CBS "Face the Nation" - Transcript
Interview
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BOB SCHIEFFER: And we're back now with Congressman Steny Hoyer, just re-elected the number two man in the House Democratic leadership. Congressman, I-- I want to ask you about tax cuts and a lot of other things but I got to start with these pat downs. I mean this uproar that's going on. Are-- are you hearing any of that? And does the House plan to take any action?
REPRESENTATIVE STENY HOYER (D-Maryland, Majority Leader): Yeah, I think the pat downs are going to be very controversial. The TSA, of course, faced with a very difficult problem. They want to keep the airplanes safe. They want to keep us safe as individuals and as air travelers. On-- on the other hand, they also want to honor our-- our personal privacy. And reaching that balance it's clear that there's not a consensus some whether they've done that yet. Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee has written to the TSA looking for a response, looking for how they analyze this. There is going to be hearings on this. So it took very controversial item with two worthy objectives. Number one keeping us safe
but number two also honoring our personal privacy.
BOB SCHIEFFER: Well, I mean, would you want to undergo one of those things?
REPRESENTATIVE STENY HOYER: I don't think any of us would want to undergo that. I don't think any of us feel that the-- the discomfort and the delay is something that we like. But most people understand that we've got to keep airplanes safe.
BOB SCHIEFFER: Let's also talk a little bit about this whole business of these trials of these terrorists. We know what happened last week. You heard what the Secretary of State says. Do you think there will be a move in the House to cut off these funds? I know the Republicans are already talking about--to move, to bar these people from being moved from Guantanamo.
REPRESENTATIVE STENY HOYER: Well, of course as you know we've-- we've had that. We haven't had any authorization for such movement except for trial. But I think the answer is there's-- there's great concern. I'm not sure if it's very warranted. Whatever happened in the trial it was held here in a Title III court. And it was held safely in this court. Now the outcome, one
count out of I think two hundred and fifty or two hundred and seventy-five counts was disappointing. However, the count that he was convicted on has a twenty-five-year-to-life sentence. And of course it's at the federal level there's no parole. So he's going to spend a very long time in jail.
BOB SCHIEFFER: Given your druthers would you rather see them tried in a civilian court or in a military court.
REPRESENTATIVE STENY HOYER: You know, well, I've suggested to the administration two years ago, that we look at the option of having either military commissions or Title III courts. I've been down to Guantanamo. There are facilities in place there with--
BOB SCHIEFFER (overlapping): Do it there?
REPRESENTATIVE STENY HOYER: --Title III court can sit there. You don't have to bring them to the United States. I think under the Constitution we could clearly impanel a Title III court to dispose of these cases in a proper way in Guantanamo itself.
BOB SCHIEFFER: Well, I mean, what would you do? Fly the jury in or what?
REPRESENTATIVE STENY HOYER (overlapping): Well, we'd-- we'd have to--
BOB SCHIEFFER (overlapping): How would you do that?
REPRESENTATIVE STENY HOYER: --figure that out. But juries as you know are sequestered in many cases. So it wouldn't be much different. And it's a-- it's a Caribbean island. It's not like you're sending them to an archipelago or-- or Siberia. But the fact is that we need to figure out how to get these cases resolved, whether we do it through military commissions or title three
courts. And I think you're right, bringing them to the United States given the current concerns and make up of the Congress probably is not going to happen.
BOB SCHIEFFER: Let's talk a little bit about tax cuts. One of the big things you're going to be dealing with is in-- in this lame duck session is whether or not to extend the Bush tax cuts which expire at the end of the year. Democrats want them for middle and lower-income folks. Republicans say no way. You got to also extend them for people in the upper-income brackets.
We keep hearing hints, signals, whispers that the President might be willing to compromise, maybe make those tax cuts for the upper-income folks temporary, in order to get the ones for the lower-income people. Would House Democrats be willing to go along with that or do you have a problem with the President?
REPRESENTATIVE STENY HOYER: Bob, I don't have a problem with the President. And--and-- exactly what he says on this is he's for the two hundred and fifty thousand and under. That's his position. That's our position. Let me say that this election, as-- as we know, was in my
view essentially about two things. Number one, we hadn't grown jobs quickly enough. We hadn't grown the economy. And concern about the deficit. Now if you're going to try to balance those two things, one of the things you don't want to do is have average working Americans have an
increase in their taxes. We're absolutely opposed to that happening. And we're going to work towards not making sure that working Americans don't have an increase in their taxes. On the other hand, there is a great concern about the deficit which means the best off of us have to contribute to making sure that we pay for what we buy. That's the balance we have to make.
And I'm hopeful that we can work together and find common ground on-- on this issue. Trying to work on both growing the economy and bringing the deficit down because I think that's what Americans want.
BOB SCHIEFFER: But-- but-- I'm not sure you answered my question there. Are you willing to compromise on-- on these upper-income folks make those tax cuts temporary in order to get the other ones?
REPRESENTATIVE STENY HOYER: I-- I-- I'm not willing to compromise on your show, Bob, but what I am willing to do is to say, look, our objective is to make sure that working Americans don't get a tax increase at a time when the economy is still struggling.
BOB SCHIEFFER (overlapping): If the--
REPRESENTATIVE STENY HOYER (overlapping): --not growing as fast--
BOB SCHIEFFER (overlapping): --if the President came in--
REPRESENTATIVE STENY HOYER (overlapping): On the other hand--
BOB SCHIEFFER (overlapping): --and said--
REPRESENTATIVE STENY HOYER (overlapping): --we need to make sure that we don't give away seven hundred billion dollars in tax expenditures, which is going to make our deficit even worse. We've got to accomplish both objectives. And I am certainly prepared to try to seek common ground and work with Republicans and trying to get to that objective.
BOB SCHIEFFER: If-- If the President came to you and said, Mister Hoyer, the only way I can get this done and get these Republicans to go along is at least give the upper-income folks a temporary extension of they-- of the tax cut. What-- what would you say to him?
REPRESENTATIVE STENY HOYER: if the President comes to me and-- and-- and we've had discussions, I'm certainly going to talk to him about how we move the ball forward. As you know, Bob, I'm somebody who believes that no action at a time of challenge is really not the-- the way to go.
BOB SCHIEFFER: But you're not going to tell me what you're going say to him.
REPRESENTATIVE STENY HOYER: No, I think that's probably correct.
BOB SCHIEFFER: All right. I-- It would just-- just note that Nancy Pelosi says no way no how, on that.
REPRESENTATIVE STENY HOYER (overlapping): We'll let me-- let me say this--
BOB SCHIEFFER (overlapping): And she's your leader. So you're with her on that?
REPRESENTATIVE STENY HOYER: She-- she's the leader of our party. And the fact is that I believe strongly. Again, I want to state that working Americans and we've set the bar at two hundred and fifty thousand for a family and under, should see no increase in their taxes. On the other hand, we have to get at this deficit as well. And those of us who are better off need to help
do that. Yes, we've got to cut spending. But we can't keep cutting taxes and expect that not to have an impact on the deficit. It does. So what, I'm saying, Bob, is that-- to you or to anybody else is, look, let's try to move forward. We'll talk about how we do that. And we need to get agreement. I'm-- I'm a--
BOB SCHIEFFER (overlapping): Are you glad that--
REPRESENTATIVE STENY HOYER (overlapping): --legislator that knows you going to have two hundred eighteen and-- in the Senate unfortunately, you going to have a super majority.
BOB SCHIEFFER: Are you glad that Nancy Pelosi decided to run as leader of the House Democrats? A lot of people thought they should-- that she shouldn't. A lot of people thought that you would run for leader if she didn't.
REPRESENTATIVE STENY HOYER: Well had she not run, I would have run for leader. And, I think, I would have been elected leader. Having said that, this election was I think about issues, about concerns and anxieties that the American people have. Not about personalities. They want us to focus on jobs and growing the economy and bringing the deficit down. I-- I think
Leader Pelosi will-- will do that. I'll do that. Hopefully, our Republican colleagues will do that as well and we'll find common cause to reach that objective.
BOB SCHIEFFER: All right. Steny Hoyer, always-- always enjoy having you with us.
REPRESENTATIVE STENY HOYER: Thanks, Bob.
BOB SCHIEFFER: Thanks for being here.
REPRESENTATIVE STENY HOYER: Good to be with you.
BOB SCHIEFFER: I'll be back in a moment with some final thoughts.
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