CNN "Newsroom" - Transcript: Government Shutdown

Interview

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Congressman Duffy, thank you so much for being with us right now. I guess we're about 16 hours or so after the meeting at the White House. Republican leaders say they're going to go back and go to the drawing board and work on the contours of a possible deal. I'm wondering if you can give us an update about what you are hearing this morning.

REPRESENTATIVE SEAN DUFFY (R), WISCONSIN: What we're hearing is we have a conversation going on. For the last two weeks during the course of the shutdown, there's been no conversation with the White House because the president had refused to negotiate. And last night that conversation actually started.

I think we're off to a really good start with both sides sitting at the table and having a conversation. As you mentioned, there's a conversation about the debt limit, but when you start to talk, we're also going to be including how we get the government open again and running. Maybe to correct one thing you said on the way in, right now, House Republicans haven't asked to defund Obamacare.

All we've asked for before the government shutdown is that the president go into Obamacare, he join Congress and the rest of America and Obamacare, and we wanted the same treatment for the American families and individuals just like the way they're --

BERMAN: There was a vote that you sent to the Senate and one that defunded it, and one that delayed it, and the third one delayed the individual mandate. But the House absolutely did at one point call for defunding Obamacare as part of that process.

DUFFY: No, you are referencing one of the prior votes. But the most recent one was to make sure the president was in Obamacare and the administration was in the Obamacare and the individual mandate was delayed just like the employers and big businessmen was delayed.

BERMAN: Let's talk about -- if you talked about funding government though. And one of the things that reportedly happened last night was that the congressmen in that room were supposed to go back to their offices and come up with what they would need to get from the president in order to re-open the government, to end the shutdown. What do you think those items are?

DUFFY: Well, first of all, I just laid out what our issues were in regard to opening the government back up. I think what we're going to do in our House conference is sit and have a family conversation. We need to hear from everybody about what is the next place we can go in regard to an offer to the president.

But we have to get an idea from the president that he's willing to say you guys have offered a total defund, a delay for a year, and now you've offered the fact that I should go into Obamacare. I think he also have to make a proposal to us about where he'll come taking steps in our direction on how he'll make some kind of an agreement.

BERMAN: You do think something involved with Obamacare, whether it being a delay or parts of individual mandate, something in your mind has to be included in order to re-open the government?

DUFFY: Well, I think -- I think minimally I want to see the president and the administration in Obama care with the rest of America. Look at the rollout with the exchanges. They haven't been going very well. And those who are responsible to make sure it's working and working well for the American people, should also have the incentive that they're in that plan.

That they don't have a separate health care plan themselves and if it's good for the American people, it's also good for the administration. That's a real important tenant for us that everybody be treated equal. And we can have a discussion with the president in regard to the individual mandate.

If he thinks that's going to have a huge impact on the success of Obamacare, I would be willing to hear him out on that. I don't think it will. I think to say we're going to tax or penalize people because they don't get health or insurance as prescribed by Obamacare, when they can't even sign up on the web site, it seems to be a little unfair. So to ask for a year delay seems pretty reasonable on our part.

BERMAN: The White House has made it pretty clear from the beginning here that they do not desire Obamacare, would not accept any aspect of Obamacare being involved in the discussion here. So it doesn't seem likely that the White House would agree to any part of that discussion. Last question to you, Congressman. Based on what's happened right now, we're 11 days into the shutdown, the debt ceiling looming days away, based on the contours of what the Republican Party seems to at least be willing to agree to on the debt ceiling, do you think that this has all been worth it? Do you think the stand on Obamacare that was made more than 11 days ago, do you think that was worth it to shut down the government to get the deal that you may be close to getting?

DUFFY: First of all, I think the government shutdown is never the right answer. I think in current polls people are mad and they're mad at Washington as a whole. They want to see their government work. They want to see people with different ideas actually sit down and work together to resolve their differences just like we do in families and businesses.

So I'm not happy with where we're at. I'm like the American people. I'm just as angry at Congress. But I do think as we look at the debt limit and raising it, American understands that we have a $17 trillion debt and we're borrowing about $1 trillion every year. And if we're going to extend the credit card of the American government, we should also talk about how we spend.

I think we can have that conversation. I think the president, whether we're going towards tax reform or entitlement reform, there's a lot of areas that we can find agreement and I'm hopeful that that's going to happen as we look forward to the negotiations.

BERMAN: I think a lot of people are hopeful are discussions are happening. But the latest NBC/ "The Wall Street Journal" poll says they're mad at you, or at least Republicans, more by a margin of 22 percent. Americans blame Republicans in Congress more than the president for the shutdown. Is this something that you think will have a lingering effect on the Republican Party?

DUFFY: I think they're had at everybody. Everybody has been hit by this shutdown on government and I talk to my colleagues in Congress, whether Republicans or Democrats, they join the American people. They, too, are angry at how ineffective the negotiations and process has been here. I think we all have to take a deep breath, work together, and get the government open. Find a solution to reforming the way we spend and borrow, and increase the debt limit.

BERMAN: Congressman, I know you're a sports fan. Can you give me odds on when a deal might be struck on the debt ceiling and government shutdown? Do you think that could happen by the end of the week on either?

DUFFY: Yes, listen, the most recent news I had the negotiations are continuing. My hope is we might have more news later on today or early tomorrow on some form of a structured deal on how we get this done.

BERMAN: That's news. Can you give me a little more specific on that? The latest that you're hearing is that it is moving along? There could be a vote later on this afternoon do you think?

DUFFY: Not a vote. We're talking about actually the formation of a deal. So the conversations are continuing. My hope is potentially later today we could have some sort of a structured deal or tomorrow on how we deal with the debt limit.

BERMAN: Thank you for that information. Republican Congressman Sean Duffy of Wisconsin, thank you so much for being with us, really great having you here. We'll be right back.

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