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Biden Delivers Remarks On Lowering Health Care Costs; Biden: GOP Lawmakers Threatening Medicare & Social Security; Russia Claims Majorities In 4 Ukrainian Regions Favor Annexation After "Sham" Referendums. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired September 27, 2022 - 13:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[13:30:00]

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: All right, guys, thank you both so much for joining us.

We'll go live to the Rose Garden and President Biden.

(APPLAUSE)

(CHEERING)

(APPLAUSE)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, Bob, thank you, thank you very much for that introduction.

Bob didn't tell you one of the most important criteria you had to be here in addition to being a fighter was he had two daughters-in-law and a son who went to the University of Delaware.

(LAUGHTER)

BIDEN: Look, folks, a lot of us -- I look around the room, from Joe Crowley and others, we've been waiting for this day for a long time, a long, long time.

It's going to take a little while for some of this to kick in but it's locked in. It's locked in.

I want to thank everyone here including my secretaries and my cabinet members for their relentless -- who have relentlessly worked to prevent Medicare.

But before I turn to the topic I want to discuss today -- I hope you'll indulge me -- I want to talk a little bit about the crisis the people are facing in Florida right now.

Hurricane Ian made landfall in Cuba this morning as a category 3 storm. Florida is now preparing for the hurricane to make landfall. Forecasts can change, but for now, the experts say this could be a very severe hurricane, life-threatening and devastating in its impact.

I want to be clear about two main messages. First, my administration is on alert and in action to help the people of Florida. I've approved Florida's request for emergency assistance immediately upon receiving it from the governor when I received it.

And I directed my team to surge federal assistance there before the storm hit. FEMA has already deployed 700 personnel to Florida. The governor has activated 5,000 state National Guard with another 2,000 Guard coming from other states.

FEMA is also proposing and pre-positioning 3.5 million liters of water, 3.7 million meals and hundreds of generators.

I just spoke this morning with the areas likely to be hit, the mayors of Tampa, St. Pete and Clearwater. All of them, all of them are in the storm's path. They're focused on the safety of the communities and doing everything they can to get people out of harm's way.

I told each one of them, my conversations separately, whatever they need. I mean this sincerely. Whatever they need, contact me directly. They know how to do that.

I have a lot of personnel down there already. We're here to support them in every way we can.

The second thing I want to mention is the citizens in the impact areas should obey the instructions of local officials, evacuate when ordered and be prepared for the storm when it comes.

Evacuations have already been called for. Apparently, they're going on in a fairly orderly way in each of the three cities. Your safety is more important than anything.

I know our hearts are with everyone who will feel the effects of this storm. We'll be with you every step of the way. We're not going away.

As we prepare for Ian's landfall in Florida, I remain focused on helping Puerto Rico recover from the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona.

Hundreds of FEMA and federal personnel are now there, including search-and-rescue teams, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, power restoration experts in around the country.

FEMA has already distributed $40 million in direct assistance to survivors to help them begin to rebuild their homes.

FEMA is providing $700 in direct assistance to families displaced from the homes to meet critical needs of food, first aid, prescriptions, baby food and fuel now.

I immediately approved the expanded major disaster declaration to provide individuals with public assistance -- on public assistance to help their communities recover as well.

This declaration will get federal resources out quickly and help people start to rebuild their lives. They've been through a rough period since the last hurricane. As part of the declaration, I've also authorized a 100 percent federal

funding for debris clearance and power and water restoration, shelter and food for the entire month.

And to the people of Puerto Rico who are still reeling from Hurricane Maria five years later, we're with you, moving forward with you and we're not going to go home until it all gets done.

[13:34:49]

Now today's events on Medicare. I want to share the progress that we've seen to bring down health care costs and strengthen Medicare, which is, for so many seniors, the only thing they can rely upon. And we've worked really hard to maintain it.

The way I think about it is the way my dad talked about the way so many of you at home talk about issues around the kitchen table.

How much, how much of your monthly bills, how much do you have to pay for the necessities and will there be enough at the end of the month for just a little breathing room, just a little breathing room.

A big cost, a big cost and concern for most folks is prescription drugs and other health care. Reducing that cost and concern is one of my top priorities.

That's why I signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act, one of the most significant laws in our history. It finally delivers on the promises many of us have made in this audience as well that the American people have had to undergo for decades that are going to change.

For example, we pay more for prescription drugs than any other advanced nation in the world. And there's no good reason for it. For years, many of us have been trying to fix this problem, but for years, for years Big Pharma has stood in the way.

Not this year. This year, the American people won and Big Pharma lost.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: For years, there have been no check on how high or fast Big Pharma can raise drug prices. Thanks to the Inflation Act, that ends now.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: Now if Big Pharma tries to raise drug prices faster than inflation, they'll be penalized and they have to rebate the money to Medicare.

And from now, if you're on Medicare and you have diabetes, the cost of insulin is capped at $35 a month per prescription.

(APPLAUSE) BIDEN: Bob just told you what a difference it's going to make in his life and what it could have made in his life had this been around a long time ago. Now we want that to be the case for everybody, for everybody to have peace of mind.

We want it to cut the cost of insulin for everyone, including hundreds of thousands of children with type-one diabetes.

But unfortunately, we had that in the bill, the Republicans were able to get that strike out of the bill.

It costs only $10, by the way, to make a bottle of this insulin, ten bucks. There's no patent on it. Ten bucks. They're charging, as Bob told you, they charged him $30 or more times that cost.

Just imagine being a parent, imagine being the parent of a kid suffering from type-one diabetes, knowing you didn't have the money. Let's say you're paying five, six, $700 a month and don't have it.

How in god's name -- not a joke. How in god's name do you look at that child knowing you can't afford it, you have no insurance, you have no way of getting it. How do you undergo that?

My dad would say it not only deprives that child of a healthy existence, but deprives a parent of their dignity, their dignity.

Just imagine, just imagine if we or able to provide this for everyone, everyone in America at 35 bucks a shot.

Look --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

BIDEN: -- we're going to go back to this and lower the cost of lifesaving insulin for children as well as families, for everybody, whether they're on Medicare or not.

(CHEERING)

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: Look, after years of Big Pharma blocking it, Medicare will finally get the power to negotiate lower prescription drug prices.

Seniors will see their out out-of-pocket costs be limited as this comes into full force to $2,000 a year.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: No senior will have to pay more -- on Medicare will pay more than $2,000 for all their prescriptions, whether it's cancer drugs or anything else.

Thousands of Americans on Medicare pay more than $14,000 a year for blood cancer drugs, more than $10,000 a year for ovarian cancer drugs, more than $9,000 a year for breast cancer drugs. Many people on Medicare skip those cancer drugs that they need because

they can't afford them. It's a simple proposition. They can't afford them.

Now the maximum they're going to have to pay for all the prescription drugs, no matter what the cost is 2,000 a year, period.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: It's going to be a godsend.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: It's going to be a godsend to many families.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: Last year, by the way, a family of four saved $2,400 from the American rescue plan I signed into law. Now the Inflation Reduction Act locks in place those lower health care premiums for millions of families that get their coverage through the Affordable Care Act.

[13:40:00]

This morning, got even more good news about lower costs. The Department of Health and Human Services announced that the premium for Part B will, in fact, decrease this year. That's a fee you pay --

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: That's a fee you pay for Medicare to cover your visits to your doctor.

For years, that fee has gone up. Now, for the first time in more than a decade, it's going to go down. For millions of seniors and people with disabilities on Medicare, that means more money in their pockets while still getting the care they need.

On top of that, if you have Medicare prescription coverage, Part D, you pay for your prescriptions more than -- you pay for prescriptions, more of your shots will also be free.

We're getting rid of the cost of prescriptions and bringing them way down. Guess what? If you need a vaccine like shingles, last year more than two million seniors got that vaccine.

Most of the folks had to pay $100 for that shot, in some cases, $200 for that shot. Well, you have any wondered how many seniors skipped that shot, seniors with disease, because it's too expensive? Well, they won't have to make that choice anymore.

Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, starting in January, senior Medicare prescription drug coverage and the price you pay for these shots will drop to zero, zero.

(APPLAUSE) BIDEN: As I said, just for the shingles vaccine alone, that's $100 or more out of your pocket.

My administration is taking other steps to bring down health care costs as well. I met with my competition counsel made up of my cabinet and those who work in the cabinet.

They're charged with promoting compensation across our economy -- competition I should say, across our economy to help lower the prices and raise wages.

One thing we've done is make affordable hearing aids available. Over- the-counter, starting next month, so people don't have to pay for these expensive devices and specialist visits. It will literally save patients thousands of dollars.

And to bring greater transparency to health care costs, my administration has also outlawed surprise billing.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: You know --

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: If your insurance plan didn't cover a particular doctor and you didn't know he or she was being consulted and you got an extra bill for thousands of dollars, you can't do that anymore. They can't do that anymore.

Millions of hard-working Americans will no longer have to worry about unexpected medical bills.

We're going to be able to pay for all of this by making sure the biggest corporations in America begin to pay their fair share of federal taxes.

(CHEERING)

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: Folks, for decades, the biggest corporations have fought to block a fair tax code.

Under Donald Trump, my Republican friends had no problem enacting a $2 trillion tax cut that overwhelmingly benefited the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations, not a penny of which was paid for and massively increased the federal debt.

In 2020, 55 of the biggest corporations in America made $40 billion in profit. I'm happy for their profit. But they didn't pay a single penny in federal income tax, on $40 billion in taxes.

But this year, even though some of the biggest corporations in America flooded Capitol Hill with lobbyists and money, they lost and we won.

(CHEERING)

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: Now corporations will have to pay minimum corporate tax of 15 percent. Just 15 percent. We're not gauging anybody. Fifteen percent minimum. That's it. That's it.

The days of billion-dollar companies paying zero taxes are over though. There's enough money to pay for an awful lot.

Let me be crystal clear about something else. No one, as I said when I ran, no one earning less than $400,000 a year will pay a single penny more in federal taxes.

If you're making less than 400 grand -- and I hope none of you are, I hope you're making more than that --

(LAUGHTER)

BIDEN: -- you don't have to pay a penny more in taxes if you make less than 400. That's a commitment I made in my campaign and a commitment I'm keeping.

We're doing all this by bringing down the deficit at the same time. You hear about us being big spenders? They raised the debt by $2 trillion. We've reduced the deficit my first year, 2021, by $350 billion. OK?

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: And some student loan forgiveness and all the costs of all of these things, we're still, we're on track to reduce on track to reduce the deficit this year, fiscal year, by more than $1 trillion.

(APPLAUSE)

[13:45:07]

BIDEN: And the Inflation Reduction Act will reduce it another $300 billion over the next decade.

That's possible because Medicare is finally going to be able to negotiate lower prescription drug prices so less money paid out.

Now, I wish I could see Republicans supported this progress in reducing health care costs and strengthening Medicare. That would be good for all of America.

But they have a very different idea. Every single Republican voted against the Inflation Reduction Act. When it came time to do something about inflation around the kitchen table, every one of them said no, in the House and the Senate.

Sadly, it goes even further. And 158 House Republicans have already signed a Republican budget that will cut Medicare and Social Security. I know you think I'm probably exaggerating that. But there's a

pamphlet, 12-point plan to rescue America by Senator Scott of Florida. OK?

I won't read through all of it, but it says, "All federal legislation sunsets in five years. If it is worth keeping, Congress can pass it again."

Translated, if you don't vote to keep it, you don't get it.

What do you think they're going to do when the House Budget Committee starts talking about the cost of Medicare and Social Security and why we can't afford it?

Folks, the Senator in charge of re-electing the United States Senate, Senatore Scott, has proposed a plan, Social Security, Medicare, every five years is it's on the chopping block.

It means every five years you either cut it, reduce it or completely eliminate it, Social Security and Medicare. You've been paying into Social Security since your first job as a teenager and you get your paycheck.

By the way, then Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, he thinks waiting five years is too long to wait. Not a joke. These are actually in writing.

He wants to put Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block every single year in every budget. If Congress doesn't vote to keep it, goodbye.

Now, it's not just Social Security and Medicare he wants to deal with. He wants to put veterans benefits and everything else in the federal budget at risk.

He's the same person that said, if the Republicans gain control of Congress, they should once again try to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Which, by the way, is the only reason why millions of people, millions of people with pre-existing conditions are able to get health care, is the Affordable Care Act. Literally, not figuratively. Literally.

Last week, the Republican leader of the House unveiled what he called the "Commitment to America." God bless America. It's a thin set of policy goals with little or no detail that Republicans say they'll pursue if they regain control of Congress.

In the course of nearly an hour, here are a few of the things we didn't hear. We didn't hear the words Medicare or Social Security.

He said for the first time they'll get what -- the first thing they're going to do is repeal the Inflation Reduction Act. Guess what? All those things I mentioned we're going to do, they'd get rid of all of them, all of them with the repeal.

I have a different idea. I'll protect those programs. I'll make them stronger. I'll lower your costs to be able to keep them.

Let me close with this: Over the last few years we've faced some of the most difficult challenges in our history. We're actually making progress, helping folks get a little more breathing room.

Lowering health care costs and strengthening Medicare is a big part of progress that we've been making on inflation, not just with gasoline prices and other products.

It's one of the reasons I'm so optimistic about America's future. For real. We have to remember who in god's name we are. We've kind of forgotten it. We're the United States of America.

I've never been more optimistic in my life about our prospects. There's simply nothing, nothing beyond our capacity to get done if we do it together.

So God bless you all and pray that we figure out how to come together better than we have so far. Because a lot of people's lives and futures depend upon it. I'm confident, absolutely confident we can get it done.

God bless you all and may God protect our troops.

Thank you.

(CHEERING)

(APPLAUSE)

(MUSIC)

CABRERA: President Biden in the White House Rose Garden addressing the American public, talking about lowering health care costs, specifically prescription drug costs, decreasing Medicare premiums and other costs for Medicare recipients.

[13:50:03]

Talking about Social Security and going after Republicans on this as well.

Let's bring in CNN chief White House correspondent, Kaitlan Collins, who is standing by there.

Kaitlan, talk to us about the timing. Why make this speech today? Who's the target audience?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the speech was supposed to be given in Florida.

And obviously, you heard the president drawing this contrast since we are several weeks out from the midterm elections of what Democrats will do when it comes to Medicare and Social Security and what he believes Republicans would do instead.

You heard him there at the end very critical of three Republicans in particular, Senator Rick Scott, Senator Ron John and Kevin McCarthy.

Kevin McCarthy is the top Republican in the House who, last week, laid out what the GOP agenda is going to look like should Republicans take back the House in the midterm elections this fall.

And he was basically saying you didn't hear enough about Medicare, Social Security and strengthening the programs being how important they are to so many seniors citizens, if Republicans do take back the House.

And President Biden trying to draw this contrast between Democrats and Republicans on that front when he was speaking here.

I should not, this is a speech he was scheduled to give in Florida today but that speech was canceled and the trip postponed because of Hurricane Ian.

And right at the front, President Biden came out here at the beginning, Ana, he talked about how he had spoken with three mayors whose cities are in the path of this storm. That's Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater.

He told them, obviously, that FEMA is going to be committed to making sure that Florida be prepared for this and deal with the aftermath of it. And he also said he told the three mayors to contact him directly about the needs.

Of course, one notable conversation that is missing there is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. As the White House confirmed early, that he has not personally spoke with him but they are in contact with Governor DeSantis at other levels -- Ana?

CABRERA: And he did sign a pre-landfall declaration of emergency for the state.

Thank you so much, Kaitlan Collins, for that reporting.

I do want to turn to Ukraine and what's happening there. First on CNN, we have now confirmed the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations plans to introduce a resolution condemning what is widely considered sham referendums in four Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine.

Russia media claimed partial results of the voting are in and that a huge majority of the people favor joining Russia.

But as Russia tries to gain power and territory, it is losing citizens. Border crossings are jammed with people fleeing Vladimir Putin's call up to fight.

CNN international security editor, Nick Paton Walsh, is in Kramatorsk, Ukraine.

Nick, how quickly could Russia move to annex these regions?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: It could, indeed, Ana, be very fast. The timeline is hard depending on who you really listen to, to define.

What we're talking about at this stage of early results, just what we knew was going to happen, ridiculously high numbers of people, fake results obviously, endorsing the idea of occupied parts of Ukraine officially becoming parts of Russia.

We'll probably get those final results as some point tomorrow, would be my guess.

We already have officials appointed by Russia in these occupied areas, particularly the head of the Luhansk area occupied partially by Russia saying they are on the way to Moscow to talk about the process.

And we already have officials in the chambers of Russia's brother parliament talking about getting this through as an act of what Russia would refer to as law. That will put it on Putin's desk to be sign.

At that point, Russia will say, these parts of Ukraine that we've taken since February, belong to us and are a part of Russia itself.

So that may happen, according to some estimates from Wester officials, as fast as Friday. I think, back and forth, we'll see the timetable shift.

But certainly, the U.S. has been very clear, sanctions will follow once that formalization has happened.

And Russia is also being clear that it will possibly regard these areas as deserving of their full protection, which could mean they reach further into their arsenal -- Ana?

CABRERA: Nick, you say we could be approaching the most dangerous moment of this conflict yet. Why?

PATON WALSH: Well, because essentially, as I was explaining there, Russia will claim parts of Ukraine as being Russia, which, of course, Kyiv completely rejects. So does Washington.

That would be normally something you would expect Russia to prosecute and defend with conventional military force. But they've lost so much of their regular army and armor here in the last six, seven months.

They are radically failing in this partial mobilization, really feeling nothing more than dissent inside Russia than actually getting together a proper fighting force to reverse Ukraine's momentum on the battlefield here.

So what does Russia really have left to potentially bring to the fight here?

And people now are beginning to look at the nuclear rhetoric we've heard since the start of the war from Vladimir Putin that intensified and got more specific and more widespread in the last week from Russian officials.

And wonder whether or not, as they say, as Russian officials say, that is not a bluff. That's go American officials messaging about possible responses.

[13:55:04]

A deeply concerning few days ahead here -- Ana?

CABRERA: Desperate measures, that's the big concern.

Nick Paton Walsh, thank you for your reporting and your ongoing commitment to this story.

That does it for us today. Please tune in tomorrow at this time for what could be the final January 6th hearing. We'll have special coverage. Don't forget you can always find me on Twitter, @Ana Cabrera.

The news continues right after this.

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