MSNBC "The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Pramila Jayapal

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Joining us now is Democratic Congressman Pramila Jayapal of Washington state. She is the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

And, Congresswoman Jayapal, there is frustration breaking out in the Congress with Senator Sanders, with other members and right here at this desk that I am sitting at in trying to figure out what is going on with Senator Manchin and Senator Sinema? Do you have more insight into this?

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): Well, Lawrence, it is great to see you.

I will start by saying the position of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, we are 96-member strong caucus, has been for three and a half months that we are not going to move one piece of the president`s agenda without the much bigger piece of the president`s agenda. And I just want to take you back just for a moment to five months ago, August 28th, 2021. What happened on that night, Lawrence, is President Biden came out of the White House. He went down Pennsylvania Avenue. He came to the Capitol, and he delivered a speech.

He delivered a speech to Congress. I happen to be one of the few that was invited to that speech because it was COVID times and not all of us could go. I was sitting towards the back of that chamber and I listened to this newly-elected Democratic president with a Democratic House majority and a Democratic Senate majority in that chamber, not all of us but representative of us, listen to the president of the United States lay out an agenda.

That agenda was for child care for everyone. It was for paid leave. It was for universal community college. It was for getting lead out of waters and having clean water everywhere no matter what zip code you live in.

It was for health care, lowering prescription drug pricing. It was for housing, affordable housing, to house the unhoused people. And, yes, it was also for roads and bridges.

Now here we are today, and people want to frame this as progressives versus moderates, but let me just tell you, 96 percent of Democrats in the House and the Senate support the president`s agenda, which is the Build Back Better agenda. And what we know is that 4 percent of members of the House and the Senate are not supporting the president`s agenda, the Democratic agenda and want to make some changes.

We have been staying for some time, we put our vision out there. It is the president`s agenda. It is not some crazy out there left wing agenda. It is the president`s agenda that we are fighting to deliver to the people.

And so, we still have had no interaction, no negotiation with Senators Manchin and Sinema on what is it that they do like. We know what they don`t like. That`s been made quite clear over and over again, but do they want to do of the president`s agenda? We`re waiting for that.

But until then, Lawrence, House progressives are very clear. We are not going to leave behind women. We are not going to leave behind people who need housing. We are not going to leave behind climate change.

One of the most important issues that we are facing today and the president is going to have to go to COP26 in just a little bit. And he`s going to have to explain if we leave behind climate, why the United States feels like we can make any kind of an agreement with the rest of the world or force the rest of the world to address climate change as a real issue.

So this is -- we`re not leaving that behind. And that`s why we can`t vote for the bipartisan infrastructure bill until we pass the Build Back Better Act, which is 70 percent or more of the president`s agenda.

LAWRENCE O`DONNELL,MSNBC HOST: Ok. Here is my theory about what the game is on the Sinema/Manchin side of this. That certainly Senator Sinema who says nothing about what she wants is going on. It`s that they or she or both of them are trying to drag out this negotiation to the point where Speaker Pelosi does move forward and ask you all to vote on the bipartisan bill that the Senate has already voted on so that their bill that they supported in the Senate, they watch that pass in the House.

And only after that do they, for the first time ever, say something concrete in a negotiation with President Biden. Only after their bill that they want passed is passed, and then they feel they will be in a much stronger position to chip away at the legislation that you are ready to vote for.

JAYAPAL: That`s exactly right. And that`s why we do not have the votes in the House for the bipartisan infrastructure bill. And as Senator Warren said, this was a deal that the senators made that we were going to move both pieces together. It`s something that we have all been saying for some time. It was the deal that was made.

And unfortunately, Lawrence, we are not -- we are now in the verify stage. This isn`t about trust. This is about verify. And the only way to verify is to pass the reconciliation bill first as was articulated and then we will happily come back and vote for the infrastructure bill.

And I will tell you, Lawrence, not every one of my members likes that infrastructure bill. Some of them really believe that -- and I happen to be a part of this -- that there are actually bad things in this bill that hurt us on climate change.

But you know what? Every one of the progressive caucus members has said, I understand I play on the same team as the Democratic Party and the Democratic president, and we will vote for that bill even though we don`t like it.

We will vote for it. But we want the reconciliation bill first. And then we will go and we will happily do our duty of voting for the rest of the president`s agenda, which is the small piece that is in the infrastructure bill.

O`DONNELL: Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, thank you very much for joining us for tonight`s episode of the storm before the calm. Thank you very much.

JAYAPAL: That`s a good thing to remember.

O`DONNELL: Right. Thank you very much. Really appreciate it.

Source