MSNBC Interview - Transcript

Interview

MSNBC Interview - Transcript

MSNBC INTERVIEW WITH REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC)
SUBJECT: BUDGET INTERVIEWER: NORAH O'DONNELL

Copyright ©2009 by Federal News Service, Inc., Ste. 500, 1000 Vermont Ave, Washington, DC 20005 USA. Federal News Service is a private firm not affiliated with the federal government. No portion of this transcript may be copied, sold or retransmitted without the written authority of Federal News Service, Inc. Copyright is not claimed as to any part of the original work prepared by a United States government officer or employee as a part of that person's official duties. For information on subscribing to the FNS Internet Service at www.fednews.com, please email Carina Nyberg at cnyberg@fednews.com or call 1-202-216-2706.

MS. O'DONNELL: The president is renewing his push today to get his $3.6 trillion budget passed, but it's not only Republicans who are causing problems. The president's biggest headache may be coming from within his own party.

Some key Democrats on the Hill are saying the budget is just too big and they're trying to pare it down.

Last night, the president was pressed on whether he would sign a budget that doesn't contain, among things, a middle class tax cut.

PRESIDENT OBAMA (From video.): I want to see health care, energy, education and serious efforts to reduce our budget deficit, and there are going to be a lot of details that are still being worked out, but I have confidence that we're going to be able to get a budget done that's reflective of what needs to happen in order to make sure that America grows.

MS. O'DONNELL: With me now live, House Majority Whip, Democratic Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina.

Congressman, good to see you. Thanks so much for joining us.

REP. CLYBURN: Well, thank you so much for having me, Norah.

MS. O'DONNELL: You heard the president last night say he wants a budget with his health care proposal, and yet we learn on the front page of The Washington Post today that Kent Conrad, the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee is going to leave out new spending for Obama's proposed expansion of health care.

Are they doing the wrong thing in the Senate?

REP. CLYBURN: Well, the Senate, I don't know about. I tend to focus on what we're doing in the House. I think the president has made it very clear with his budget blueprint, the three things he would like to see us focus on, health care being one of them, education being another and we want to look at -- making a down payment on energy independence.

I think we're going to do that in the House. Now --

MS. O'DONNELL: I guess, maybe the better way for me to phrase it, Congressman, would you support a budget that leaves out that more than $600 billion for the health care reforms that the president wants?

REP. CLYBURN: No, ma'am, I won't. I have made it very clear, along with Bernie Sanders, introduced what I call H.R. 1296, that's a program to expand health care by focusing on community health care centers. Now, the president put in a $634 billion pace holder. I believe that a significant portion of that ought to be used to expand community health care centers. It's the best thing to do for prevention. It is cheaper than going to other health care facilities and it could very well be a nationwide and cover every community in our country.

That will be moving toward a health care program that would eventually become universal and cover everybody.

So that's the kind of thing that I would like to see done on this side. We may not be able to do everything that the president would like to see done in one year, but we have now moved from seven million children on the SCHIP to 11 million. There's still another four or five million left uncovered. We ought to be moving to cover the rest of those children in this program; in this budget and I believe we can do that.

MS. O'DONNELL: Congressman, it's not just the health care money that they're carving out those Senate Democrats, but also that tax cut for the middle class and today, we learned from Politico that Americans United For Change, this is a labor-backed organization is going to go up in 11 states with ads against Democrats, including Kent Conrad.

Is this what you want having to happen is that these more liberal-minded groups are spending millions, even MoveOn is going to do it to target Democrats on the budget? Is that the way to get the president's budget passed?

REP. CLYBURN: I don't think so. That's not what I would like to see done. I want to see an atmosphere of collegiality existing within my party --

MS. O'DONNELL: It sounds like an inter-party war going on.

REP. CLYBURN: No, I don't think so. We're being Democrats, I mean, we are independent thinkers. We see this differently. A lot of this has to do with where people live. A lot of it has to do where people currently are.

Remember, if you look at labor unions, they are representing working men and women and working men and women find themselves, in my state, 10.4 percent unemployment, up in Detroit, over 11 percent unemployment and so these people are representing these people and I think they are right to go out and speak on their behalf and it's our job in the Congress to do what we can to respond to them.

MS. O'DONNELL: All right. Congressman Clyburn, great interview. Thanks so much for joining us.

REP. CLYBURN: Well, thanks for having me.

END.

Source