MSNBC Interview - Transcript

Interview

MSNBC INTERVIEW WITH REP. GREGORY MEEKS (D-NY) REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA)
SUBJECT: AIG INTERVIEWER: MONICA NOVOTNY

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MS. NOVOTNY: That hearing on those controversial AIG bonuses gets underway live at 10 AM Eastern and as you mentioned, it is the start of a big day for the White House that ends with President Obama in primetime. The president will appear on all the major networks, of course, we'll have it here for you on MSNBC. That's at eight o'clock Eastern. But next hour, House lawmakers will quiz, maybe grill Fed Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner about their latest efforts to save the nation's banks.

Also likely on tap, some tough questions about those controversial bonuses at AIG. The House has already passed a bill to hit those bonuses with a 90 percent tax. It's a plan the White House refuses to endorse. The Senate is working on its own version.

With us now, Democratic New York Congressman Gregory Meeks, a member of the Financial Services Committee and Republican California Congressman Kevin McCarthy, also a member of the Financial Services Committee.

Gentlemen, appreciate having you before this morning's big event.

Congressman McCarthy, what will you be asking Secretary Geithner? And will yesterday's plan and Wall Street's reaction to it impact your questioning today?

REP. McCARTHY: Well, the one thing we're going to look at it is, one, I think Geithner is on the right path from looking at the toxic assets, but the problem with the plan though, too, is a partnership is really 50-50. How much greater liability are we giving the taxpayers when we're picking up 95 percent of this? We're actually loaning the money and guaranteeing it in the process. But I think we're also going to be talking about the AIG bonuses. As Geithner comes before us, the Secretary, he's going to be asking for more power. But how much power has he already used to change a bill, influence a bill, but not come forward about it.

MS. NOVOTNY: And we'll get to the question about additional power in a moment. I do want to ask you about that, but first, let me ask Congressman Meeks, let me ask you. Will this be a public lashing today before allowing the Secretary to move on? Or will some still be calling for his resignation?

REP. MEEKS: I don't think that too many people, if anyone, would be calling for his resignation. I think that, yes, there's going to be some hard questions asked, but I think also members are going to be asking about the plan, the new plan and where we go forward. You know, one thing that we always have to remember, its only been a little bit more than 50 days since this administration has been in office, and yes, the American people have been impatient and we all are impatient because we want to get this right and I think there's going to be some probing questions as to the direction that we're headed in, to try to make sure that we're on the right path to recovery and I think that's going to be extremely important and one of the ways to make sure that happens is to address the AIG bonus situation.

MS. NOVOTNY: And let me ask you, Congressman McCarthy, let me ask you. A new CBS poll that I'm sure you heard about shows that Americans aren't resoundingly happy about the president's handling of the AIG bonus controversy. You've got 41 percent approving, but 42 percent disapproving. Does the White House and Congress need to be more transparent about what went wrong?

REP. McCARTHY: Oh, I think very much so, and remember, this is a president that came in about bringing more transparency, but the idea of what we found in our last hearing last week, you had a cover up pretty much from the Treasury Department. You had senators finally coming out after they said they don't know how the bill changed, the Treasury staffers pushed them to do it and I think Geithner is going to have tough questions today and he has to answer that. He has to become very transparent if we're able to move on.

MS. NOVOTNY: And Congressman Meeks, your colleague there mentioned this a little bit earlier in the interview, the Obama team also working on this plan to secure more power for the Treasury Secretary, to step in and save companies like AIG, non-banks. If their failure would hurt the economy as a whole, do you think this is a necessary step?

REP. MEEKS: Well, I think that we're looking at that on the committee, you know, you're talking about a systemic risk regulator and who should that person be. That is currently being debated in the House Financial Services Committee. It's going to be also discussed with the administration. I think that we're moving in that direction. We cannot put ourselves in this kind of position again, and so, therefore, maybe someone needs to look over the entire system to be able to say there is a risk now that is on the horizon and this is what we've got to do so that we won't be back where we are today. I think that's a prudent move.

MS. NOVOTNY: Congressman Meeks, Congressman McCarthy, we know you've got a busy morning ahead. Thanks for your time.

REP. McCARTHY: Thanks for having us.

END.

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