CNBC "Squawk Box" - Transcript

Interview

CNBC "Squawk Box" - Transcript

MS. QUICK: Well, it all starts today in Denver for the Democrats.

Representative Chris Van Hollen will play a key role. He is the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and he joins us this morning. And Congressman, thank you for joining us, sir.

REP. VAN HOLLEN: It's great to be with you this morning.

MS. QUICK: All right. You have a big week ahead of you. What is going to be the most important message that comes out from Denver this week?

REP. VAN HOLLEN: We do have a big week. Our challenge is to tell the story of the differences between what a Barack Obama's presidency will mean for the American people compared to John McCain. John McCain represents more of the same. He's like George Bush on steroids when it comes to the economy and foreign policy and that Barack Obama understands the economic squeeze that people are feeling out there because of gas prices, because of healthcare costs and that he's got policies to address those issues and we need to make it clear to the American people that if you want somebody who is going to address the challenges we've got on the economy, Barack Obama has got a solution whereas if you're looking for more of the same and if you like the last eight years and you like the way the economy is going, you're going to love John McCain. And we need to make that clear to the American people.

MS. QUICK: Congressman, did your message of change get more difficult when Joe Biden was chosen as the vice presidential candidate?

REP. VAN HOLLEN: I don't think so at all. Joe Biden has had a record when it comes to the economic issues of helping working families. He's been opposed from the beginning to the Bush tax cuts that went to help the very wealthiest and has always focused on middle class tax relief and when it comes to foreign policy challenges, he is going to supplement the very good judgment that Barack Obama showed on foreign policy, for example, knowing that the Iraq war was a blunder as Barack Obama said.

Joe Biden has got a track record of experience in that area, as well as being a fighter. He's going to be out there every day drawing those contrasts, not between the two personalities, but between the very different policies the two presidential candidates will bring.

MR. STEVE FORBES: Congressman, Steve Forbes here. The Bush tax cuts cut taxes, income taxes for a family making $40,000, $50,000 a year by $1,700 and so it was across the board. But has there been any time in American history where there's been a net tax increase where the economic growth has accelerated instead of gone backwards?

REP. VAN HOLLEN: Well, what we've seen as a result of the Bush deficits as you know is the economy that we've got right now. So clearly, the Bush tax cuts benefiting the very wealthiest did not give the economy the boost it needed.

The tax cuts that you're talking about, Steve, are the tax cuts that Barack Obama intends to keep, in other words, the child tax credit that was part of the Bush plan, as well as getting rid of the marriage penalty -- those are elements that help middle income families. Those are precisely the elements that Barack Obama will keep, and at the same time, Barack Obama intends to give additional tax relief to families earning under $250,000. In fact, if you compare his plan to the McCain plan, people earning under $250,000 get more relief from the Obama plan than the McCain plan.

So it really is a question of priorities. Who are you going to provide that relief to? Obama says Middle America is hurting and McCain is more of the same when it comes to the Bush tax cuts, focusing the great -- benefits on the very wealthiest in the country.

MR. FORBES: But now on the energy side, congressman, Senator Obama has made it very clear he's highly reluctant to do anything more offshore, which represents tens of billions of barrels of oil, equivalent amount of gas. What are the Democrats doing on energy? We know what works. We know nuclear works. We know drilling works. And alternatives, they're not going to make much of a play for another five or ten years. So why don't we go with what works?

REP. VAN HOLLEN: Well, what Obama has said is we need a comprehensive energy strategy. He hasn't ruled out any of those elements. When it comes to drilling, he has said what our own Department of Energy has told us, which is that even if you begin offshore drilling today, expanded offshore drilling, you're not going to see a drop of gas increase for ten years and even then you're going to see a minimal impact on price. But he has said we should --

MR. FORBES: Will the Democrats allow a vote in the House on offshore drilling so we can get this thing resolved once and for all?

REP. VAN HOLLEN: They will, and the Democrats have already said we want the oil and gas companies to begin exploring and developing further the more than 68 million acres of federal land that they already have, which they have not developed at the pace that they could be developing. We've also said that we will have a vote on offshore drilling, in fact, if we can do it in a responsible way, we can use the revenue generated from the royalties to invest in renewable energy and energy efficiency incentives, which is why you have to have a comprehensive plan. But it is important to make it clear to the American people that this drilling is not the solution to our problems. Even T. Boone Pickens, we know, a famous oilman, has said you can't drill your way into energy independence.

MS. QUICK: Well, he also says just to clarify that you need to drill, drill, drill. Congressman, I'm sorry, we're out of time, but we do appreciate you joining us this morning.

REP. VAN HOLLEN: It's good to be with you.

MS. QUICK: Thank you, Congressman Van Hollen.

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