MSNBC "Hardball with Chris Matthews" - Transcript
Interview
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TODD: Well, we are joined now by Republican Congressman Steve Scalise of Louisiana, who we noted earlier was celebrating the Saints" visit to the White House.
But I want to give you a chance to answer the question that John Boehner did not answer with David Gregory, which is twofold. Number one, are tax cuts--do tax cuts pay for themselves? Do you believe that these, if they continue these tax rates, it will pay for itself, the $3.8 trillion that"s needed, or do you believe that it does potentially add to the deficit?
REP. STEVE SCALISE ®, LOUISIANA: Well, first, Chuck, I want to say who dat out there to all the Saints fans across the nation.
TODD: Of course.
(LAUGHTER)
SCALISE: It was a great day today.
But when you talk about the tax cuts and the policies up here in Washington, I think one of the problem that we"re seeing is that this tax-and-spend agenda by the liberals running Congress is failing us miserably. And it"s leading us to a point where we nearly have 10 percent unemployment.
But if you look throughout the history of our country, when taxes have been cut, more money has actually come into the federal government. The problem has been that Congress has typically gone and spent even more money than the new--the new generated money that these tax cuts brought in. So, we need to cut taxes to get businesses going.
(CROSSTALK)
TODD: I understand it"s been a bipartisan issue. As you know, the Republican Congress that was here running Washington back in the early part of this decade spent money without paying for it, the Medicare prescription drug.
So, should Congress be finding a way to pay for extending these Bush tax cuts? I had somebody else describe it to me, look, for 10 years, in 2001 and 2003, Washington said, look, we"re going to--we"re going to go on sale. And we"re going to lower your tax rate. But we"re only giving it to you for 10 years. And eventually it"s going back to the regular price.
A lot of folks can see it that way. Hey, they see that sometimes something is on sale and sometimes it"s not. Is it time to say, you know what, your tax cut is no longer on sale?
SCALISE: Well, I think one of the things that we"re seeing with this soft economy is that there are a lot of businesses that are holding onto their cash. They"re not investing back in their businesses. And they"re not hiring American workers, because they"re seeing these big tax increases that are going to be coming in 2011, in 2013.
And, of course, the Democrats still with this son of stimulus that they"re trying to bring back tomorrow, $26 billion in spending, they have got $10 billion in new taxes in that bill that is going to be on the vote for the House floor tomorrow. That new tax--those new tax increases are only going to make matters worse.
So, what you"re seeing is, businesses are being hit with these massive tax increases, and then impending tax increases next year and two years from now. And they"re holding back because of that. What we should be doing is encouraging people to grow their businesses, to hire more American families that want jobs. They don"t want to see government continuing to grow like they"re seeing now. They want tax cuts that are going to help stimulate the economy and incentivize those people that are creating jobs.
TODD: I understand that. But, Congressman, obviously, the Republicans have put a lot of pressure on Democrats when they have had a program to find a way to pay for it. They believe they have paid for the program that you"re talking about tomorrow.
Why shouldn"t an extension of the Bush tax rates be paid for some in some form, in--whether--it"s not just the top 2 percent--the entire bill?
SCALISE: Yes, and I don"t think taxes should be raised on anybody. And, obviously, I disagree with Speaker Pelosi and her liberal lieutenants there.
But, if you look, the first place we could go is to cut all of the money that is still unspent from the failed stimulus bill. President Obama brought that bill a year-and-a-half ago. And he said, the stimulus bill is needed to stop unemployment from going over 8 percent. Well, now we"re at almost 10 percent.
TODD: So, you believe...
(CROSSTALK)
SCALISE: So, cut that money, cut taxes, and you will see the economy take off. And that will generate more money coming into Washington. But we can spend it on paying off the debt, not on growing the size of government.
TODD: But you believe that tax cuts should--you have got to find a way to pay for them?
SCALISE: Well, I think the first thing is, you go and look and see what it"s going to do. Those tax cuts will generate new income.
TODD: And if it doesn"t?
SCALISE: The tax cuts will create more jobs and it will bring the money to the federal government.
But that"s--that"s been the case all throughout history. The problem has been that Congress...
TODD: All right.
SCALISE: ... has gone and spent more money. We have got to stop spending and cut taxes.
TODD: I"m up against a break.
All right, Congressman Steve Scalise, congratulations on your Saints. They finally made it to the White House today, after a few months of delays.
(LAUGHTER)
TODD: And we will see you again. Thanks very much.
SCALISE: Thanks, Chuck. Great to be with you.
TODD: All righty.
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