CNN "Anderson Cooper 360" - Transcript: Interview with Pramila Jayapal

Interview

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ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Good evening. We could be just an hour away from a vote in the House of Representatives that will pave the way for Democratic lawmakers to deliver on many of the promises that got them and the President elected or we might not. The whole thing could crater. It is truly minute by minute at this time.

We'll be joined tonight by one of the key players, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal. She and her Progressive Caucus members certainly made those promises to make raising kids more affordable, to allow Medicare to negotiate lower prices on prescription drugs, to make paid family leave the law of the land. It's all contained in a social spending and green energy bill that according with -- agree with the politics or not, I should say, would map out the most significant expansion of social benefits since Medicare.

And what happens in the next hour or so could pave the way for that or it could scuttle those programs, hurt the people who would benefit from them, perhaps cripple the Biden presidency and leave Democrats deeply vulnerable in next year's midterm elections. That is all on the line tonight.

As the House gets ready to vote on a separate bipartisan infrastructure bill already passed by the Senate, moderate Democrats say it must pass before taking up the social spending bill that progressive Democrats say they won't vote for it without commitments on social spending. And two moderate Democratic senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema

are the key figures who have been holding things up, dealing with them has been a challenge for the President, not to mention a puzzlement for some fellow Democrats, and now House Speaker Pelosi who earlier today describe this stage in the negotiations and as I quote, "constant invigoration" end quote. She seems determined to bring them to a close whether or not she succeeds. That, of course is anyone's guess.

Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, as we mentioned chairs to the Congressional Progressive Caucus. She has been keeping up pressure from her wing of the party. She joins us now.

Congresswoman, good to have you on again. Where do things stand right now with the infrastructure vote? Is it still on?

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): Anderson, it's good to see you. I do not think that the infrastructure bill is going to come to a vote tonight because I don't think that there is a deal yet on the reconciliation bill, and that is what we have been very clear that we need if we're going to vote yes on the infrastructure bill.

The reality is that there is a whole group of people, people who need childcare, people who need paid leave, people who need housing, people who want to see action on climate change. This is all part of the Build Back Better agenda, which is the President's agenda, and so we've got the President's back here.

I know he's been working very hard to try to negotiate with people in the Senate, who -- the four percent who don't agree with this agenda that we, as Democrats ran on, and won on, and delivered the House, the Senate, and the White House. So, if I had to bet I would say there's not going to be a vote tonight.

COOPER: So one source told CNN that Speaker Pelosi has had success today flipping some Democrats to the yes column. Do you think you and the Speaker are on the same page at this moment?

JAYAPAL: I just don't -- I think there's a lot of rumors swirling around. I can tell you about five that I already have confirmed are not true.

COOPER: We don't want to spread rumors. So, no, you don't have to.

JAYAPAL: So you know, I wasn't going to tell them to you, I was just saying there's at least five in the last 45 minutes that I've had to dispel, so -- and I have dispelled, so I can just tell you that right now, there are not the votes. There is no pressure coming from the Speaker to this because she understands this is -- as she said, this is for the children. She wants this Build Back Better agenda just like the President does, and just like 96 percent of Democrats.

COOPER: So, you don't think she will bring it to a vote tonight?

JAYAPAL: I don't think so, Anderson. Of course, anything could change, you know -- but even if she does, you know, there just aren't the votes there. And you know the Speaker, she does not bring a bill to the floor that's going to fail. So, I would highly doubt it, and I think that's an opportunity for us to get back to work and figure out how we are going to get to agreement on this Build Back Better agenda.

And then of course, all of us will vote for both bills and deliver to the President's desk the agenda that he laid out to us when he came five months ago to Capitol Hill and asked us to help him deliver on that agenda.

COOPER: So, I mean, there's a lot of -- you know, there has been a lot of talk that Senator Manchin has been closed off about what he wants for the spending package. I think the last time you and I spoke, you said and I don't want to paraphrase you incorrectly, but -- or even quote you incorrectly, but you said you know, they haven't really come forward with what they want.

Manchin floated a $1.5 trillion price tag earlier this month to Dana Bash. POLITICO obtained a copy of an agreement that Manchin proposed to Majority Leader Schumer back in July to limit the cost of the spending package to $1.5 trillion, which he and Schumer signed. Does it -- I mean, do you accept that that's the figure he has been putting forward and if so, what do you think about that figure?

JAYAPAL: Look, there is just no deal on the table and I talked to Senator Schumer today about that piece of paper because I want to know what was going on. And the senator made it clear to me that that was just what Joe Manchin wanted him to see and he saw it and he signed that he saw it, and I believe the senator.

So there is no deal on the table. Remember, this has to be a deal, not only that Manchin and Sinema will agree to, but that all of us in the House will agree to, and you know, all of the rest of the senators.

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COOPER: Is anything -- is anything near $1.5 trillion acceptable to you? Because I mean, you're talking about $3.5 trillion.

JAYAPAL: Anderson, why would I negotiate with myself? There's no offer on the table?

COOPER: Or with me? Why would you give away you're negotiating point with me? I know, but I have to ask these questions. Can you just take us behind the scenes right now? I mean, how -- just for folks watching at home, what is going on now?

I mean, is it Speaker Pelosi calling people? You calling people? You know, House members? How does this work?

JAYAPAL: No, I mean, really, the Speaker had some meetings with us. I know, I and a group of progressives met with her earlier today. I've spoken to the White House today, a couple of times. I've spoken to a lot of my members today, you know, the Progressive Caucus members who want to know what's going on, and that's really what it's been about.

And, you know, and I think that the real negotiating is happening between the White House and between those two senators, and perhaps with the Speaker's office, and those two senators.

COOPER: So that's where the negotiation is, it's between the White House, Manchin, Sinema, perhaps Speaker Pelosi as well. That's where the heat of this is right now?

JAYAPAL: That's right. That's right. And I've spoken to a number of senators as well. You know, I think we all understand that this -- the transformation that we can offer to the country is why people came out to vote for us in November. If we just go back and we deliver a very small sliver, because the infrastructure bill is only like 15 percent of the President's agenda, 85 percent of the President's agenda is contained in the Build Back Better Act.

And Anderson, I want roads and bridges in my district, too. Those are important. We're going to support the infrastructure bill. But let me tell you what people are going to remember. They're not going to remember the road, they are going to remember that they could wake up and have childcare where they couldn't afford it before, or that they have 12 weeks of paid family leave, or that their kids are going to have a planet to live on because we're actually taking action.

Those are the things that are in the Build Back Better agenda, and it's why we're not going to leave that behind.

COOPER: Congresswoman Jayapal, I appreciate your time. Thank you.

JAYAPAL: Thank you, Anderson.

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