MSNBC Interview- Transcipt

Interview

MSNBC Interview- Transcript

MS. GUTHRIE: The House is scheduled to be back in session Wednesday to debate its version of the auto bailout bill. We'll bring in Congressman Gregory Meeks, a Democrat from New York. The congressman supports the auto bailout plan, but with some tight conditions.

First of all, Congressman, good afternoon. Thanks for being with us.

REP. MEEKS: It's good being with you.

MS. GUTHRIE: Well, let's talk about some of these conditions. What would you want to see before you open up the purse strings of the federal government, once again, to the auto industry?

REP. MEEKS: Well, you know, you want to make sure that there is a plan in place that shows that they're thinking long-term so that we can become and continue to be competitive globally. You want to make sure, of course also, that no money's being used for bonuses or executive pay or golden parachutes or anything of that nature. We want to be fiscally sound with reference to the money, but we do want to be sure that we save the industry.

You're talking about over 5 million jobs, and when you look at the fact that 50 percent of the -- you know, of the number of people that are getting loans has gone down over the last year or so, I think that it's important for us to make sure that we try to save the industry but make it more competitive and competitive with our global competitors. And I think that's important to get done.

MS. GUTHRIE: Well, Congressman, I'm sure you're aware of what Republican Senator Richard Shelby said on "Meet the Press" this weekend, essentially that the auto bailout is simply postponing the inevitable. Let's play it for everybody.

SEN. RICHARD SHELBY (R-AL): (From videotape.) They're a dinosaur, in a sense, and I hate to see this because I would like to see them become lean and hungry and innovative. And if they did and put out the right product, they could survive. But I don't believe the $25 billion they're talking about will make them survive. It's just postponing the inevitable.

MS. GUTHRIE: Congressman, what about that, those who say this is just throwing good money after bad?

REP. MEEKS: Well, I think that, you know, clearly, if you look at some of the competitors in the past, particularly overseas -- when their industries were bad, whether it was the airline industry, whether it's an auto industry, the government -- their governments have come to their aid. We must do the same with ours.

We must make sure that we keep them competitive. And, you know, I believe that when you think about the new technology -- I know GM was coming with some new technology, with batteries, et cetera -- that's the direction that we need to go in. That's the direction we need our auto industry to go in.

And I think that, you know, this -- again, it's a loan. This is not a gift. This is a loan that we want to give to them, a bridge loan with a plan to show that they can pull together a new -- a new formula. This is -- you know, and I've got great confidence. We've had hard times before and we've come through them and have been better for it. And I would expect that GM and Chrysler and Ford would do the same thing. They're going to be challenged and I think they'll meet the challenge.

MS. GUTHRIE: Well, Congressman, let me ask you this. If the auto industry gets in line for this other $25 billion, isn't this a slippery slope? What about other industries that may face trouble? I mean, these are terrible economic times, other areas of the economy also in trouble. When those companies comes and say, hey, I could use some federal money too -- states, for that matter, cities, municipalities, a lot of people feel they could use money. Where does it end?

REP. MEEKS: Well, we're not talking about bailing out everyone. What we're looking at now is basically the bedrock of our economy. And when you look at the financial services and the auto industry, you're looking at bedrock. And to one extent, they have been intermingled. Because if you look at a number of our financial -- a number of our auto industries, they have financial aspects to them because they give out loans. And we all know that when the financial industry was in problem, part of the problem was nobody could get credit. And if you can't get credit, then you can't buy cars.

So when you talk about the financial sector and the auto sector, those are interrelated. And so it makes sense to try to make sure that we put money into both so that they can survive and continue to keep the hundreds of millions of jobs that they create. And to lose those, it could be, you know, very devastating to all of our overall economy. And that's why the focus, I think, is on these two.

MS. GUTHRIE: Congressman -- all right, we have to leave it there. Congressman Gregory Meeks from New York, thanks so much for your time this afternoon.

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