.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
Education.
Speaker 4 (09:40):
One hundred percent of lottery profits go to support public schools.
With the help of players across our great state, the
lottery provided over one billion dollars to the state School
Laid Fund for the seventh straight year. So whatever hometown
school you're from, the Michigan Lottery is rooting for all
of them. Michigan Lottery for Fun for schools. Knowing your
limits is always the best bet.
Speaker 6 (10:00):
Dean Transportation is looking for compassionate people to join our
team of school bus drivers and attendants. Visit deanjobs dot
com to see all openings. Dean Transportation provides paid training
to obtain a commercial driver's license, Increased starting pay, comprehensive
benefits and flexible schedules with no weekend shifts, no experience needed.
(10:22):
Apply today at Dean jobs dot com and train for
back to school season. That's da n Jobs dot com.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Change is bright. It's a clean energy future fueled by
fields of solar. It's led lighting in every home, and
Consumers Energy is making it happen with their industry leading
clean energy plan. This year, They're going all in on
their commitment to protecting the planet while serving nearly seven
(10:52):
million Michigan neighbors. Learn more and join the movement at
Consumers Energy dot com. Slash clean Energy
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