CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) Is Interviewed About The Defense Protection Act

Interview

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KING: New York Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is with me now from Capitol Hill. Senator, it's good to see you. I wish there was a different circumstance. When you hear your governor make this urgent appeal. What can you do what can be done here in Washington to move the powers that are necessary to get New York what it needs before it's too late?

SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-NY): Well, right now we care most about the health and well-being of our citizens. And we are trying to get the supplies and the medical supplies specifically into the hands of the doctors and nurses that need it.

One thing we are doing here is the Defense Protection Act. We've put a billion dollars to create a federalized, nationalized medical supply chain. There are ventilators that the Armed Services has that are going to be made to New York hospitals, as well as masks, millions of masks they have in reserve will be made available to the states.

But what we're trying to do right now is just to make as many families and workers whole, so they can pay their bills, so they can put food on the table. Families are so stressed out right now. They are so worried. They're so fearful. And they're doing what they're being asked to do, which is to stay home. That's what each of us can do to help win this war against COVID-19.

And this money that we're putting forward is going to allow a lot more people to get the care they need, to get the funds they need, and to make sure their businesses don't go out of business.

KING: And I assume I know the leaders making calls today trying to get the stimulus through the Senate and through the House as quickly as possible. Help us understand, do you know the current state of play? Will there be a vote today? Will this be done by unanimous consent?

GILLIBRAND: Yes, I believe there will be a vote today and I believe it will be near unanimous if not unanimous. And then it can go to the House for similar vote. Hopefully they can do it on consent.

What the bill has in it that's meaningful is there's a Marshall plan for our hospitals, to get the ventilators, to get the masks, to get the gowns, to get the equipment, to make sure they can stay in business, and able to treat the patients. I've talked to almost every head of our hospitals throughout New York, they are accessing more ICU beds. They are taking away regular surgeries, things that are not emergency so they can make those ICU beds available. We are building facilities. Our governor is making sure the Javits Center is going to have beds.

We are using SUNY dormitories to be beds for people who need it, because the schools are close to the end of the year. So it's really an all hands on deck moment. And New Yorkers are coming together as the rest of the country is to do what's necessary to protect our most vulnerable and to make sure they get the care they need and to protect our critical workforce.

KING: Your governor was quite critical of the bill in terms of how much the $2 trillion. And wow, that's a big price tag but how much the $2 trillion bill does for state government. He says New York can have a hole in its budget, 10 billion could go as high as 15 billion because of the economic shutdown here. And he's going to get 3.8 billion A, will you fight to get him more. And I assume that would be part of phase four, that you're not going to hold up this bill now, to go back and deal with some of the complaints you're getting not just from your governors, but others as well.

GILLIBRAND: Correct. This bill is very helpful, but it's just the first step. This is going to be a very long term crisis, it's going to take months and months to get out of it. And frankly, I don't think our economy is going to return to where it was for a long time, more than months, perhaps years.

And so the truth is, our job is to do triage. Right now, we needed to get real dollars into the hands of real people. That's why the unemployment insurance is so generous. It also includes furlough money, so that people who are still employed but can't go to work because they have a sick child at home or their child's school is closed or they're sick themselves. They can get their -- for most Americans, they can get their full pay. That's helpful.

It's why we have a surge to our hospitals. New York has some of the best hospitals in the country. They're getting billions of dollars to make sure they can have the resources available to treat these patients. And then small businesses, so many people have lost their job. We want to make sure small businesses can get low or no interest loans, that if they keep their employees on payroll, those loans become grants, so they don't have to pay it back.

Those are the provisions of this bill that will help our governor and help our state so they can weather the next month. But again, this is not intended to make all states whole, it couldn't possibly do that. But it's intended to get us through the next four weeks, and hopefully the next four months in terms of the coverage of employees.

This unemployment benefit covers four months of workers, because frankly, most people, their kid's schools are closed, and I won't be surprised if they don't reopen by the end of the year. So we need that furlough and that unemployment in place to give them real dollars to pay for food and medicine and things they need. [12:55:02]

KING: Senator, one of your colleagues, Rand Paul, is tested positive others in self quarantine. Do you think the Senate is going to hang around? Do you think after you pass this bill, Congress is going to have to go get some space as well?

GILLIBRAND: I'm hopeful that we can pass this bill today and then begin to work remotely. I think it's really important that people can be with their families, in their communities, in their states to make a difference, and to be talking to at least remotely their constituents about what's going on.

I do think that'll probably happen, but we stand ready to do the next bill, and the next bill, and the next bill. And we are eager to keep working for our states and our communities.

KING: Senator Gillibrand, appreciate your time at this very busy time up on Capitol Hill. Please stay safe and take care.

GILLIBRAND: Thank you. And John --

KING: Yes?

GILLIBRAND: -- for your viewers, this is a really important time to understand how strong America is. We have extraordinary resilience. We are the strongest country in the world. And we will make sure people have the money they need to protect their families and our hospitals, the money they need to stay open.

So do not worry. And just continue to stay home. Stay safe. And stop every transmission of this virus by following those rules.

KING: Senator, again, appreciate your time.

GILLIBRAND: Thank you.

KING: Thank you. Take care.

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