MARGARET BRENNAN: We turn now to Republican Senator Katie Britt, who joins us from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Welcome to ‘Face the Nation’, Senator.
SEN. KATIE BRITT: Thank you so much for having me, Margaret, I appreciate it. Look forward to being on here.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to talk about a lot of things. Let me just pick up where Senator Kelly left off on the shutdown. He said, hey, you could all hash this out this week, Leader Thune made that offer. I know you have said you also are concerned insurance premiums are going to go up whether Congress extends the tax credits related to Obamacare that Democrats are campaigning for, or not here, basically. Do you want this extended?
SEN. BRITT: First off, Margaret, we need to reopen the government. Democrats need to come to the table and do the right thing. Just as I’ve been traveling the state this weekend, I have heard countless stories of people who are not getting a paycheck, whether it’s our men and women in uniform or those who serve alongside them, or whether we’re talking to veterans or we’re talking to just a number of people. When we’re looking what’s happening with WIC, there are a lot of people that are being affected by the Democrats playing politics, and they need to actually do what’s right, and that is work for the American people. And so getting the government open is number one. So we need to vote on the CR and open the government back up. We’ve also given alternatives, like end government shutdown, and I think you’ll see this week if the Democrats don’t come to the table, us saying, look, Shutdown Fairness Act making sure that the people who are working are actually getting paychecks, because Margaret, these have real consequences for American people. And when we’re talking about the ACA, look, Leader Thune said it best. We have always said we will have a conversation about this. We believe that you can walk and chew gum at the same time. Democrats, for some reason, don’t think that that’s possible. They need to come to the table, open the government back up, and then we’re happy to have a conversation about the broken system that they created and help them get out of their own mess.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But you do personally think the federal government should be off offsetting some of these costs? Because we looked at the numbers, I think it’s like 130,000 Alabamans are at risk of losing insurance if the tax credit goes away.
SEN. BRITT: Margaret, let’s- let’s be honest about this. Let’s go back to Obamacare, 2010. This is the affordable air- Affordable Care Act that even the Washington Post has says was never really affordable. You go to 2014 and what you see there, though, was increases made by the Democrats, and then these increases that we’re talking about right now, insurance companies have said only account for about 4% of what they’re talking about increasing in 2026. The underlying issue is the brokenness of Obamacare. That is the problem. And so when you think about this, you’ve got the 2021 premiums that they’ve given to everyone. Do you understand Democrats are actually asking for us to continue premiums that are going to millionaires in some cases. We’ve got to be more and more responsible with taxpayer dollars. And if you want these health care systems to even be able to work, then we have to have a larger conversation. But this is absolutely, totally ridiculous to sit here and say we’re afraid people cannot afford their health care, but at the same time we’re going to deny them their paycheck. Those two things do not match up, and Democrats need to actually be honest about it and get the- get the government back open and we’re happy to have conversations as we have always said, just as leader- Leader Thune reiterated this week.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You were in the Oval Office discussing another health care matter with President Trump this past week. He credited you with announcing- well basically explaining to him that February 2024 decision by an Alabama court that ruled frozen embryos are children. He called it a ‘bad decision,’ and we all probably remember what it did for those families trying to go through fertilization treatment at that time. With the changes that were announced, who’s going to be able to afford this now?
SEN. BRITT: Look, millions more people are going to be able to afford this because of President Trump’s leadership. From the very first time I talked to him about this, Margaret, he has been steadfast and unwavering, understanding that there are people from coast to coast that have been praying to be able to start their family or expand their family, and because of infertility, here in the United States, we’ve seen one in eight families that are actually struggling with infertility issues. We’ve got about 9% of men, 11% of women who are facing these challenges. President Trump believes in being, obviously, the President that is helping hard working Americans, helping parents, helping families. He’s turned the Republican Party into that which is so exciting, and we want to make sure that they’re going to be able to do that at a greater- at a greater scale. And so that’s exactly what this will do. Millions more will have access. And additionally, we’re going to drive the cost down. And so I talked this weekend, actually with a friend of mine, who came up to me and said, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate this, because the affordability issue was the impediment. And she actually had to go off- over shores- overseas to try to be able to bring life into this world. It’s exciting for people like her. And I’ve had grandparents and parents and moms and dads tell me what a game changer this is for them as they start and grow their family.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, one cycle of IVF can cost between $15,000 to $20,000 and lower income women obviously have a challenge with that. But during the campaign, President Trump said he was going to make the government pay for it or make insurance companies pay for it. So do you think that the Affordable Care Act, that Obamacare, for example, should cover it? Or is it too controversial for conservatives who have a moral issue with IVF?
SEN. BRITT: Well, Margaret first. I mean, the Affordable Care Act is broken, and that is what we’re seeing right now. I mean, you’ve seen the increases that people will see in 2026. 80% of those are just Obamacare, Affordable Care Act related. And so we clearly see that the underlying structure of this program is not sustainable and is not working for the American people. No one is paying less now that Obamacare is in place. And so we’ve got to be super honest about that. We also have to make sure that we’re being responsible moving forward. What President Trump has done is made this accessible to millions more people. He’s going to continue leading on this issue and so many others–
[CROSSTALK]
MARGARET BRENNAN: — It’s still not free. It’s still not free, right?
SEN. BRITT: – that actually support hard-working families.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you want to legislate, though to force it to be?
SEN. BRITT: What we’re doing to– what want to do is I want as many people as possible to have opportunity to bring life into this world. And that’s exactly what this is doing. We’ll continue to work on this issue. And we also want to support families as they have children and are able to, you know- in this environment right now, we hear from people all the time, whether it is bringing life into this world, whether it is the child care cost, just the affordability aspect. And I am so proud to see President Trump lead on these. Actually, if you look at the Working Families Tax Cut, Margaret, this is the very first time we have actually increased the child care tax credits and also the DCAP tax credits in 20 years in some instances, and 40 in others. So we’re trying to make sure that people can not only bring life into this world, but that it’s more affordable when they get here. Because we want people to start and grow their families. That’s what this is doing. This is just- the just the start. And look forward to continuing to work for the American people.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Really quickly. You’ve been trying to label Russia a state sponsor of terrorism for stealing Ukrainian children. Does the President’s decision to meet with Vladimir Putin endanger your efforts to get this bill passed?
SEN. BRITT: Look, I am grateful for President Trump’s efforts on this. If you look back, we are in this war because of President Biden. If President Biden had sent the weaponry needed to Ukraine on the front end, when we saw Russia building up. We wouldn’t be in this war to start with, when you’re looking at what President Trump has done, he has met with Zelensky more times in his nine months in office, then President Biden did his entire time. So, these conversations help us to have resolution–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –But do you have support to help bring it to the floor?
SEN. BRITT: Well, the First Lady obviously has been leading on this. We have built up support. We’re having a hearing next week. I think you will see this come to the floor if there is not a resolution in the short order, because we believe in bringing these children home, Margaret. It’s about 20,000 children that have been stolen from their homes. This is something everyone should be able to get behind. And Vladimir Putin should pay the price for.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Katie Britt of the state of Alabama. Thank you for your time this morning, ‘Face the Nation’ will be back back in a minute. Stay with us.
