Rep. Ro Khanna Pitches 'New Economic Deal,' Along with Healthcare & Political Reforms

Progressive Voices

The guest host for today's 'Leslie Marshall Show' episode is Brad Bannon. Brad runs Bannon Communications Research, a polling, message development and media firm which helps labor unions, progressive issue groups and Democratic candidates win public affairs and political campaigns. His show, 'Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon,' airs every Monday from 3-4pm ET. Brad is joined by Rep. Ro Khanna, who represents California's 17th Congressional District, located in the heart of Silicon Valley, and is serving his fourth term. As a leading progressive in the House, Rep, Khanna is working to restore American manufacturing and technology leadership, improve the lives of working people, and advance U.S. leadership on climate, human rights, and diplomacy around the world. Brad and Rep. Khanna discuss his 'new economic deal,' and how Democrats need to talk about economic revitalization in de-industrialized towns, and how they're going to give Americans a raise. Rep. Khanna highlights the sad irony that Republicans who were just elected to power, are not going to do anything to address the main economic issues that Americans are clamoring for help with. Instead, they are talking about dismantling the social safety net, killing the CFPB, and cutting healthcare programs to fund tax cuts for the rich. However, Rep. Khanna highlights how when Americans mobilized during the last Trump administration to prevent cuts to popular domestic programs, they were successful. He believes that there is a viable path to stop these cuts again, as long as Americans make their voices heard in massive numbers in opposing these cuts. Rep. Khanna also argues that 'Medicare for all' needs to be the Democrats' North Star for healthcare, and that then the party can talk about the incremental measures that they can use to get there. A recent study by Yale epidemiologists found that Medicare for All would save around 68,000 lives a year while reducing U.S. health care spending by around 13%, or $450 billion a year. Rep. Khanna also details a bill that he co-sponsored with Senator Bernie Sanders that would eliminate medical debt. He uses the staggering fact that 42% of Cancer patients go bankrupt within two years of being diagnosed to highlight why this is so necessary. Lastly, Rep. Khanna discusses his brand new political reform and anti-corruption bill designed to clean up corruption in politics. The plan calls for: - 12-year term limits for Members of Congress; - A ban on Members of Congress from holding and trading individual stocks during the Member’s tenure; - A ban on Members of Congress and candidates for the House and Senate from accepting contributions from political action committees and lobbyists, and a lifetime ban on lobbying for Members of Congress; - A binding code of ethics for Supreme Court Justices; and 18-year term limits and regular appointments for future Supreme Court Justices, requiring a new Justice to be added and another to rotate off every two years. Rep. Khanna serves on the House Armed Services Committee as ranking member of the Subcommittee on Cyber, Innovative Technologies and Information Systems (CITI), as co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, a member of the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, and on the Oversight and Accountability Committee, where he previously chaired the Environmental Subcommittee. His website is www.Khanna.House.gov. Brad writes a political column every Sunday for 'The Hill.' He's on the National Journal's panel of political insiders and is a national political analyst for WGN TV and Radio in Chicago and KNX Radio in Los Angeles. You can read Brad's columns at www.MuckRack.com/Brad-Bannon. His handle on X is @BradBannon.