MSNBC Interview - Transcript

Interview

MSNBC Interview - Transcript

MSNBC INTERVIEW WITH SENATOR JOHN CORNYN (R-TX)

SUBJECTS: MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS, BUDGET

INTERVIEWER: ANDREA MITCHELL

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MS. MITCHELL: Mexico's vicious drug war is a growing threat to America's national security. It is especially concerning for border states; of course, some are now seeing the spillover of violence, kidnappings and weapons smuggling from the U.S. into Mexico.

Joining us now live, Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, top Republican on the Judiciary Committee's Immigration, Refugees and Border Security Committee and a former Texas attorney general.

Thank you very much, Senator, for joining us.

SEN. CORNYN: Thanks, Andrea.

MS. MITCHELL: I wanted to ask you about, in particular, your perspective from Texas, Senator. Governor Napolitano was supposed to be in Texas today meeting with Rick Perry, with your governor. There were other issues; I think she's going tomorrow, but she wants more details on what he would do with 1,000 National Guardsmen, which he requested. She said, why is that a magic number?

What is your view of the National Guard and the whole issue of militarizing the border?

SEN. CORNYN: Well, you know, previously, under President Bush, we had the National Guard go to the border help fill in some of the gaps left because we simply didn't have enough professional law enforcement officers, Border Patrol, ICE agents, Customs and Border Protection agents, but now we've grown that number significantly.

So I think the good question is: What would they do? They actually would not do the work of those federal agents. I'm for growing the number of federal agents because we need their permanent presence there to deal with a whole host of issues right there along the border.

MS. MITCHELL: Do you think that what was proposed this week is enough, 400 plus more Border Patrol agents? Hillary Clinton is down here in Mexico and got a very warm reception from the Mexican government for saying that it's also an American, a U.S. responsibility.

Do you think that was going too far?

SEN. CORNYN: Well, I think it is a good step in the right direction. Obviously, this is a complex situation, but you know, the very same criminal gangs and cartels that smuggle drugs, smuggle traffic in individuals, weapons and the like. They're really just in it for the money literally and this is a very dangerous problem in Mexico, so I agree with Secretary Clinton and others that say we have to do everything we can to help support President Calderon and to make sure that these cartels are crushed, ultimately, because it's important to us for so many reasons, but part of which is what they do when they introduce those various things into the United States, but part of it because Mexico is one of our most important trading partners and, obviously, we don't want a failed state right next to the United States.

MS. MITCHELL: Well, one of the things that President Calderon in Mexico wants is some control on guns and Hillary Clinton spoke out strongly against the assault weapons, in favor of reinstituting that ban, it's not an Obama administration policy because they don't want to take that on.

I would bet coming from Texas that you are not eager to reinstitute the ban on assault weapons, correct me if I'm wrong.

SEN. CORNYN: Well, I believe strongly in the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. I don't think restricting the Second Amendment rights of Americans is a solution to what's happening in Mexico. I do support the efforts by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and of the United States Government to help the Mexican government by stopping the flow of guns south that cannot legally be imported into Mexico, but of course most of our attention has been on traffic and weapons and drugs coming north, not going south. The Mexican government has to step up, provide additional resources to help protect their own border.

MS. MITCHELL: Senator, one of the things -- I want to take you to the budget now because one of the things that you've said about President Obama's budget is that it is a series of missed opportunities and misguided priorities, which includes some new taxes on hardworking, middle class families and small businesses and you've said spending is out of control.

As you see the budget now emerging from House and Senate committees, it's scaled back somewhat. Do you think it is still out of control?

SEN. CORNYN: Well, Andrea, the main reason why it's scaled back is because it only is a five-year budget as opposed to President Obama's ten-year budget, but it still spends too much, taxes too much and borrows too much.

We've seen, really, reckless spending here in Washington over the last couple of months with the stimulus bill that was printed and distributed at 11 o'clock on Thursday night and we were required to vote on it less than 24 hours later, which left a lot to be desired to say the least, part of which gave rise to the AIG bonus outcry because provisions were literally slipped in the bill that nobody had the time to discover on their own and which weren't identified beforehand. But what concerns me the most is the fact that all of this or virtually of this is borrowed money, borrowed from our children and grandchildren and we're seeing a mountain of debt.

Under the president's budget, the federal debt would double in five years and would triple in ten years and then the last point I would make is that it does virtually nothing about entitlement spending, which is Medicare and Social Security for which there are currently $67 trillion in unfunded federal liabilities.

So we have a huge problem here, and unfortunately, I think, this budget makes it worse and not better.

MS. MITCHELL: All right. John Cornyn, thank you so much for joining us today. I suspect this is only the first round in the budget wars of this cycle. Thank you very much, Senator.

SEN. CORNYN: Thanks, Andrea.

END.

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