CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: "Interview with Rep. Ro Khanna"

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back.

We are just hours away from debate night two in Detroit. Debate night one showcasing deep divisions within the Democratic Party as moderate candidates hammered the party's top and unapologetic progressive Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.

With me now is Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California. He currently is serving as co-chair of Bernie Sanders' 2020 campaign.

Congressman, we appreciate you taking the time this morning.

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Jim, thanks for having me on.

SCIUTTO: So let's get right to the signature issue of last night's debate, but also frequently at the top of the list of voters' concerns, that of course health care. The debate last night focusing on Medicare for All or a more moderate plan.

The main argument against it, which you heard from Congressman Delaney and others, is the majority of Americans, they want to keep their employee sponsored plan. I wonder what your response is, particularly take a look at this polling. This is -- this is a survey from Kaiser. It found that even among Democratic voters, they would prefer building on the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare, over Medicare for All by a wide margin.

So what do you -- why is this the right policy, Medicare for All, if a majority of Democratic voters don't want it?

KHANNA: Well, first of all, Kaiser isn't exactly an objective source in the polling. Most of the polling shows that Democrats and independents are overwhelmingly for Medicare for All, especially when you explain that people can keep their doctors, that people will have more choice in terms of the health care they want. And in terms of private insurance, it's rarely --

SCIUTTO: Well, that's not entirely true, Congressman. When voters are explained that they would have to give up their employer sponsored health care plan, support drops as well. KHANNA: But if you ask the second question after that, if you say, but

this means you get to keep your doctor, the support goes back up. So if they're just told that they --

SCIUTTO: But how do you promise -- how do you keep that promise? How -- and over what period of time and without a Democratically controlled Senate? I'm just trying to figure out how you make all that happen.

KHANNA: Sure. Sure. I think it's the way that Senator Moynihan, after doing 25 hearings on health care in the 1990s, he said, the only thing that makes sense is, let's extend Medicare. Let's get everyone basic (ph) Medicare. And the bill, very clearly, allows supplemental insurance. It's important to note this. I mean Bernie Sanders, as he said, wrote the law. People get basic Medicare. Everyone will get that. And then if people want more supplemental insurance, they can. It just says you can't have duplicative insurance, which is the current law under Medicare. So there are a lot of facts and --

SCIUTTO: Why would employers sponsor or subsidize additional insurance if there was Medicare for all? As you know, unions in particular, a key part of the Democratic base, they oppose giving up plans that they -- they fought for through negotiations for years.

KHANNA: Well, Jim, actually the unions, the AFL-CIO, has explicitly endorsed Medicare for all, and that's because they know two things. One, Medicare for all is going to be better benefits for their members with lower costs. But, second, they don't want to waste their time bargaining for basic health care, with wages stagnant. Want they want to do is bargain for better working conditions and better pay. If you allow for Medicare for all, they will actually be able to bargain better, and that's why Richard Trumka, the AFL-CIO, and every major union is for Medicare for all.

SCIUTTO: Union members have a different view.

I want to ask you about this because you saw Sanders and Warren in lock step yesterday. There was a lot of talk leading into this debate that they might clash, try to establish themselves as the leader among the progressives. In the end, they were together and kind of fighting off attacks from the more moderate wing.

[09:35:13] But I want to ask you this, for voters who have to make a choice, progressive voters, why is Bernie Sanders a better choice for them than Elizabeth Warren?

KHANNA: Well, I think they both won the night for a progressive vision. I think what you saw last night with Bernie Sanders and why I think he won the debate is the real Bernie Sanders, is the Bernie Sanders you know. He was funny. He was passionate. He had a clear vision. He is appropriately frustrated with the special interests and he is building a movement for big changes in this country.

And I -- I have tremendous respect --

SCIUTTO: Does he have a clearer vision than Senator Warren? Beyond -- beyond being a funny guy.

KHANNA: I have tremendous -- I have tremendous respect for Senator Warren. I think they both bring important voices. And I think it will be for the voters to decide. But I think both of them clearly had the best night. I think Bernie Sanders had an incredible night in pushing back and exposing the corporate interests that have been blocking the agenda of reform.

SCIUTTO: You're going to the border with a group of 19 House Democrats. You're going to visit the U.S.-Mexico border tomorrow and Friday in El Paso, Texas. Of course another issue of disagreement last night was the idea of decriminalizing -- or rather we should be clear about what that is, illegal entrance into the country. Do they face charges in criminal court or civil action? Bernie Sanders, of course, supports decriminalizing.

I wonder how you defend that and how you can argue that that would not give an additional incentive for people to attempt to enter the country illegally.

KHANNA: Well, my focus is personally on making sure we end separations of children from their families. And I think actually you can do that by changing the law that currently there is a -- no presumption against separation. If you change that law and you said that before you can separate a child from their parents, there has to be a presumption against that, we can get to the issue at hand. And that, I think, all of the Democrats on the stage would agree with.

SCIUTTO: They do, but the disagreement, of course, is over decriminalization. Do you differ with Bernie Sanders on that? Do you think that that's a good look, a good position for Democratic candidates?

KHANNA: I -- I respect his position. My focus, and I think the party's focus needs to be on the separation of children because even if you decriminalize, if you don't change the policy which is leading to the separation, it's not going to do anything. You -- first, the administration is relying on policy saying they're helping the child, which is a complete falsehood, and that's the policy that I would focus on changing.

SCIUTTO: Final question, of course there was a shooting in Gilroy, California, not explicitly in your district, but not far from your district in California. What does a Democratic president, if elected, have to do to change the dynamic on gun control in this country, particularly when you have large numbers of Republicans against many measures, but even some Democrats reluctant to vote for them. Is the path only executive action?

KHANNA: Jim, Gilroy was 30 minutes from where I live and it was heartbreaking. Stephen Romero, and six-year-old boy, was shot to death. His mother was clutching him in his arms. The bullet hit her and then hit her son. And then she calls the father and says my boy -- our boy has been shot and the father runs to the hospital. When he reaches the hospital, Stephen is pronounced dead. It -- it is sickening. And any person, Republican or Democrat, we need

to ask, what are we letting happen to our children in this country? I really don't care about the politics. What I want to do is see, why can't we have some basic common sense laws? And I think when people hear these stories, I mean I can't help but think it's going to move the humanity of this country.

SCIUTTO: Yes, sadly it hasn't yet and so many times we're in this same position lamenting, wondering what happens next.

Congressman Ro Khanna, we appreciate you joining us this morning.

KHANNA: Thank you for having me on.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source