MSNBC "The Rachel Maddow Show" - Transcript: Interview with Pramila Jayapal

Interview

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Representative Pramila Jayapal, chair of the 96-member congressional progressive caucus also let it be known she and her colleagues are not guaranteed to vote for the bipartisan deal unless their priorities are sufficiently funded in the reconciliation deal.

Joining us is Washington Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus which will have a big role in deciding what kind of deal can pass the House.

Congresswoman, good to see you. Thank you for seeing you this evening.

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): Great to see you, Ali.

VELSHI: Let`s talk about your -- your hesitation about this bill. Has it got anything to do with what`s in this bill? Because we really don`t know enough about what`s in the bipartisan bill. Or is it all about not trimming stuff off the other bill that you are more focused on?

JAYAPAL: Well, as I said in my statement, we don`t know what`s in the bipartisan bill. So we have to see it. We have to make sure we agree with the provisions that are in the bipartisan bill. And we have to make sure that the reconciliation bill is passed before we will vote on a bipartisan deal.

This is something we`ve said for three months. And it`s not just progressives. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said the same thing. Chuck Schumer has said the same thing.

The reality is these two bills have to move together. Because the core of what Jared Bernstein was just talking about with you is that we need to make significant investments in the health and well-being of the American people. Coming out of the COVID times but even before that, Ali, we have a situation where the wealthiest and the rich do just great in America but everybody else does not see the opportunity for them to advance in their generation. Not just their generation, not just two generations, but in three generations people donate see economic growth.

So that`s why the reconciliation plan is so important, with investments in housing and free community college, in child care, in paid leave, in Medicare expansion and of course in saving the planet and protecting immigrants who have been at the forefront of protecting us during COVID.

VELSHI: So let`s talk about -- we don`t know what`s in the bipartisan bill. Obviously the much larger reconciliation bill we have fewer details. I heard you say you want to see that reconciliation bill done before. Do you mean literally before or do you mean in conjunction with or approximately at the same time?

JAYAPAL: No, we really need to see the reconciliation bill passed in the Senate before we can advance the bipartisan deal. And the reason is because it is very important that all 50 Democrats including those who negotiated the bipartisan deal understand that this is a twofer. You kill one, and I remember Joe Manchin saying this a week or two ago about the bipartisan deal. He was saying if you kill the bipartisan deal, then the whole thing is off.

Well, we`ve got a message too, which is you kill or undermine the $3.5 trillion infrastructure -- reconciliation package, the whole thing is going to collapse. So it is really important that we do these two things together.

I believe we can do it, Ali. I just want to be clear. I really believe that we can get there.

There is a tremendous amount of agreement. Most importantly from the American people, Republicans, Democrats, and independents, support this kind of investment because you know why? So many people are suffering across the country. And they want us to desperately and urgently address the needs that they are facing.

VELSHI: Congresswoman, thanks for joining me tonight. Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal is the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

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