CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript

Interview

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I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

Depending on whom you believe, Democratic plans for health care reform could come between you and your doctor, as some Republicans claim, or Republican inaction could cause future health costs to simply spiral out of control, as so many Democrats say.

We're trying to get to the bottom of all of this. Here to discuss what's going on, two leaders in the United States House of Representatives, the number two leaders in both, for that matter.

Joining us now is the majority leader, Steny Hoyer, and the minority whip, Eric cantor.

Gentlemen, thanks very much for coming in.

REP. STENY HOYER (D-MD), MAJORITY LEADER: You're welcome. Good to be with you, Wolf.

REP. ERIC CANTOR (R-VA), MINORITY WHIP: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Let's go through some of the major points of contention, see if we can find any common ground between the two of you.

On the issue of a public option, as it's called, Congressman Hoyer, a government health insurance company, if you will, that would compete with private health insurance companies, is that a done deal as far as the Democrats are concerned, or are you willing to back away from it?

HOYER: I think there's still discussion about that, but I think there's going to be a public option in the House bill. And I hope there is. And I think there will be.

We think there needs to be an alternative for individuals. And, of course, the Republicans, when they passed prescription drug, also had an alternative. It was triggered, but there was the possibility of a public option in their own bill. So, we think it will be in there. We think it's important to be in there to keep the insurance companies honest, if you will.

BLITZER: If there's a public option, a government health insurance company, Congressman Cantor, is that acceptable, in some forms, to Republicans? CANTOR: Wolf, the thing is, I -- I don't think anybody believes that you can have the government compete with the private sector. It -- there just can't be an even playing field.

And I think this is where the divide begins. And I would rather look to see where we can work together, because there are a lot of points that we agree on. I know Steny agrees with me the status quo is unacceptable.

You know, we have got to institute some insurance reform. We have got to make it so that health insurance costs are brought down. And we can work together and do that, without having to expand government's role in the decision-making as far as families...

BLITZER: So...

CANTOR: ... and -- and health care is concerned.

BLITZER: ... Congressman Hoyer, so, in order to attract Republicans, maybe even some conservative or moderate Democrats, are you willing to abandon that public option?

HOYER: Well, I -- no, we're not willing to abandon the public option.

There are a number of different facets that it could take, but we're not willing to abandon it at this point in time. We believe it will be in the House bill.

But let me say, there is agreement. As Eric just said, the current system is not sustainable. The current system does not include all Americans. And the current system is too expensive, and it's not sustainable over the long term.

So, we have got to bring the cost curve down. We're in a lot of discussion about that. We have got to make sure that every American has access to affordable, quality health care. We have got to make sure that preexisting conditions don't preclude people from getting insurance that they need. And we have got to make sure that small business can afford...

BLITZER: All right.

HOYER: ... insurance.

(CROSSTALK)

HOYER: So, those are the objectives we're trying to get to.

BLITZER: Congressman Cantor, are you willing to accept a tax increase on the wealthiest Americans to help pay for health insurance for those who are uninsured right now?

CANTOR: See, Wolf, right now, we have got a situation, one of the worst economic times in our generation. And, so, when you're starting to talk about taxing individuals that are successful, the problem is, a disproportionate share of that group, almost 50 percent, derive at least 26 percent of their income from small-business sources.

So, what you're really saying by saying that you're going to go after those people who are wealthy or successful, you will tax them, but you also tax the job creators. And I think, if you asked the American people right now where they want Congress to focus, it is trying to get this economy back on track and trying to get people in this country back to work.

HOYER: There's no doubt about that, Wolf.

BLITZER: I know you disagree -- you disagree with him on that, don't you?

HOYER: Well, there's no doubt about that. We want to concentrate on that.

We passed the Recovery and Reinvestment Act to do exactly that. We gave 95 percent of Americans a tax cut in that bill.

But we also under...

BLITZER: But you want a tax increase on the richest Americans?

HOYER: Well, that's $350,000 and above. That's the upper 1 percent of the taxpayers in America that we're asking to make a contribution on that.

That's one option, Wolf, of funding sources. What we have pledged is, we're going to pay for the reforms that we adopt, and not make the deficit worse. So, the answer to that question is, there are going to be a number of different proposals. That's one of them. We think it's a credible proposal that the Ways and Means Committee has made.

BLITZER: What about the option of taxing employer benefits, Congressman Cantor? Are you open to that; in other words, it would be part of your taxable income, the health insurance benefits that your employer gives you?

CANTOR: No, we shouldn't be doing that right now, again, think about where we are. When you have got almost 10 percent of the families -- or the work force out of a job right now in this country.

We ought not be thinking about new ways to tax them. What we ought to be doing is saying, hey, let's put more control in the hands of the families right now. And, so, we ought not be taxing health care benefits. Instead, what we ought to do is to provide incentives for people who find themselves in the individual market, those people who are out there without a job and without protection and health care.

We ought to first see how we can put some flexibility in the law to make sure that they don't lose their insurance coverage when they lose their job. And, frankly, we should put some more incentives in the tax code to allow individuals to make their own choices, not an insurance company, not the government.

BLITZER: All right, there's -- there's a lot of...

HOYER: Wolf, the proposal, of course, you...

BLITZER: Yes, go ahead.

HOYER: ... you referred to Senator McCain's proposal, which Eric is not for.

But he wants to put control in the hands of families. We want to do the same thing. Right now, unfortunately, as is so clear to the American public, control is in hands of the insurance companies. That's what we need to change.

BLITZER: You...

(CROSSTALK)

CANTOR: And -- and, Wolf, if I could say something right now, we don't want to put the hands -- put control in the hands of some bureaucrats here in Washington.

That's why, when you start to ask about a government plan, there is such resistance, not only on the part of the Republicans here in Congress, but across the country. Everyone knows that a government bureaucrat is not going to be able to keep down costs and keep up the kind of quality of care that most Americans are used to.

BLITZER: Congressman Hoyer, you're the -- the -- the majority leader, the number-two Democrat in the House. Right now, there are 256 Democrats in the House. There's 178 Republicans. There's one seat that's vacant right now. You have an overwhelming majority.

But, if you take those 52 moderate or conservative Democrats, the so-called Blue Dogs, and they vote with the Republicans because they dislike, some of them, what you're having, they're going to win, and you're going to lose. You have to get those -- those moderate and conservative Democrats on board.

HOYER: Wolf, I agree with your math, but that's not going to happen.

The fact is that every Democrat that I have spoken to, from conservative to progressive and everybody in between, says they want to vote for a health care reform bill that gives access to affordable, quality health care to every American.

So, we have a consensus in our party. Now we're talking about the ways and means to get there in the most effective way possible, the most cost-effective way possible, the -- the way that's most sustainable over the long term, but that gives access to all Americans at a cost this country and they can afford.

BLITZER: Are you willing to keep the House in session until you get legislation passed on the floor, Congressman Hoyer? HOYER: Well, if you're asking are we going to keep the House in session during the month of August, I doubt that that's going to be the case.

But we are certainly going to move forward on resolving the issues. This is a very serious, complex matter that deserves discussion and deserves to be gotten right.

BLITZER: Well...

HOYER: We're going to take the time to do that.

BLITZER: ... can I just press you on this? Are you willing to stay in session until the House passes health care reform in August?

HOYER: I'm willing to stay in session for as long as it takes, if I believe that staying in session is the key.

After all, once we pass the bill through the Energy and Commerce Committee, which I hope to -- to do this week, we will still have to reconcile three bills. There are still two bills in the Senate -- or one bill that's passed out of committee and one bill that hasn't. So, there's a lot of work to be done by staff and members, not necessarily on the floor of the House, but that has to be done before we get to a place where we will have final passage of the health care reform bill.

BLITZER: Well, I will give Congressman Cantor the last word.

It looks like that he's -- he's saying -- I'm just reading between the lines -- that they will get it through the committee, but not necessarily pass it on the floor, before the recess.

CANTOR: Well, I mean, listen, Wolf, first of all, you know, we have got to get it right, and that has to be the ultimate goal here. It is too big. It affects every American.

But the real problem is -- and the majority leader knows this -- there are 68 Democrats on -- who have expressed concern about this bill. And so, obviously, there is a bipartisan majority against the current health care bill in Congress.

And there's a reason for that. The American people are not behind it. So, I don't see why it is that, over the next three days, we have got to rush to see this thing come to the floor, when there are so many concerns being voiced by folks on both sides of the partisan aisle.

BLITZER: Already, guys, unfortunately, we have got to leave it there, but we will continue this conversation.

Appreciate both of you coming in.

HOYER: You bet, Wolf.

CANTOR: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you.

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