Senator Andy Kim on MediKids, Education & Raising Healthy Kids

00:00:00.017 --> 00:00:01.457
We are absolutely thrilled to

00:00:01.457 --> 00:00:04.840
have Teachers Insurance Plan as presenting sponsor for the Balancing Act.

00:00:05.264 --> 00:00:09.697
Trust us on this one. We're both customers. They were founded exclusively for

00:00:09.697 --> 00:00:13.107
educators so they truly understand our community's unique needs.

00:00:13.467 --> 00:00:17.077
If you're a school employee in New Jersey or Pennsylvania, do yourself a favor

00:00:17.077 --> 00:00:20.437
and give them a call or click the link in our show notes to see how much you

00:00:20.437 --> 00:00:23.480
can save with their exclusive educator rates.

00:00:27.561 --> 00:00:31.247
From the classroom to the kitchen table, this is The Balancing Act.

00:00:31.392 --> 00:00:34.544
Let's turn it over to your hosts, Jamie Wonko and Joe Vitale.

00:00:36.269 --> 00:00:41.255
Well, hey, guess what? We are officially recording. Hello, and welcome to The

00:00:41.255 --> 00:00:45.063
Balancing Act podcast. I am Jamie Wonko here with Mr. Joe Vitale.

00:00:45.609 --> 00:00:49.965
Hello, friend. How are you? You have some new glasses, don't you? I do.

00:00:51.125 --> 00:00:56.499
You know, I got the old guy readers. You got to upgrade your specs.

00:00:56.841 --> 00:01:00.535
Yeah. So I don't have to do the I, you know, I don't have to do one of these

00:01:00.535 --> 00:01:02.640
anymore. I know that's your that's your thing.

00:01:03.525 --> 00:01:07.505
It is. It is. But I had to upgrade. The Chuck Schumer, if you will. Yes.

00:01:08.585 --> 00:01:14.465
Speaking of Chuck Schumer, we have a very interesting show for everybody today,

00:01:15.425 --> 00:01:17.600
as you probably heard us talk about to start this season.

00:01:18.545 --> 00:01:22.081
You know, many of the updates that we have and the fun things that we've done.

00:01:23.091 --> 00:01:28.496
We have an opportunity today to talk to Senator Andy Kim, the great senator,

00:01:28.989 --> 00:01:30.789
from the state of New Jersey.

00:01:31.079 --> 00:01:34.355
And we're going to be jumping into our conversations. It's going to be set up

00:01:34.355 --> 00:01:36.751
a little bit differently due to his time schedule.

00:01:38.015 --> 00:01:42.745
We are definitely going to be popping back in at the end of our episode and

00:01:42.745 --> 00:01:44.925
talk to you about our thoughts and how the conversation went.

00:01:44.925 --> 00:01:47.814
So that's what you'll hear from us at the end. It's pretty exciting.

00:01:48.533 --> 00:01:55.365
It is very exciting. And for those of you who are following us from other states, it is obviously

00:01:55.705 --> 00:02:02.235
not just New Jersey-centric information, but something that is going to be brilliant

00:02:02.235 --> 00:02:06.745
for kids everywhere and will affect parents,

00:02:07.445 --> 00:02:08.905
just as much as their children.

00:02:08.905 --> 00:02:11.881
So we can't wait to talk to Andy Kim.

00:02:12.131 --> 00:02:16.865
He will be the youngest person in the room, just in case anybody was wondering.

00:02:18.345 --> 00:02:23.172
So you know me i like to do a little deep dive and i had to look like how old are you sir,

00:02:23.881 --> 00:02:26.964
Oh, gosh, you know, that's happening more and more, you know,

00:02:26.964 --> 00:02:28.583
not just with the spectacles. Right.

00:02:28.850 --> 00:02:33.204
But everywhere we go, we're the oldest people there. Yes.

00:02:34.844 --> 00:02:39.669
It's yeah. Unk. I'll be the unk in the room, which I am at most points anyway.

00:02:39.878 --> 00:02:42.714
So, yeah, we're going to we're going to jump right into it. We'll head into

00:02:42.714 --> 00:02:46.024
our conversation with Senator Kim and we'll be back at the end to talk to you

00:02:46.024 --> 00:02:47.680
about our thoughts. Sounds good.

00:02:48.284 --> 00:02:52.347
Okay, so on the Balancing Act podcast, you can never have too much New Jersey.

00:02:53.124 --> 00:02:56.834
So it is great to have Senator Andy Kim here with us. Senator,

00:02:56.834 --> 00:03:00.694
thank you very much for taking the time to join our show. Surreal moment for

00:03:00.694 --> 00:03:03.981
a civics teacher. It really is very cool to have you. Thanks a lot for doing this.

00:03:04.468 --> 00:03:10.694
Thanks for having me on. Yeah. So, yes, I definitely want to jump into it with

00:03:10.694 --> 00:03:12.364
you right away. For those of us.

00:03:14.453 --> 00:03:18.714
Who may not be familiar with you, can you tell our listeners a little bit more

00:03:18.714 --> 00:03:22.574
about yourself and your work in the Senate and some of the things that you have

00:03:22.574 --> 00:03:24.815
been championing as a freshman senator?

00:03:25.256 --> 00:03:29.464
Yeah, happy to. So first of all, I'm Andy Kim, one of the two U.S.

00:03:29.464 --> 00:03:33.784
Senators from New Jersey. I'm a South Jersey kid, grew up in Burlington and

00:03:33.784 --> 00:03:39.541
Camden County, a public school kid, did my whole K-12 in the public school systems of New Jersey,

00:03:40.444 --> 00:03:45.067
went off and became a diplomat for the U.S., and then joined up in Congress,

00:03:45.514 --> 00:03:47.720
in the House of Representatives and now the Senate.

00:03:48.167 --> 00:03:53.524
And, you know, a big focus has always been on, I mean, certainly foreign policy, as I have

00:03:53.924 --> 00:03:57.890
a diplomatic background, but as a father of a nine-year-old and a 10-year-old,

00:03:58.128 --> 00:04:03.524
I've and focus a lot on health care, you know, a lot on just the anxieties that parents face,

00:04:04.264 --> 00:04:07.944
when they're thinking about raising their kids in this really crazy,

00:04:07.944 --> 00:04:09.918
chaotic world that we live in right now.

00:04:10.383 --> 00:04:15.824
And so that's a lot of what I've been trying to focus on in terms of just trying

00:04:15.824 --> 00:04:20.534
to think about how do we give our kids the kind of stability and safety and

00:04:20.534 --> 00:04:23.403
security that they deserve in these crazy times.

00:04:25.074 --> 00:04:30.821
Absolutely. When you were a student in your public school, did you have aspirations

00:04:30.821 --> 00:04:34.267
of becoming a member involved in government?

00:04:35.741 --> 00:04:41.152
I definitely did not think that I was going to go into elected office.

00:04:41.477 --> 00:04:45.771
I was really into science at the time and like I was really into like science

00:04:45.771 --> 00:04:50.171
exploration, you know, that kind of stuff. So I definitely thought maybe I'd

00:04:50.171 --> 00:04:52.019
do some research or something like that.

00:04:52.373 --> 00:04:57.708
But it wasn't until I was a sophomore in college that September 11th happened.

00:04:58.271 --> 00:05:03.221
And that's when I decided to dedicate my life to public service.

00:05:03.221 --> 00:05:07.571
I decided that on that day, actually by 6 p.m. on September 11th,

00:05:07.571 --> 00:05:13.341
I said I want to go into national security and counterterrorism type war, which I ended up doing.

00:05:13.761 --> 00:05:18.091
I was in Afghanistan on the 20th anniversary of September 11th.

00:05:18.091 --> 00:05:21.456
I did counterterrorism work at the Pentagon, the White House.

00:05:21.769 --> 00:05:24.961
So I thought that's what I was going to do. But I was a career guy.

00:05:25.541 --> 00:05:29.381
I was not a political person.

00:05:29.721 --> 00:05:36.890
I very much felt just a need to serve, but not from that political perspective.

00:05:38.174 --> 00:05:45.350
Wow. Can you tell us your flashbulb moment of where you were around when 9-11

00:05:45.350 --> 00:05:48.720
happened? I know you said you were a sophomore in college, but everybody has

00:05:48.720 --> 00:05:52.100
that moment burned into their memory. Yeah, we definitely do.

00:05:53.100 --> 00:05:58.230
I went to a very unusual, a little weird college called Deep Springs College.

00:05:58.230 --> 00:06:01.760
I don't know if you've ever heard of it, but it's the smallest school in the

00:06:01.760 --> 00:06:05.951
world. It accepts 13 students a year, 26 students total.

00:06:06.421 --> 00:06:10.130
And you live and work on a cattle ranch out in the California-Nevada border

00:06:10.130 --> 00:06:12.820
in the Sierra Nevadas. What? And so, yeah.

00:06:14.200 --> 00:06:18.500
This could be a whole other podcast. Yeah. But it's a funky place.

00:06:18.500 --> 00:06:22.670
I mean, it's considered to be one of the best academic programs in the world.

00:06:22.670 --> 00:06:27.122
But it also requires about 8 to 10 hours of manual labor on the cattle ranch every day.

00:06:28.120 --> 00:06:32.460
So on that day, I was setting the stage. I'm living in this farm in the middle

00:06:32.460 --> 00:06:35.363
of the desert on the other side of the country.

00:06:35.555 --> 00:06:40.983
And I was the gardener at the time.

00:06:41.760 --> 00:06:44.800
So I'm waking up doing the morning harvest and came back.

00:06:45.540 --> 00:06:50.320
And that's when someone told me that there's some news that a plane had crashed

00:06:50.320 --> 00:06:52.982
into a skyscraper in New York.

00:06:54.180 --> 00:06:57.440
It was kind of relayed to me as like maybe it was like a misdirected Cessna

00:06:57.440 --> 00:07:00.238
or something like that. We didn't really understand what was happening.

00:07:01.740 --> 00:07:04.750
But yeah, it was really traumatic once we started to understand.

00:07:04.750 --> 00:07:08.020
I was very isolated out there. We didn't have internet access.

00:07:09.600 --> 00:07:12.980
I could only get relayed information via phone phone.

00:07:13.641 --> 00:07:17.069
And my sister was living in New York City at the time, and I tried to call her,

00:07:17.069 --> 00:07:20.789
but all the systems were down. If people remember, we couldn't make any phone calls.

00:07:21.670 --> 00:07:24.973
So it was very scary being on the other side of the country.

00:07:25.617 --> 00:07:28.869
I actually thought about dropping out of school to maybe see if I could help

00:07:28.869 --> 00:07:31.629
with the recovery at Ground Zero.

00:07:31.989 --> 00:07:37.849
It was very traumatic for everyone in the country, but especially with the Jersey

00:07:37.849 --> 00:07:41.022
connections, that was really tough.

00:07:41.162 --> 00:07:47.286
So yeah, on 9-11, I don't think I ever even heard of the country Afghanistan before that day.

00:07:47.849 --> 00:07:51.279
But by 6 p.m. that day, I was just like, I'm going to do everything.

00:07:51.279 --> 00:07:54.925
I'm going to dedicate the rest of my life to trying to prevent this from ever happening again.

00:07:55.372 --> 00:07:58.449
And as I said, I did a decade of counterterrorism work.

00:07:59.769 --> 00:08:07.309
I was in Afghanistan and Iraq, did this work just very aggressively.

00:08:07.929 --> 00:08:11.869
And it very much shaped me. I would not be the person I am today if it wasn't

00:08:11.869 --> 00:08:14.209
for what happened on that day.

00:08:14.209 --> 00:08:17.119
And I think a lot of people my age, I mean, a lot of people in general,

00:08:17.119 --> 00:08:19.753
there was that generation of us that came into public service,

00:08:20.073 --> 00:08:25.962
whether in uniform or not, you know, civilian like myself, but a lot of us felt that call to serve.

00:08:27.871 --> 00:08:33.651
I mean, that's an amazing story. But also, I mean, I would love to explore talking

00:08:33.651 --> 00:08:37.084
about your college experience, because that sounds like one one hell of a journey.

00:08:38.239 --> 00:08:41.763
But I'm going to be doing some Googling when we're done for sure to check that out. Yeah.

00:08:43.196 --> 00:08:48.409
So our main segment that we normally start out with is, hey, what's new with you?

00:08:49.321 --> 00:08:51.901
That's what we normally do with with ourselves and with our guests.

00:08:51.901 --> 00:08:54.311
And we know that there's something major that you've been working on.

00:08:54.311 --> 00:08:56.995
So, hey, Senator Andy Kim, what's new with you?

00:08:58.185 --> 00:09:02.121
Yeah, well, thanks again for letting me be on and sharing about this.

00:09:02.121 --> 00:09:07.081
So what's new with me is I just introduced a bill, and I've introduced lots

00:09:07.081 --> 00:09:09.921
of bills in my time in Congress, but this one's special to me.

00:09:09.921 --> 00:09:12.976
This is the biggest piece of legislation I've ever introduced.

00:09:13.481 --> 00:09:17.405
It's an idea that I've been thinking about for years that I call MediKids.

00:09:17.771 --> 00:09:22.091
So the idea is, in the same way that we have guaranteed universal health care

00:09:22.091 --> 00:09:28.111
for every senior in this country over 65, that we have guaranteed health care

00:09:28.111 --> 00:09:29.815
for every child in this country.

00:09:30.245 --> 00:09:34.651
This very much came out from the fact that I'm a father of a 9-year-old and

00:09:34.651 --> 00:09:36.299
a 10-year-old, as I mentioned.

00:09:36.833 --> 00:09:40.851
And my younger son in particular was born with some health issues,

00:09:40.851 --> 00:09:44.345
real health issues, growth challenges, and other things that really worried me.

00:09:45.036 --> 00:09:51.331
And a lot of parents I've gotten to talk to, there's no anxiety that parents

00:09:51.331 --> 00:09:53.749
have more than just the health of their kids.

00:09:54.475 --> 00:09:59.081
And right now we have 4.4 million kids in this country without health insurance.

00:09:59.081 --> 00:10:05.295
We have 23 million that are underinsured, which means that their coverage does not cover their needs.

00:10:06.141 --> 00:10:11.315
That's outrageous. I'll be honest with you. It's outrageous that we have, you know,

00:10:12.076 --> 00:10:15.593
parents that have kids that need to go to the NICU and the parents don't know

00:10:15.593 --> 00:10:19.013
how to pay for it, that we have so many other challenges.

00:10:19.013 --> 00:10:23.807
So my proposal, MediKids would automatically enroll every child into MediKids,

00:10:24.155 --> 00:10:27.116
which is a child form of Medicaid.

00:10:27.435 --> 00:10:31.353
If parents want to opt out, that's their decision. They can opt out.

00:10:31.696 --> 00:10:35.553
But at least that automatic enrollment will guarantee that we can drop that

00:10:35.553 --> 00:10:39.873
number from 4.4 million on insured kids down to zero, which is where I think

00:10:39.873 --> 00:10:42.406
we should be as the richest, most powerful country in the world.

00:10:43.939 --> 00:10:47.602
Absolutely. How is your son now? Oh, thanks for asking.

00:10:47.602 --> 00:10:50.622
No, he's good now.

00:10:50.622 --> 00:10:55.732
I mean, in fact, he's like off doing like soccer camp as we're finishing up the summer.

00:10:55.732 --> 00:10:58.952
And, you know, he was an all star on his kids soccer team. I mean,

00:10:58.952 --> 00:11:06.828
like he's good. But that's in part because, you know, we were able to get that care to him early on.

00:11:07.842 --> 00:11:12.402
He was able to have, as many kids have, like screenings and interventions to

00:11:12.402 --> 00:11:14.920
make sure that, you know, we understand what we're dealing with.

00:11:16.551 --> 00:11:20.402
You know, and so those are the needs. But we have a lot of kids that don't get that.

00:11:20.402 --> 00:11:24.632
You know, a lot of kids that aren't being cared for in that way.

00:11:24.632 --> 00:11:27.422
And it's, look, this isn't, you know, and this is something I wanted to make

00:11:27.422 --> 00:11:33.094
clear. This isn't just about the 4.4 million kids that don't have insurance.

00:11:33.222 --> 00:11:37.941
Just in general, I think we need to lift the bar of health for our kids writ large.

00:11:38.127 --> 00:11:41.902
Even people who are on employer-based health care that are saying,

00:11:41.902 --> 00:11:44.842
well, you know, we get health care. Why do we need to be on this program?

00:11:44.842 --> 00:11:48.263
I say because this is going to be specifically designed for kids.

00:11:48.483 --> 00:11:51.931
Like Medicaid, as it is now, is specifically designed for children.

00:11:52.193 --> 00:11:57.622
They have an early and periodic screening, diagnostic, and treatment capability

00:11:57.622 --> 00:12:00.836
that no other insurance plan has.

00:12:01.161 --> 00:12:04.312
So, for instance, a lot of employer base, yeah, they might be able to get some

00:12:04.312 --> 00:12:09.452
medical care as needed, but they don't have the requirements of screenings for

00:12:09.452 --> 00:12:12.806
different illnesses, different issues and challenges.

00:12:13.143 --> 00:12:17.612
They also don't necessarily guarantee vision coverage or hearing coverage or

00:12:17.612 --> 00:12:22.322
dental coverage, which is necessary. So you have even more kids that don't have

00:12:22.322 --> 00:12:26.447
dental coverage, and that can cause real health issues as they grow older.

00:12:26.638 --> 00:12:32.646
I just talked with a mom who was sharing with me how she has employer-based health care care.

00:12:33.290 --> 00:12:38.332
Uh, but she doesn't have coverage for, um, hearing issues for her kid and her

00:12:38.332 --> 00:12:44.402
kid needs a, a, a hearing aid and it costs them over $6,000 out of pocket for

00:12:44.402 --> 00:12:45.898
a hearing aid for their kid.

00:12:47.232 --> 00:12:50.132
Uh, and God forbid the kid loses it, you know, as, as kids do,

00:12:50.132 --> 00:12:53.662
right? Like, so like, they're just like, you know, they're real concerns and,

00:12:53.662 --> 00:12:57.624
and expenses. And at a time when so many people are worried about affordability, uh,

00:12:58.502 --> 00:13:01.208
Here's something we can take off the table. You know, just say,

00:13:01.208 --> 00:13:02.861
you know, every kid gets care.

00:13:03.908 --> 00:13:07.428
And frankly, look, healthier kids means healthier adults, which means we're

00:13:07.428 --> 00:13:11.468
going to have a healthier workforce, which means we're going to spend less overall

00:13:11.468 --> 00:13:16.188
on health care needs as we have a healthier population growing up.

00:13:16.548 --> 00:13:22.348
So many of the chronic illnesses that adults have often have roots and stem from,

00:13:23.258 --> 00:13:27.878
not getting the care that they need when they're a kid or getting identified

00:13:27.878 --> 00:13:32.668
that they have a certain type of problem, asthma or an allergy or something

00:13:32.668 --> 00:13:35.291
else that manifests even worse as they grow older.

00:13:36.023 --> 00:13:41.932
Absolutely. Are there any requirements for the child? Just being a kid.

00:13:42.768 --> 00:13:44.690
Just just being a kid in this country.

00:13:45.648 --> 00:13:51.898
Like I said, you know, I, for one, very much believe that, you know,

00:13:51.898 --> 00:13:54.988
every kid deserves a standard of care.

00:13:55.539 --> 00:14:00.920
Doesn't matter what, you know, like a kid should not be held responsible for,

00:14:01.710 --> 00:14:05.758
decisions that a parent made or the circumstances in which they live.

00:14:05.758 --> 00:14:10.238
Like, you know, like there's been this whole back and forth on Medicaid about,

00:14:10.238 --> 00:14:14.618
you know, whether or not people need to be looking for jobs if they're able

00:14:14.618 --> 00:14:17.568
to. First of all, a lot of people on Medicaid do work jobs, but they're still

00:14:17.568 --> 00:14:19.809
not able to get enough. So that's a different story.

00:14:20.261 --> 00:14:23.968
But when it comes to kids, like they're kids, like they're not working.

00:14:23.968 --> 00:14:27.738
It's not about like whether they're working or not and whether or not they can

00:14:27.738 --> 00:14:29.996
get employer based care like their kids.

00:14:30.588 --> 00:14:36.277
And like and if their parent for some reason isn't working or there's some other issue like,

00:14:37.124 --> 00:14:41.027
Like, I don't want to take that out on the kids. Like, like,

00:14:41.027 --> 00:14:44.276
you know, you know, I don't want them to be held responsible.

00:14:45.167 --> 00:14:49.088
I just think that that's unfair. And it's and it's and it's cruel.

00:14:50.727 --> 00:14:54.767
I have to share with you, Senator, I have a personal experience.

00:14:54.767 --> 00:14:58.719
I have three kids, and one was born with a heart defect.

00:14:59.627 --> 00:15:04.959
She had a very large VSD, which is essentially like they call it a hole in your heart.

00:15:05.278 --> 00:15:13.547
And we watched and waited for nine years with the cardiology team,

00:15:13.547 --> 00:15:18.030
and we were finally referred to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

00:15:18.280 --> 00:15:23.927
And there was a doctor there who was able to go in through her groin and deploy

00:15:23.927 --> 00:15:26.163
a titanium cork into the hole.

00:15:26.454 --> 00:15:30.830
And she just had her five-year surge-aversary, we call it.

00:15:31.121 --> 00:15:37.367
And so when I think of all the kids, yes, my husband and I are teachers.

00:15:37.367 --> 00:15:43.706
We were both able to follow through to get that care. But as a mom...

00:15:44.791 --> 00:15:49.406
Everyone, everybody wants that level of care for their children.

00:15:49.801 --> 00:15:50.977
And so I think what you're doing,

00:15:51.457 --> 00:15:55.769
is really fantastic. Yeah, like that just needs to be that peace of mind.

00:15:56.210 --> 00:16:01.278
Like, you know, like we've had this issue, like I told you, 4.4 million kids without insurance.

00:16:01.562 --> 00:16:05.177
That's actually getting worse right now because there's been a study saying

00:16:05.177 --> 00:16:09.647
that just in the last year and a half with these cuts to medicaid that uh about

00:16:09.647 --> 00:16:15.818
two up to upwards of two million kids or fewer kids are now on chip and medicaid,

00:16:16.311 --> 00:16:19.617
and like you know i've heard from these families like you know these parents

00:16:19.617 --> 00:16:21.577
are like look their their child has uh.

00:16:23.397 --> 00:16:30.817
Has a a physical disability um like that's not gonna change you know why do

00:16:30.817 --> 00:16:34.637
they have to like go through all these hoops every six months to prove that

00:16:34.637 --> 00:16:35.867
they still have a problem.

00:16:35.867 --> 00:16:40.141
And they're just worried that there's going to be these kind of needs and concerns.

00:16:40.634 --> 00:16:47.097
And I talked with a woman who lost her job and she was worried that that's going

00:16:47.097 --> 00:16:52.006
to affect her ability to provide care to her child in New Jersey that has autism.

00:16:52.598 --> 00:16:59.280
And again, your child's care should not be dependent on whether or not you lost a job or not.

00:17:00.104 --> 00:17:04.907
We live in a tumultuous economic period. Like, there are already struggles enough

00:17:04.907 --> 00:17:07.308
that parents face when it comes to paying the bills.

00:17:07.610 --> 00:17:11.337
But, like, you should never have to worry that your child who's autistic or

00:17:11.337 --> 00:17:15.307
a child that has a developmental disability or something like that is all of

00:17:15.307 --> 00:17:17.757
a sudden not going to get the care, right?

00:17:17.757 --> 00:17:21.377
Like, that is just, that would be so cruel. But sadly, it's happening right

00:17:21.377 --> 00:17:23.873
now. And I hear this from parents.

00:17:24.198 --> 00:17:28.767
So that was really the impetus is, like, you know, there are not too many,

00:17:28.767 --> 00:17:31.207
you know, parents of young kids in the U.S.

00:17:31.207 --> 00:17:37.177
Senate. I wanted to be able to use this platform to talk about this and say,

00:17:37.517 --> 00:17:40.837
like, in this divided time that we're in right now as a country,

00:17:41.157 --> 00:17:45.172
if ever there was anything that we could unite around, it would be around our kids.

00:17:47.175 --> 00:17:51.803
Absolutely. And that's, of course, near and dear to us as long.

00:17:54.483 --> 00:17:58.113
We do like to say how long we've been public school educators for,

00:17:58.113 --> 00:18:01.123
but it is close to 30 years at this point.

00:18:04.793 --> 00:18:08.443
In our show opening, we did mention that you are the youngest person in this

00:18:08.443 --> 00:18:14.483
room right now. So, um, which again, it is, it is a flex there, Senator.

00:18:14.823 --> 00:18:19.293
Uh, we are, um, I'm onk in the room. That's, or that's literally what my son

00:18:19.293 --> 00:18:20.423
calls me on a daily basis.

00:18:20.423 --> 00:18:25.073
So, um, yeah, I mean, but this is something that definitely is going to impact

00:18:25.073 --> 00:18:29.933
us as teachers. I mean, look, before learning and textbooks and Chromebooks

00:18:29.933 --> 00:18:34.792
and all the things that are in a classroom, these kids need to come to the classroom healthy.

00:18:35.407 --> 00:18:39.313
You know, it's not just about, you know, what we're teaching them in the classroom.

00:18:39.313 --> 00:18:43.993
If they're not fed, if they're not healthy, if they're not in a space where

00:18:43.993 --> 00:18:49.623
they can receive, you know, our level of instruction, then that's going to directly

00:18:49.623 --> 00:18:50.743
affect us in the classroom.

00:18:50.743 --> 00:18:54.505
Right. Yeah, I was talking to some teachers and like, you know,

00:18:54.755 --> 00:18:58.476
just like how many teachers in New Jersey and around this country have,

00:18:58.929 --> 00:19:04.493
seen a kid in their classroom have vision problems, not be able to be able to

00:19:04.493 --> 00:19:05.975
see the monitor, see the board?

00:19:06.352 --> 00:19:11.588
How many have seen, you know, kids with toothaches and other dental problems?

00:19:11.925 --> 00:19:16.753
How many teachers are coming to me right now saying that their top concern health-wise

00:19:16.753 --> 00:19:19.583
is about like mental health access and whatnot?

00:19:19.583 --> 00:19:23.123
Like, and we're at a time when, you know, like we don't even have,

00:19:23.448 --> 00:19:27.523
you know, school nurses in every single school and school district right now.

00:19:27.784 --> 00:19:30.495
Like we're seeing a real reduction in that. And...

00:19:31.279 --> 00:19:36.195
And so, like, again, like, MediKids would provide that universal vision,

00:19:36.195 --> 00:19:41.850
dental, hearing, mental health support, all the things that, like, we are right now.

00:19:42.685 --> 00:19:50.685
Seeing so challenged right now as we know so many kids are facing more and more anxieties.

00:19:52.405 --> 00:19:57.505
And, you know, we get so concerned about just some of the worst manifestations

00:19:57.505 --> 00:20:00.885
of this mental health crisis, whether school shootings or other things like

00:20:00.885 --> 00:20:05.615
that, we should be investing then into ensuring that every kid can have that excellence.

00:20:05.615 --> 00:20:08.662
Now, granted, we also need to make sure we're building up the workforce,

00:20:08.998 --> 00:20:13.685
you know, make sure we're getting more pediatricians, more, you know,

00:20:13.685 --> 00:20:17.495
more mental health practitioners, more pediatric dentists and others.

00:20:17.495 --> 00:20:22.025
So like, You know, we need to build on that as well, along with the access to the health care.

00:20:22.025 --> 00:20:26.791
But that's exactly what I'm trying to do is just say, let's prioritize our kids.

00:20:27.905 --> 00:20:32.795
At a time when we see, you know, large spendings on all sorts of other things,

00:20:32.795 --> 00:20:34.315
war in the Middle East and other things.

00:20:34.315 --> 00:20:41.297
I think, frankly, we can all hopefully at least agree on health care for our kids. Absolutely.

00:20:41.907 --> 00:20:47.671
We were both invited. I happen to be on family vacation. Joe was invited to a teacher talk event.

00:20:48.002 --> 00:20:51.363
And I'm not sure, you know, if you were...

00:20:52.101 --> 00:20:56.128
Joe, if you had any memories or high point. Yeah.

00:20:56.873 --> 00:21:02.068
You know, I, I, I realized why everyone wears sneakers, uh, in that building.

00:21:02.068 --> 00:21:05.958
Um, I w and I have said this before, you've probably heard me talk about it

00:21:05.958 --> 00:21:09.348
on the show, uh, so far, cause I know we've recapped the event and we,

00:21:09.348 --> 00:21:11.258
you know, we've made some social media posts.

00:21:11.258 --> 00:21:15.828
Um, I am just amazed at the pace of how quickly everything goes.

00:21:15.828 --> 00:21:19.488
Um, I wound up meeting one of your, um, one of your staffers there and having

00:21:19.488 --> 00:21:20.934
a conversation in the hallway.

00:21:21.363 --> 00:21:25.118
And as a fan of the West Wing, I felt like I was in an Aaron Sorkin show.

00:21:25.118 --> 00:21:28.399
I was like, oh, okay, there's so much going on and so much walking past me.

00:21:29.368 --> 00:21:37.088
But it was really cool to see the level of energy that surrounds that entire building.

00:21:37.088 --> 00:21:41.358
We were there on a day when there were Senate hearings going on and it was all

00:21:41.358 --> 00:21:44.815
sorts of stuff going on in the Senate chamber and we were.

00:21:48.308 --> 00:21:52.468
Very fast-paced event. I was exhausted when I got on the train to head home.

00:21:53.128 --> 00:21:59.898
I was beat, which I think rightfully so. It's got to be a taxing job for you

00:21:59.898 --> 00:22:05.838
and your staff on the daily as you go through things and legislate and meet

00:22:05.838 --> 00:22:06.988
with people and stuff like that.

00:22:07.348 --> 00:22:10.065
There's a lot of moving parts, I'm very sure. It's impressive.

00:22:11.493 --> 00:22:17.189
Yeah, I remember I would like keep track of, you know, my steps and like,

00:22:17.189 --> 00:22:19.829
you know, there were days where I was logging like, you know,

00:22:19.829 --> 00:22:22.699
eight to 10 miles of walking around, if not more.

00:22:22.699 --> 00:22:27.859
I mean, it was it was a lot. I, I have one staffer that walks with me everywhere.

00:22:28.219 --> 00:22:32.359
And certainly her, her background as being a cross country runner was something

00:22:32.359 --> 00:22:38.759
that excited me to be able to keep up with just all the, all the intensity of the job.

00:22:39.979 --> 00:22:44.739
But I love it. You know, I love the opportunity. I bet I'm a son of immigrants,

00:22:44.739 --> 00:22:49.794
a public school kid that gets to serve my home state, 9.5 million people.

00:22:50.939 --> 00:22:56.029
But one thing I will say is, you know, I told you before I was doing counterterrorism work before.

00:22:56.313 --> 00:22:59.423
Back then, I was like a subject matter expert on a particular issue.

00:22:59.981 --> 00:23:03.202
Now, I work what's arguably the most generalist job in America.

00:23:03.760 --> 00:23:10.389
And anything domestic or foreign policy I potentially need to be responsive to,

00:23:10.952 --> 00:23:15.573
And so therein lies the importance of what you did, which was go and advocate,

00:23:15.915 --> 00:23:22.132
because so often I often also say that I also work in the most reactionary building in America.

00:23:22.739 --> 00:23:26.202
Where we are constantly just reacting to what's in the headline and the news.

00:23:26.678 --> 00:23:32.479
And sadly, things about education, civics or health care or other things like

00:23:32.479 --> 00:23:36.146
that, they don't always make the front page news. Right.

00:23:36.540 --> 00:23:43.579
And so health care for our kids, it's not often, you know, popping up as a headline.

00:23:43.579 --> 00:23:46.136
It's not the most sort of visible issue.

00:23:46.351 --> 00:23:50.322
So that's why we have to take these efforts to really shine a light on it.

00:23:50.664 --> 00:23:54.072
And for me, that was why I introduced MediKids.

00:23:54.379 --> 00:23:58.729
And I get it right now. We have lots of debates about the war in Iran,

00:23:58.729 --> 00:24:01.344
about tariffs, about, you know, this or that.

00:24:01.901 --> 00:24:06.169
But I really felt a need for us to be able to have a conversation,

00:24:06.169 --> 00:24:10.499
not just reacting to what's happening in the news, not just me talking about

00:24:10.499 --> 00:24:13.534
what I'm opposed to that's happening in the country right now,

00:24:13.842 --> 00:24:19.329
but for me to lay out a positive vision for America, a positive vision for where

00:24:19.329 --> 00:24:20.756
we should be going towards.

00:24:21.104 --> 00:24:25.779
And my hope is that at a time when people are just exhausted just exhausted

00:24:25.779 --> 00:24:31.280
with politics and they're exhausted with reading the news I wanted to give them something.

00:24:31.929 --> 00:24:36.283
To latch on to, you know, positive vision for where we can get towards.

00:24:36.521 --> 00:24:40.881
So I hope, you know, I hope you just take that as like for you to come down,

00:24:41.525 --> 00:24:47.284
and advocate, like it is so necessary because otherwise we would just be only

00:24:47.284 --> 00:24:51.649
thinking about just whatever is just bubbling up on social media.

00:24:52.067 --> 00:24:56.584
And you can't run a government, you can't run a country of this magnitude and

00:24:56.584 --> 00:25:03.409
size by constantly just driving in reverse, you have to be for something and pushing for something.

00:25:03.670 --> 00:25:09.754
And what people don't also know are the so many people that are on the staff of each of the.

00:25:12.348 --> 00:25:18.144
Just the work that they're doing is just in it's insane to say it's just it

00:25:18.144 --> 00:25:23.454
is just constant conversation about, you know, what's happening in today's landscape,

00:25:23.454 --> 00:25:25.464
as well as keeping the moving parts moving.

00:25:25.464 --> 00:25:28.704
I remember there there's like a bell that goes off and then like a vote happens

00:25:28.704 --> 00:25:32.304
and we were talking to someone and it was on Senator Booker's staff.

00:25:32.304 --> 00:25:33.612
And she's like, oh, wait, hold on one second.

00:25:33.838 --> 00:25:36.914
I just have to remind Senator Booker what the vote is and blah,

00:25:36.914 --> 00:25:38.344
blah. And I'm like, what? OK,

00:25:38.344 --> 00:25:41.559
it's just so crazy to think about all the moving parts that are going on.

00:25:43.318 --> 00:25:46.824
You know, to have a real appreciation as to the whole civic process.

00:25:46.824 --> 00:25:51.184
I'm excited, honestly, to talk about it with my students in the classroom and

00:25:51.184 --> 00:25:53.894
kind of go through and show them some of the videos that I took and give them

00:25:54.294 --> 00:25:57.444
some insight as to like what it was actually like on that day.

00:25:57.444 --> 00:26:01.274
And hopefully that's the first. Yeah, hopefully they'll have a chance.

00:26:01.814 --> 00:26:04.296
I would love to do that.

00:26:05.394 --> 00:26:09.774
So I know your time is valuable, Senator. I have one other question for you

00:26:09.774 --> 00:26:15.284
because as two public school teachers, as two public school kids with children

00:26:15.284 --> 00:26:17.317
who've gone through New Jersey public schools,

00:26:18.354 --> 00:26:25.304
I know recently you met with some members of the NJEA down in Trenton and talked about our profession.

00:26:26.714 --> 00:26:29.674
And our show is about reaching as many parents and teachers and real people

00:26:29.674 --> 00:26:32.938
as possible. And we'd like to know what...

00:26:35.875 --> 00:26:39.928
You know, what we what legislation is being worked on for New Jersey,

00:26:39.928 --> 00:26:47.578
for public schools in general and what we can better do to support those efforts moving forward.

00:26:48.135 --> 00:26:51.438
Yeah, well, like right now, right now, this is.

00:26:53.161 --> 00:26:59.828
This is probably the most contentious and consequential moment in terms of shaping

00:26:59.828 --> 00:27:02.793
what comes next for public school in this country.

00:27:04.498 --> 00:27:11.017
You know, I had, you know, a meeting with the now Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon.

00:27:11.894 --> 00:27:16.608
And when I talked to her before her confirmation hearing, I asked her just point

00:27:16.608 --> 00:27:20.067
blank. Like, you know, at that time, USAID was being dismantled.

00:27:20.520 --> 00:27:23.608
And I told her, like, are you going to try to do that to the Department of Education?

00:27:23.608 --> 00:27:26.772
She said, no, no, we're not trying to abolish the Department education.

00:27:27.347 --> 00:27:30.284
But then sure enough, that's what's happening right now.

00:27:32.918 --> 00:27:37.768
And this has real consequences. I mean, one of the prime examples is the sheer

00:27:37.768 --> 00:27:42.198
number of parents and educators that I talked to that are worried about how,

00:27:42.718 --> 00:27:46.948
IDEA funding, which is about children with disabilities, is going to be able

00:27:46.948 --> 00:27:49.491
to proceed as they're looking to move that from,

00:27:50.458 --> 00:27:54.344
Department of Education to the Department of health and human services.

00:27:55.244 --> 00:27:59.698
And I just had a hearing with Secretary Kennedy, and I was talking to him about

00:27:59.698 --> 00:28:03.592
how the health and human services is gutting all of this funding to programs

00:28:03.702 --> 00:28:05.130
for people with disabilities.

00:28:05.786 --> 00:28:11.658
How can I trust him to manage this program about children with disabilities and.

00:28:14.563 --> 00:28:20.309
These are real issues, real consequences that are being shaped right now.

00:28:20.768 --> 00:28:26.114
I've been trying to push legislation that would enshrine and protect IDEA,

00:28:26.439 --> 00:28:30.353
prevent it from being transferred, for us to be able to codify the funding that

00:28:30.353 --> 00:28:32.958
is happening at the federal level,

00:28:34.503 --> 00:28:36.443
in so many ways that I worry about.

00:28:36.443 --> 00:28:39.756
So I urge people, you know, please pay attention.

00:28:40.563 --> 00:28:45.607
We cannot protect New Jersey schools solely at the state level.

00:28:46.223 --> 00:28:50.643
You know, we see how much the cuts to funding from the federal level cannot

00:28:50.643 --> 00:28:53.930
be offset by our state or our local communities.

00:28:54.261 --> 00:28:58.773
We pride ourselves in having the best public schools. It's why my parents certainly

00:28:58.773 --> 00:29:03.823
moved to New Jersey and why I was so happy to move back when I had kids.

00:29:05.863 --> 00:29:07.183
But that's not something we can take

00:29:07.183 --> 00:29:11.523
for granted we cannot be an island to ourselves and these fights in D.C.

00:29:12.083 --> 00:29:19.033
Matter so I just urge people to pay attention to what's happening and at a time

00:29:19.033 --> 00:29:22.743
when again we're seeing this warring around and all this other stuff,

00:29:23.983 --> 00:29:27.833
I'd rather see that funding be put towards our kids education,

00:29:27.833 --> 00:29:33.783
healthcare all the things that they need as they're growing up and look,

00:29:34.757 --> 00:29:39.323
people ask me why am I focusing on this issue at a time when there's such division

00:29:39.323 --> 00:29:46.099
and I actually say it's actually because we are so divided that I am focusing in on our kids because,

00:29:46.818 --> 00:29:50.823
I've seen how hard it is to break through the political,

00:29:52.583 --> 00:29:54.083
rigidity of this moment,

00:29:55.160 --> 00:30:00.093
the tribalism that we see I told you I'm somebody that didn't come from a political

00:30:00.093 --> 00:30:02.074
background, I worked on Yeah.

00:30:18.177 --> 00:30:21.585
The things that can unite us are the things that are most human,

00:30:22.219 --> 00:30:26.759
the things that kind of get to the emotions of what we experience.

00:30:26.759 --> 00:30:29.131
And again, I think that there's nothing more,

00:30:30.543 --> 00:30:35.169
that can pierce through the partisanship than about health care and being there

00:30:35.169 --> 00:30:40.643
for our loved ones and their time of need, you know, and especially when it comes to our kids.

00:30:41.131 --> 00:30:45.449
So, you know, that's why I just do what I do. I'm sure that's why you do what you do, right?

00:30:45.769 --> 00:30:51.319
Absolutely. And you would hope that, you know, our shared commitment to our

00:30:51.319 --> 00:30:59.189
kids can break through just the nonsense and the craziness of our political time. Yeah.

00:31:00.082 --> 00:31:03.350
Senator, can you tell us who your favorite teacher was?

00:31:05.449 --> 00:31:09.904
Oh wow um well i told you i was really interested in science um,

00:31:10.789 --> 00:31:14.299
i actually like went to college hoping maybe i'd be like an astronaut and and

00:31:14.299 --> 00:31:19.639
do science research so i would say uh my love for science started when i did

00:31:19.639 --> 00:31:22.727
a biology class with mr rubino uh,

00:31:23.669 --> 00:31:29.013
and you know whether it was the dissections i remember this one time we were doing um uh.

00:31:30.192 --> 00:31:34.929
Like we were able to like literally like extract DNA from like a test tube and

00:31:34.929 --> 00:31:37.569
then, and then run it through the centrifuge.

00:31:37.569 --> 00:31:41.229
And, and like, I just didn't even know, like you could like see DNA,

00:31:41.589 --> 00:31:46.059
like you could actually collect it, you know, and it like that you could do

00:31:46.059 --> 00:31:49.409
it in like a high school, like classroom.

00:31:49.409 --> 00:31:53.269
Like that was just such, that was so cool. So like, those are things that are

00:31:53.269 --> 00:31:56.360
still so vivid in my mind right now.

00:31:57.429 --> 00:32:02.129
So I would just say, you know, big thank you to Mr. Rubino, to all my teachers

00:32:02.129 --> 00:32:07.343
that gave me an opportunity. And I was able to do a town hall back in my high school.

00:32:07.587 --> 00:32:12.959
So as a senator, I returned to my high school in Cherry Hill East and did a

00:32:12.959 --> 00:32:18.079
town hall there. And that was just such a trip to be able to go back and to

00:32:18.079 --> 00:32:19.992
be able to come back as the United States senator.

00:32:20.706 --> 00:32:26.040
That's amazing. Well, Senator, as we finish up our talk, we have some very important

00:32:26.040 --> 00:32:31.974
questions that may directly affect your re-election after your freshman term.

00:32:32.990 --> 00:32:36.415
First of all, it's a very hot topic in New Jersey.

00:32:36.722 --> 00:32:40.950
So is it pork roll or Taylor ham? This is you got to put yourself on.

00:32:41.430 --> 00:32:43.070
Oh, look at the time. I think we're done.

00:32:46.607 --> 00:32:53.830
Abstain. that that is a fit that is fantastic by the way i love that no it's um i i look,

00:32:54.730 --> 00:32:59.510
i i i'm a i'm a i'm a pork roll guy from south got it so that's all right,

00:33:00.410 --> 00:33:04.750
so and since it's cherry hill i'm gonna assume it's eagles and not giants right

00:33:04.750 --> 00:33:06.280
am i you're really you're really

00:33:06.280 --> 00:33:11.370
trying to tank my political career yeah yeah you know i i yeah i i'm.

00:33:13.570 --> 00:33:19.110
A i'm an eagles fan i'm excited that uh that LeBron's coming to the Six Series.

00:33:19.150 --> 00:33:21.470
Oh, yeah, it's very exciting. There's all sorts of things that are happening.

00:33:21.990 --> 00:33:25.470
Very exciting. I'm a long-suffering New York Jets fan, so feel bad for me.

00:33:26.550 --> 00:33:29.720
I do. Yeah, thank you. I appreciate that. Are you also a Mets fan,

00:33:29.720 --> 00:33:35.218
too, then? You know, just rub it in, okay?

00:33:36.270 --> 00:33:38.930
You started this. I mean, I know I did. It's my own fault.

00:33:40.090 --> 00:33:45.220
And we, you know, Jamie and I are very proud, you know, because everybody has

00:33:45.220 --> 00:33:48.240
their New Jersey beach, right? Everybody has the one that they go to and you

00:33:48.240 --> 00:33:52.777
never deviate. So we're LBI people because that's where we grew up and going with our parents.

00:33:53.276 --> 00:33:57.690
What about yourself? Do you have a beach that you like to frequent with your

00:33:57.690 --> 00:34:01.650
family or in the days of your youth? I was also LBI.

00:34:02.590 --> 00:34:05.530
Shipbottom in particular. Oh, nice.

00:34:05.870 --> 00:34:10.290
Okay. Yeah, I love that area right off the bridge. Lately, we've been going

00:34:10.290 --> 00:34:13.250
to Brigantine. Oh, yeah.

00:34:13.808 --> 00:34:19.375
The shore is more shallow going out for a while sometimes the waves at LBI kind of,

00:34:20.129 --> 00:34:25.013
kind of give me a little anxiety with the kids so i was just yeah like so brigantine

00:34:25.013 --> 00:34:28.873
was it was has been nice um and my best friend uh,

00:34:29.393 --> 00:34:32.823
goes down there a lot so we just hang out so that that's been good but i've

00:34:32.823 --> 00:34:37.573
been able to explore all up and down um it's been really cool to see you know just uh,

00:34:38.533 --> 00:34:44.809
you know across the entirety of the shore uh lately we've been going up to like um um.

00:34:46.255 --> 00:34:51.553
You know belmar bradley beach you know asbury areas i've been having to do it's

00:34:51.553 --> 00:34:56.073
awesome up there that's cool to see yeah yeah it's cool to see what they got

00:34:56.393 --> 00:34:58.747
you know so it's it's it's awesome across jersey,

00:34:59.409 --> 00:35:04.733
yeah well thank you so much yeah for for sure i i know you have a very busy

00:35:04.733 --> 00:35:09.403
schedule um and you know i um i really appreciate you taking the time we appreciate

00:35:09.403 --> 00:35:11.963
you senator kim We appreciate you, Senator.

00:35:11.963 --> 00:35:16.313
Thank you. I appreciate you and all the other educators, the education support

00:35:16.313 --> 00:35:19.692
professionals, all the teachers out there for what you're doing.

00:35:19.959 --> 00:35:24.550
And obviously to all the parents that are out there that feel our anxiety.

00:35:25.633 --> 00:35:27.493
We're working on this together. Yeah.

00:35:28.033 --> 00:35:32.143
Well, thank you very much and appreciate your time, Senator Kim. Thank you.

00:35:32.451 --> 00:35:36.093
Thank you. Thank you. Have you ever thought, I work in education.

00:35:36.093 --> 00:35:38.106
Why is finding a job so weirdly hard?

00:35:38.368 --> 00:35:41.883
Yeah, scrolling through random job boards where half the listings don't even

00:35:41.883 --> 00:35:43.691
make sense is not the vibe.

00:35:43.900 --> 00:35:47.098
That's why njschooljobs.com actually makes sense.

00:35:47.458 --> 00:35:50.793
It's a job board built specifically for New Jersey schools, public,

00:35:50.793 --> 00:35:54.423
private, charter, and parochial. Teachers, administrators, counselors,

00:35:54.423 --> 00:35:58.003
support staff, coaching opportunities. If your job involves a bell schedule,

00:35:58.003 --> 00:36:00.681
this site's for you. It's free for job seekers.

00:36:00.937 --> 00:36:04.563
You can upload your resume, set job alerts, and apply without jumping through

00:36:04.563 --> 00:36:08.613
hoops. Schools across New Jersey actively use njschooljobs.com,

00:36:08.613 --> 00:36:10.417
so these are real, current openings.

00:36:10.574 --> 00:36:14.753
They also host virtual job fairs, where you can connect with multiple districts

00:36:14.753 --> 00:36:16.866
online. No driving all over the state.

00:36:17.244 --> 00:36:21.284
Those are coming up soon, so check the link in our episode description to register.

00:36:21.626 --> 00:36:24.384
Head to njschooljobs.com.

00:36:26.560 --> 00:36:31.552
All right. Hey, and we're back. We are back. We are back, baby.

00:36:32.350 --> 00:36:36.132
We are high on the democratic process.

00:36:36.521 --> 00:36:41.293
For those of you who don't know, every state in the country has two senators.

00:36:41.577 --> 00:36:43.597
They're in the upper house of government.

00:36:44.079 --> 00:36:48.970
And for everybody who doesn't remember, there is the lower house. That's Congress.

00:36:49.270 --> 00:36:54.139
And that is based on population. Is that starting to ring a ding ding a bell, right?

00:36:54.429 --> 00:36:58.946
So a lot of times, you know, the kids are like, oh, or people go, oh.

00:36:59.160 --> 00:37:05.703
So we had a great talk with Senator Andy Kim of New Jersey.

00:37:06.150 --> 00:37:13.278
And he has a really, I mean, you know, children are our best resource.

00:37:14.201 --> 00:37:23.460
And to not provide health care, right? I think he said 4.4 million children

00:37:23.460 --> 00:37:26.553
in the United States do not have health care. It's.

00:37:27.453 --> 00:37:31.100
Yeah. And even if they do have it, if their parents are employed and they have

00:37:31.100 --> 00:37:35.110
employee insurance, it's not enough all of the time.

00:37:35.110 --> 00:37:39.858
Or your hearing aids aren't covered or your glasses are not covered or your,

00:37:40.740 --> 00:37:42.860
like he said, so many therapies.

00:37:42.860 --> 00:37:46.850
I mean, a lot of times kids, physical therapy, occupational therapy,

00:37:46.850 --> 00:37:49.160
so many different things are not covered.

00:37:49.160 --> 00:37:58.120
And so his MediKids, M-E-T-A, because to me, it's like I hear Meta,

00:37:58.120 --> 00:38:02.660
like M-E-T-A, but I wanted to clarify it's M-E-D-I, like Medicare.

00:38:02.660 --> 00:38:06.390
It's the New Jersey, New York accidentist that's blending those words together.

00:38:08.650 --> 00:38:14.600
For sure. Exactly. Yeah. So you got to talk to him about going to Washington,

00:38:14.600 --> 00:38:16.870
D.C. and your experience, which was amazing.

00:38:17.230 --> 00:38:21.114
Yeah. You know, I met a lot of people while I was down there, right? And...

00:38:23.289 --> 00:38:28.639
I didn't get to meet Senator Kim when I was down there, but just having this conversation.

00:38:28.639 --> 00:38:30.889
I met a lot of people down there, and you meet a lot of people,

00:38:30.889 --> 00:38:33.569
and you know that there's like, I'm not saying there's an agenda,

00:38:33.569 --> 00:38:36.978
but just like you can hear how people talk that it's almost repetitive,

00:38:37.419 --> 00:38:39.306
and they've given those answers before.

00:38:40.037 --> 00:38:47.989
I want to mention two things. Number one, I think he is an incredibly genuine person from the jump.

00:38:47.989 --> 00:38:51.709
And I think that his background and the things that he's been involved with,

00:38:51.709 --> 00:38:54.959
with being in counterterrorism and stuff like that, speaks to the fact that

00:38:54.959 --> 00:38:57.795
he's a career guy and wants to make our nation a better place.

00:38:58.172 --> 00:39:01.259
And number two, and I wrote it down and I underlined it and I said,

00:39:01.259 --> 00:39:03.704
mention this in my post show notes.

00:39:04.012 --> 00:39:06.624
He said, I want to serve country, not party.

00:39:07.112 --> 00:39:10.439
And I think we should be supporting, especially in today's day and age.

00:39:10.439 --> 00:39:13.669
I talked to my students about this. We need to find legislators that are going

00:39:13.669 --> 00:39:17.379
to serve the interests of the people that they are serving and not a political

00:39:17.379 --> 00:39:19.052
party. And I think that he's doing that.

00:39:19.441 --> 00:39:24.999
Yes i i really do and it's a political statement that's my that's that's my

00:39:24.999 --> 00:39:30.699
take on it um and i feel that you know we need to find more legislators on either

00:39:30.699 --> 00:39:33.807
sides of the article on either sides of the art of the aisle,

00:39:34.440 --> 00:39:38.409
either party that are going to serve country and not party because that's what's

00:39:38.409 --> 00:39:41.655
going to move us forward in a direction that is not so divisive so um,

00:39:43.049 --> 00:39:44.251
he's a very genuine In person.

00:39:44.383 --> 00:39:47.484
Yeah. And it was it was an amazing an amazing talk.

00:39:48.959 --> 00:39:50.269
Yeah. I think that.

00:39:52.157 --> 00:39:56.189
You know, hearing hearing the numbers and knowing that this is something that's

00:39:56.189 --> 00:40:00.446
going to make sure that kids are going to come into this should be this is a nonpartisan issue.

00:40:01.754 --> 00:40:05.511
Like we're talking about kids. It's a no, like we're talking about kids.

00:40:05.511 --> 00:40:09.261
We're talking about making sure kids have healthcare and we can sit here.

00:40:09.801 --> 00:40:13.971
Getting their teeth cleaned. You know, sometimes I think when we talk about

00:40:13.971 --> 00:40:18.071
healthcare, there might be this like concept or idea that it's only surgical

00:40:18.071 --> 00:40:21.349
or, you know, something that might be like extreme.

00:40:21.941 --> 00:40:26.231
But there are children who don't go to the dentist.

00:40:26.231 --> 00:40:31.591
And as everybody knows, like your mouth and your body are so interconnected and it is so true.

00:40:31.591 --> 00:40:36.481
It's setting them up for a lifetime of problems if they don't have access to

00:40:36.481 --> 00:40:38.011
a dentist and dental care.

00:40:38.011 --> 00:40:42.461
And I think that sometimes people might think of health care as like something

00:40:42.461 --> 00:40:46.967
surgical or, you know, it only as an intervention to something major.

00:40:47.681 --> 00:40:52.133
What becomes major are the small things that are ignored over time.

00:40:52.348 --> 00:40:55.813
So if a child doesn't have access to a dentist and can't get a dental cleaning

00:40:56.127 --> 00:41:00.190
and something you're supposed to do twice a year, every single year.

00:41:00.486 --> 00:41:05.072
And then we're talking about like the mouth, body, like physical connection

00:41:05.357 --> 00:41:07.081
and how serious that can be.

00:41:07.673 --> 00:41:16.739
And then what happens into adulthood? So I thought his point was just so brilliant.

00:41:17.337 --> 00:41:22.701
But if we are not raising healthy children, we're not going to have healthy

00:41:22.701 --> 00:41:27.548
adults. And what is that going to do to our workforce? What is that going to do to our communities?

00:41:28.123 --> 00:41:29.201
It also puts a strain.

00:41:31.432 --> 00:41:34.441
On our health care system as a whole. When you have things that are preventable

00:41:34.441 --> 00:41:36.656
that could have been prevented and you didn't deal with them,

00:41:37.004 --> 00:41:41.294
and then they become larger problems, they become a drain on our health care system in the future.

00:41:43.030 --> 00:41:48.167
Absolutely. yeah so it's definitely something to keep an eye on I hope that it's something that,

00:41:49.096 --> 00:41:53.554
You know, I've done some homework on it. I have no, by no means, a legislative expert.

00:41:55.447 --> 00:41:58.984
You know, I know how the process works. I did watch I'm Just a Bill by Schoolhouse

00:41:58.984 --> 00:42:02.035
Rock a million years ago. And I live on Capitol Hill.

00:42:02.587 --> 00:42:05.820
Yes. I think because that's what we teach and what we do.

00:42:06.105 --> 00:42:09.884
And, you know, and I certainly don't want to speak down to any of our listeners.

00:42:09.884 --> 00:42:16.158
But I do think because we are civics teachers that the material,

00:42:16.622 --> 00:42:18.503
you know, you get to like chapter six.

00:42:18.985 --> 00:42:24.214
Even as the teacher, there are so many pieces and parts to the government that

00:42:24.214 --> 00:42:29.625
the average person really doesn't understand, you know, some of like that nuanced information.

00:42:30.224 --> 00:42:35.904
But the general idea of, you know, in each state, this is one of the things

00:42:35.904 --> 00:42:38.704
that I say to the kids, like you have two senators.

00:42:39.035 --> 00:42:44.864
And, you know, to have them be like a truly like reflective part of what your

00:42:44.864 --> 00:42:49.244
state looks like, even, you know, when we go back to, you know,

00:42:49.244 --> 00:42:50.944
having a really like well.

00:42:52.584 --> 00:42:55.864
Variety to represent their constituency.

00:42:56.304 --> 00:43:02.191
And so, you know, to know here is this man who has a really interesting background,

00:43:03.027 --> 00:43:09.374
parents, parents who came from Korea and, you know, have a son and a daughter

00:43:09.374 --> 00:43:11.038
and raise them in public school.

00:43:11.340 --> 00:43:14.444
And now he is a dad himself.

00:43:15.964 --> 00:43:21.538
The idea of, you know, what am I doing as a parent and what do I think is best for my kids?

00:43:22.333 --> 00:43:26.873
And now as a senator wanting to do the best for all kids.

00:43:28.496 --> 00:43:32.496
Which is something I think as teachers, we can identify regardless of their

00:43:32.496 --> 00:43:36.376
political party. And that is something as teachers that we certainly lead with,

00:43:36.834 --> 00:43:41.925
every single day with our students is wanting the best for all of them every day.

00:43:42.308 --> 00:43:45.366
We're not picking and choosing who we're teaching or what we're teaching.

00:43:45.366 --> 00:43:48.416
Right. We're not like, oh, you're this you're this particular you're with this

00:43:48.416 --> 00:43:52.554
particular group. So I'm not going to teach you like it doesn't work that way. OK.

00:43:53.738 --> 00:43:57.576
You know, get into all the political debates and what you hear on the social

00:43:57.576 --> 00:44:01.086
media about the schools and indoctrinating children. I'll say it from the rooftops.

00:44:01.086 --> 00:44:03.502
If we were indoctrinating kids, we'd make them wear deodorant.

00:44:04.089 --> 00:44:08.926
But we're you know, we're not. So like I'm I've been in a public school for

00:44:08.926 --> 00:44:12.956
28 years. I can assure you that's not happening. Um, but...

00:44:14.087 --> 00:44:17.134
Yeah, it's a great talk.

00:44:17.574 --> 00:44:21.574
I think it's just the first of many for us of, you know, maybe a larger theme

00:44:21.574 --> 00:44:25.334
for us as we get involved in a new space, right? This is a new space for us

00:44:25.334 --> 00:44:30.521
to be involved in a quote unquote political arena and understand.

00:44:32.524 --> 00:44:37.894
What it's all about and how it works. And and I hope that the little teacher

00:44:37.894 --> 00:44:41.794
talk that I attended and the only thing the only thing that pained me was that

00:44:41.794 --> 00:44:45.594
I was there alone because I was texting you while you were on your family vacation.

00:44:45.594 --> 00:44:52.487
Like, hi, I know you're away, but like this is insane. And I don't I don't understand why I'm here.

00:44:53.214 --> 00:44:56.544
Like I did understand, but I was like, I couldn't comprehend the fact that I

00:44:56.544 --> 00:44:58.653
was in the room with the people that I was in the room with.

00:44:58.944 --> 00:45:02.026
Not only that, but I wanted you to be there alongside me to really,

00:45:02.548 --> 00:45:06.913
you know, soak it all in. But also, you know, I know that the two of us can,

00:45:07.563 --> 00:45:10.174
really put something together that's going to resonate with our listeners.

00:45:11.109 --> 00:45:14.928
Absolutely. Yeah. Well, it was a great day on the hill. Yeah,

00:45:16.008 --> 00:45:17.204
it was a great day on the hill.

00:45:18.789 --> 00:45:22.754
You know, we're flexing all over the place here at the Balancing Act podcast.

00:45:22.754 --> 00:45:26.604
Yes, we are. Um, so yeah, we will, uh, we'll see everybody next time on our

00:45:26.604 --> 00:45:29.187
next episode of the Bouncing Act podcast. Friend.