CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: Interview with Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal

Interview

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BASH: Coronavirus cases are climbing among lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Just yesterday, two more members of the House announced that they have tested positive. That brings CNN's tally to 26 house members and eight senators who have so far tested positive or have been presumed positive. That includes two of the oldest members of Congress, GOP Senator Chuck Grassley, who's third in line for the presidency and Republican Representative from Alaska, Don Young, both are 87 years old.

Joining me now is Democratic Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal from Washington state. And Congressman, thank you so much for joining me. I want to start with the outbreak on Capitol Hill, underscoring the real risks that you as lawmakers face in Congress as you continue to meet fly around the country. What should you all do to better protect yourselves and your ability to do the work you're elected to do?

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): Honestly, Dana, I think we have to improve all of our proxy voting systems and make it so that people do not have to travel. We've taken good strides in that direction. We do have proxy votes. But as long as it is optional, I think there are a lot of members who feel like they are under pressure to travel to D.C. and I think that's a challenge.

[12:40:08]

You know, I have been very careful not traveling unless I really feel that there's something I have to do on the House floor, because I think I have to model for my constituents that we need to stay home right now. But at the same time, I feel a lot of empathy for my colleagues who, you know, are in tough districts and don't want to be put in that position of having to make a choice.

BASH: So do you think that it should be made for them that it should be mandatory stay at home and vote by proxy?

JAYAPAL: I think if we could figure out the logistics of doing that the problem is the house rules don't allow for that in every situation. And I think that's the thing that we have to move towards is figuring out how to fix that. Because, yes, I think it should be ideally mandated that we get to stay home and follow the health guidance of our public health officials, and really try to model that behavior. But we do have problems with doing that in terms of how the votes occur.

BASH: Yes, right, which is completely understandable. Let's look ahead to next year and the new slimmer majority that you and your fellow Democrats are going to have, it's going to be the tightest in nearly two decades. I want you to listen to what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who was elected again by the caucus, she's got to have that same vote on the House floor once that happens in January. But listen to what she said about all this yesterday.

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REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), HOUSE SPEAKER: The fact is, have fewer members, but the White House, but the White House is a source of we're sad to have lost the members we have. We're ready to go again. Sometimes, when there's a small number of people see the urgency of listening to each other, respecting each other's voice, because we all have to go down this path mostly together.

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BASH: What's your reaction to that?

JAYAPAL: Well, I agree that, you know, I went to bed that night before the election thinking that job number one was to get Donald Trump out of the White House and to elect Joe Biden with a mandate. That was my hope. We did that, Dana. We got not only the Electoral College in what Donald Trump called a landslide victory four years ago, over 300 Electoral College votes. But we also got Joe Biden the popular vote, swinging back states like Georgia and Arizona and taking back states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

So I think that is a huge victory for the country. Second job was to maintain control of the House. Of course, we wanted to expand our majority in the House, that didn't happen. But to be able to maintain control is huge. And so those two things, I think are very, very, very important. And then finally, we're still in contention for the Senate, a very tough Senate map. But we still have a possibility, though, I understand it is challenging to win back the Senate. So I miss my colleagues that we're going to lose already. I wish that we hadn't lost them. But I think that we have to focus on the victory that we had on election night.

BASH: You are the co-chair of the Progressive Caucus in the House. Do you expect to have more negotiating power inside the Democratic caucus on big issues? How will you flex your muscles there?

JAYAPAL: Well, we're very proud that we'll be adding eight new members to the Progressive Caucus. And so we also passed a package of reforms that I hope will make us more member driven, more nimble, and more cohesive and powerful as a voting bloc. But understand that whenever you have a slim majority, a lot of people have power across the caucus. It isn't just those of us in the progressive side. Obviously, our more moderate and conservative members do frankly, any group of small members that bands together on anything can have a major impact on legislation.

So, you know, my goal is to really try to find the things that are bold, progressive ideas that we can get the whole caucus to agree on, things like infrastructure package that is really expansive and focuses on roads and bridges, but also schools, water, you know, critical issue for our caucus is the right to water in the midst of a pandemic.

Also, I hope we can take bold action on climate change and infrastructure package. $15 minimum wage, that's something that was called a radical far left idea. But today, Florida, which went for Donald Trump in the presidential election, also voted with a super majority of voters to pass a $15 minimum wage. Those are things that affect the lives and livelihoods of every American whichever party you might be voting for.

BASH: Speaking from about minimum wage really quickly. You initially supported Bernie Sanders for President in the primaries. He's making clear he wants to be a labor secretary in a Biden administration. Good idea?

[12:45:01]

JAYAPAL: I'm very supportive of Senator Sanders being labor secretary. And, you know, I think that there are other candidates as well, Andy Levin from our House. But obviously I'm a big Bernie Sanders supporter. I think he'd be an amazing labor secretary.

BASH: Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, thank you so much for joining me. Appreciate it.

JAYAPAL: Thank you, Dana.

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