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Interview

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VELSHI: We're probably less than 90 minutes away from a very important vote on the floor of the United States Senate. This is a vote about whether or not to extend unemployment benefits once again. This has been going on monthly until June, when senators voted not to extend unemployment benefits.

And there are about 3 million people who are depending on those benefits. They're unemployed, and in some cases, very long-term unemployed.

Let me just give you some sense of why we're talking about this. It's a $33 billion measure, so it's no small deal, just to extend federal aid by six months. The average benefit for people receiving unemployment, by the way, is about $309 a week.

Now, let me give you a sense of the states in the U.S. that still have double-digit unemployment. There are a number of states that have -- 39 states and the District of Columbia in the latest report, which has just come out today, actually saw decreases in their unemployment, but there are still ten states that have unemployment rates above 10 percent. You can see them there: California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island and South Carolina. Many of these states have manufacturing facilities. Others have unemployment rates that are higher for other reasons.

Now, take a look at the number of states that have more than 100,000 people who have exhausted all federal and state unemployment benefits. That means they are long-term unemployed, and they cannot -- they cannot get any more benefits. California, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania. A lot of overlap between those two states.

Now, why is this vote happening again at 2:30 Eastern today? Well, because the Democrats think they'll have the votes to actually get it passed. And that's because former West Virginia gubernatorial aide Carte Goodwin, he' going to be sworn in as the -- as the temporary senator from West Virginia, following the passing of Senator Robert Byrd.

He is replacing the Senate's oldest member, and he is actually going to be the Senate's youngest member, 36 years old, the first U.S. senator born in the 1970s. We'll bring you that when it happens. He's going to be sworn in around -- about an hour from now. We'll bring you that.

But right now, I want to talk to U.S. Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming. He's a Republican, and he's joining me. He's one of those who is likely to cast his vote against the extension of unemployment benefits.

Senator, I want to ask you, I guess there are two reasons that people put forth for voting against this. One of them is fiscal and the other one maybe you can describe as philosophical. What would your reasoning be for voting against -- be for voting against this?

SEN. JOHN BARRASSO (R), WYOMING: Well, I do want to extend unemployment benefits to folks who are out of work, but I think we ought to pay for it, instead of putting this debt on the backs of our children and grandchildren. And there's plenty of money left over in the stimulus package to pay for it.

So I actually co-sponsored an amendment last month that said let's extend the unemployment benefits, but pay for it in a responsible way. That's what we need to do.

I mean, the scroll on the bottom of the screen talks about no jobs. It says jobs, no. The bottom line is, that's the problem with this failed stimulus package. The president said if they passed it, unemployment would stay less than 8 percent in this country. We now know it hit 10 percent, and you showed the map of how many states have over 10 percent unemployment.

He -- the president overpromised, under-delivered, and even though Vice President Biden said that the stimulus package is working, fewer than one in four Americans believe so. The president ought to be focused on jobs, the economy, the debt and the amount of spending. And he's not focused on that at all.

VELSHI: So Senator, your view is that you're OK with extending these benefits. You think they're helpful. You don't want it added to the budget. You'd like it coming out of the money that's left over in stimulus.

There are some, though, either in your caucus or in conservative political circles, who actually have a philosophical argument. I want to just sort of give you one quote from the Cato Institute, and I want you to tell me whether you think this is reflective of people you've talked to.

It says, quote, "A large body of economic evidence suggests that extending unemployment benefits increases unemployment and keeps people out of work longer. This is because workers are less likely to look for work or accept less-than-ideal jobs as long as they are protected from the full consequences of being unemployed."

And Senator, I put that out to some of my viewers who follow me on Twitter and Facebook, and I got a bit of a mixed bag. I had some people saying they think that some people remain on unemployment insurance because it's easier than working. I have to tell you, if the average benefit is $309 a week, I feel like that might not be the case for everybody. What do you think?

BARRASSO: I think there are people looking for jobs, and they can't find them right now in this economy. And a lot of it is the uncertainty that small businesses have as a result of the Obama economic position, which is that of raising taxes, health-care mandates that are going to be increased costs to small businesses, the worry about cap and trade or cap and tax legislation that's going to increase energy costs.

So many small businesses in this country, and they're the engines that drive this economy, they're afraid to hire people right now, because of the uncertainty as a result of the policies coming out of this administration.

So I want to extend unemployment benefits for those who are out of work, because I believe many of those people are looking for work, are trying to find a job, but this economy, and specifically this environment, as a result of this administration, are making it harder for businesses to hire people. And that's where I think the fundamental problem is.

VELSHI: Now, ultimately, you've been able to keep this -- this particular measure from passing, not as part of the stimulus, but as part of the budget. You've been able to do that for -- since June. This is probably going to come to an end today, this measure is going to pass, and unemployment benefits will be extended for the next six months. What next?

BARRASSO: Well, the amount of spending going on in this country and the debt is -- it's unsustainable; it's irresponsible.

I just got back from Wyoming from over the weekend. Small businesses want to hire people. People are very anxious and concerned about -- about the debt. I mean, the very sad facts are that this debt in this country of $13 trillion is an amount that makes me think of what's happened recently in Greece, and that may be a coming attraction of what's going to happen in the United States.

This debt is something that is on the minds of the American people,. I think the president ought to be focused on jobs, the economy, the debt and the spending and focus on that instead of so many different ways he's been distracted in the last year and a half of his presidency.

VELSHI: OK. Jobs and debt. These are going to be major issues as we go into the midterm election. I want you to hold on right there. I want to take a quick break so that, you know, we don't get into debt. And then I'm going to come back to you on the other side, and I want to hear what you think some of the solutions are to jobs and paying down the debt.

U.S. Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, standing by for more of an important conversation about the things that matter to all of us. I'll be back right after this. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Continuing my conversation with Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming about the economy right now.

Senator, thanks for staying with us. We know that, generally speaking, Republicans would like lower taxes, would like lower taxes for small businesses to promote growth in the economy. Specifically, if I were one of your constituents saying what do you want this administration to do, at what cost, and at what benefit, with respect to jobs?

In other words, what should they do to create more jobs? What will it cost us? And how will it benefit us? What could you tell me?

BARRASSO: Well, one is, try to supply some certainty. There are so many threats hanging over the heads of small businesses, they're reluctant to hire.

One is this cap and trade energy legislation that would drive up the costs of energy for small businesses and producers. I have visited with a rancher from Wyoming this morning who was in, very worried about the death tax and the impact on that ranch that's been in the family for four generations.

Even the Internal Revenue Service this past week came out and said the mandates in the health-care bill are going to be very expensive for small businesses. They're going to affect 40 million small businesses, sole proprietors, sub chapter S, small -- small groups working to try to create jobs in this economy. Forty million are going to be hit with additional rules and regulations under the health-care bill. It is very onerous.

Talked to a man last night from Wyoming. I'm continuing to hear that people are very afraid to hire, because of the uncertainty coming down the line. And the president has an approach of redistribution of wealth, and his new health-care rationing czar has said that the health-care plan is to redistribute wealth in the country.

The incentives are being removed from individuals to try hard to succeed. This is a land of opportunity, and when there are so many onerous regulations and rules and taxes impacting on those people that are the job creators in this country, that's the -- that is the fear with 10 percent or 9.5 percent unemployment right now in the country, and they're saying, why is this happening? Why is there no end in sight for this unemployment? It is the policies coming out of this administration which are making it that much tougher.

VELSHI: And I know you and your colleagues are working on a bill that's going to prevent any more regulations from coming into place. Tomorrow we'll be speaking with Representative Eric Cantor about that.

Senator, thanks for joining us. Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, thanks for coming on and talking to us about the unemployment insurance matter that's going to be dealt with in about one hour of the floor of the U.S. Senate. We'll bring you an up to date -- we'll bring you an update on that as it happens. But first I want to check on some of the top stories that we're following here at CNN.

The Senate Judiciary Committee today approved the Supreme Court nomination of Elena Kagan. Next up, the final vote by the entire Senate, and that is expected to come at the beginning of August.

Johnson & Johnson says it's received a grand jury subpoena regarding a federal investigation into multiple recalls of its popular nonprescription drugs. The company says it's cooperating, but it provided no additional information.

And China has overtaken the United States as the world's largest consumer of energy. That's according to the International Energy Agency. China consumed the equivalent of 2.25 billion tons of oil last year, which was a tad above U.S. consumption of 2.17 billion tons. The measure includes all types of energy.

All right. Oil disaster. It's three months in, 92 days, but it's the third -- third month of the oil spill. And you're going to see it in a whole new different way. We're going to show it to you from the air and from the sea. We've got exclusive behind-the-scenes pictures.

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