Watch the full interview here.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last week, U.S. Senators John Fetterman (D-PA) and Katie Britt (R-AL) joined Kristen Welker on NBC’s Common Ground Live, a live show bringing together leaders with different perspectives who work across the aisle, and engage in discourse on bipartisan policy issues. The senators discussed mental health, their joint social media safety bill, families, and political futures.
See highlights below and watch the full interview here.
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Welker: Senator Fetterman, what did it mean to you that Senator Britt came to visit you [in the hospital]?
Sen. Fetterman: It meant the world, and my advice is: it makes it virtually impossible to be cruel or unkind to someone if you at least have a relationship or at least know that person. You know, I think it’s a good rule that you don’t say anything on social media about someone that you wouldn’t say to someone in person. And social media especially has made that kind of cruelty or those kinds of comments just a throwaway and easy because it’s not really connected.
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Welker: You co-authored bi-partisan bills, the Stop the Scroll Act and the Kids Off Social Media Act. Senator Britt, tell me about these bills, why are they important, why are you teaming up on them?
Sen. Britt: I think if you look at these, John and I approach this along with a number of our colleagues, not as Democrats and Republicans, but as concerned parents. We see what’s happening across our country when it comes to mental health and we know the impact it’s having on our youth. (…) John and I thought, what are some simple things we can do to help warn people, warn parents, about those negative effects? So the Stop the Scroll Act, which John got marked up in the Commerce Committee just last week–we were really excited about that. That’s a big step and pathway forward.
Sen. Fetterman: One of the best things I’ve done is completely unplugged. I produce my messaging but I don’t sit around and scroll, and when I made the mistake to do that after I won my election, that’s when things really got bad and the depression set in. We did this together not just as senators, but also as parents because we have young children too. And if we want it for ourselves, then it’s the appropriate tool for America’s parents.
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Welker: Senator Fetterman, you have voted against several Democratic efforts to limit President Trump’s war powers in Iran. You’ve said you don’t want to put limits—tie his hands—when he’s in the middle of waging this conflict. As you both know, a key deadline is coming up. We’re bumping up against 60 days, May 1st, since the start of the war. Will you vote to keep U.S. forces engaged in this conflict once it hits that 60-day mark whereby Congress by law does need to weigh in?
Sen. Fetterman: I will, I will continue my vote. My vote’s not going to change. I know it’s perhaps the most toxic thing a Democrat can embrace, I’ve seen the numbers, the AP poll said that 4% of Democrats support that. (…) For me, it’s not controversial as a Democrat. When you ask every single member of Congress, should we allow Iran to acquire a nuclear bomb? Not a single Democrat in Congress says yes. Absolutely not. So here we are. You don’t have to agree with every element of Epic Fury, but if we all agree that we could never allow them to acquire a nuclear bomb, I don’t know why we wouldn’t want to empower the president to make sure they can’t become a nuclear power.