Rep. French Hill Talks High Gas Prices, Cost of War

**SPEAKER_1** (0:02)
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**SPEAKER_2** (0:07)
Well, let's talk about the view from the House. The Republican Congressman, French Hill, voting to pass the budget, saying that bill, this bill ensures our military has what it needs to deter our adversaries and defend American interests around the globe. Congressman Hill, join us now for more. Congressman, welcome back to the program. It's been too long, my friend. Let's get into some of these issues. You understand well the asymmetric nature of this conflict we have at the moment.
The American workforce, the American military is spending an absolute fortune, an absolute fortune right now, to fight and defend American interests, and global interests for that matter, in that strait. The Iranians are able to use very cheap one-way attack drones. Do we really want to get drawn in to an enduring billion-dollar skeet shooting over in Iran for as long as the eye can see?

**French Hill** (0:52)
Well, first, thanks for having me back. It's always good to be with Team Bloomberg early in the morning.
The spending bill for budget reconciliation was important to make sure we keep our stocks high. And I think it's important for the American people to understand that after decades of trying to pay the Iranians, offer the Iranians diplomatic capability, the long-standing Obama negotiation, the risks to Iran having a nuclear weapon were rising, and Iran's provocative nature, threatening its Gulf neighbors, using terror with the Houthis to close the Red Sea, to attack Gaza, to continue to disrupt in Syria and Lebanon. I think the president just took the decision we have got to prevent them from having a nuclear weapon, which she initiated this spring. So I agree that Iran shouldn't have a nuclear weapon, and we also need global open seas in the Persian Gulf. I would hope that we would have more support from around the world for those international waters, and I think that's something that I've been a little disappointed in in our strategy is not the maintenance of those sea lanes.

**SPEAKER_4** (2:00)
Well, we do have the Senate Majority Leader, though, when it comes to the funding, saying earlier this week that he's not going to move on the House budget blueprint until the Senate solves the September 30th funding fight. So when do you actually think we're going to be able to get that money that you think is critical to our troops and military actually out the door?

**French Hill** (2:20)
Well, I would hope we could get that done before September 30th is the answer to your question. I think Senator Thune recognizes that the House has now passed also, you didn't mention it, but a continuing resolution fully funding the government until December 4th.
That's also a tool that John Thune has that he can bring to the Senate floor because he's fearful that Democrats in the Senate, once again, to try to get an election advantage if somebody considers it one, will try to shut the government down. Chuck Schumer has done that twice during this Congress for the longest shutdown in American history. And what I think John Thune has now in his arsenal of suggestions is, one, we have a CR to fund government with no additions through December 4th so that we don't have a government shutdown. And secondly, he could use the Budget Reconciliation Act in the Senate potentially to fund government for the rest of the fiscal year. So he's got some choices, and I'm sure he'll work with his new Budget Committee Chair, Senator Johnson, replacing Lindsey Graham on what those options are.

**SPEAKER_4** (3:24)
Was this a hard vote to take? The majority of Americans opposed this war, and now gasoline prices are north of $4 a gallon across the United States.

**French Hill** (3:33)
Well, I don't think anyone wants high gas prices. There's no question about that. And it's unfortunate that the Iranians don't recognize that they have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to return their country to an open society that lives in peace with its neighbor, not the largest exporter of terror, or threatening Europe and Asia with ballistic missiles and a nuclear weapon. And so I think that balance is pretty clear to me. It's been 50 years. Five, my entire working career, we've faced assault from Iran, killing Americans, killing our allies, threatening our interests, trying to assassinate our officials on our own soil here in the United States. And so I think that balance is just something we have to cope with. But no one wants high gas prices. What we want is the Iranians to come to the negotiating table and stick with a deal.
And that's what we need to continue to have our allies, including the Pakistanis and others, help forcefully make that case.