CNN "The Lead with Jake Tapper" - Transcript: Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) Is Interviewed About Coronavirus Cases In New Jersey

Interview

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The New Jersey Democratic Congressman Josh Gottheimer is joining us right now. He's the co-chair of the House Problem Solving Caucus. Thanks so much for joining us, Congressman. Really appreciate it.

I want to get right to the news. According to Johns Hopkins University, Bergen County, in New Jersey, which falls in your district, now has nearly 6,000 confirmed cases, almost 200 deaths, what steps are being taken there to stem the crisis? Because those numbers are only going to go up?

REP. JOSH GOTTHEIMER (D-NJ): Yes. You know, this was one of the earliest hotspots in the country. And I have to really praise our frontline health care workers and our hospitals. They've been working on this for weeks. You know, we're short on vents one day, short on personal protective equipment the next day, and they just keep fighting through it.

And, you know, we've got 9,000 people who have the virus in my district, overall, Bergen County, being the center of that. We've lost more than 200 lives. It's really awful, but we're coming together. And, Wolf, we're going to fight through this.

BLITZER: I'm sure you will. Your district, of course, borders, New York, does that complicate the response given what's happened in the New York City area?

GOTTHEIMER: Yes. Well, obviously, with a lot of people who go back and forth every day to New York, I think that helped lead to the spread and the fast spread here. Our governor is doing a terrific job coordinating. And we all work very closely with the administration with each other, with New York.

And I think the key is working together here and trying to learn every single day how to get ahead of it, but it's not easy. And, of course, you know, people out of school and people out of work, it obviously adds a lot of anxiety to it. And Congress, we're trying to do everything we can to help people. But, you know, people are rightly on edge.

BLITZER: I know you're working with fellow lawmakers in Washington, including Republicans to try to come up with some sort of commission to look back at some point when the dust settles and hopefully won't be too long to learn the lessons of what we did, right what we did wrong, and move forward, sort of like a 911 Commission. Tell us about that.

GOTTHEIMER: And that's exactly right. I mean, I think right now we've got to look forward and work together and do everything we can to get ahead of it. But, you know, with time, we're going to figure out what we need to have in place to prevent this from happening again. And of course, being fully prepared.

I think the question I hear from a lot of people, and I'm sure you do too, Wolf, is what are we going to be ready to reopen America? What's it going to take? And I think we need to start thinking about that right now as we're dealing with the health crisis and the economic crisis, is that making sure that we have the testing capability, and obviously, that's going to be coming on week after more capacity. Making sure that, you know, our businesses have what they need to keep people safe, if they're going to bring people back.

You know, what are the different benchmarks we're going to have to achieve as a country and in terms of protective equipment, in terms of, obviously palliative care, be able to -- we know that there's going to be antibody tests and making sure we can send back certain workers. So those are the kind of things are in a bipartisan way trying to think through, as we of course, take care of people and try to deal with the health crisis.

BLITZER: We're going to listen to a congressman to a very, very strong statement that Senator Bernie Sanders made last night about how the federal government should be dealing with those Americans who are simply out of work. Listen to this.

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SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is exactly what I would do. The main point is that we have to prevent a breakdown in the entire system. That's how dangerous it is right now. It is much easier to maintain the system than to fix it after it is broken. What does that mean?

From an economic point of view, it means that we tell every worker in America, you will continue to get your paycheck. We know you're not working. We know you're at home, you know, your business that you're working for, is not functioning. But guess what, we're going to do what the U.K. is doing, what Denmark is doing, what Norway is doing, what France is doing, you will continue to receive 100 percent of your paycheck.

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BLITZER: Do you think that's realistic, Congressman? Is Congress going to pass something dramatic like that?

GOTTHEIMER: Well, I think Congress passed the Character Act, as you know, and right now, we actually are giving unemployment insurance at 100 percent of people salaries which is critical because they're obviously out of work not by choice or their own.

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We're obviously taking care of small businesses, especially our main street businesses with forgivable loans. I think we're -- and we've got obviously direct cash dollars going to people to help them. You know, we need to stand by people. I think that's we're going to be looking at in our next package.

And for this crisis, it makes sense to help them and I think that's exactly what we should be doing for right now.

BLITZER: Congressman, Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, good luck to all the folks in New Jersey. Thanks so much for joining us.

GOTTHEIMER: Thanks, Wolf. Thanks for having me and stay safe.

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