MSNBC "The Rachel Maddow Show" - Transcript: Government Budget
Interview
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Joining us now is Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. He`s a member of the Budget and Joint Economic Committee.
Senator Sanders, thank you for being here in helping us understand what`s going on right now.
MADDOW: First things first, I just have to ask you about what`s happening now. As far as we understand it, it seems that we may not be getting a vote on the funding bill tonight? Is that how you understand it?
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VERMONT: Well, Rachel, I may be going to the airport, I may not. I may be voting tonight, tomorrow, Sunday, or Monday. That`s about what I know.
MADDOW: Do you know if Harry Reid has the votes to get this through? Do you know if there`s a filibuster threat that could meaningfully slow it down or potentially stop it?
SANDERS: I don`t know that. If I were a betting guy, I would assume the votes are there.
MADDOW: In terms of this fight that`s happened in the House, you and Senator Warren and others have been on the record opposing this spending bill, specifically calling out the rolling back of Dodd-Frank, this big fight was mounted in the House. It wasn`t enough to stop it, but they made a lot of noise and made a lot of people very nervous yesterday.
What`s the status among Democrats in the Senate and how it feels there?
SANDERS: Rachel, this is a bad bill for a number of reasons. I think you effectively talked about the outrage of repealing a section, by the way, whose title is Prohibition Against Federal Government Bailouts of Swap Entities. In other words, these guys will be able to make incredible, risky investments. If they win, they make a lot of money. If they lose, the taxpayers of this country bail them out. That is totally crazy.
But that`s not the only objectionable aspect of this bill. This bill is about a trillion dollar bill, 60 percent of the money is going to military spending.
Our infrastructure is collapsing. Kids can`t afford to go to college. Child care is a total disaster. We`re spending 60 percent of our discretionary money on the military, a military who can`t even account or audit its budget. So, that`s another objection.
And the third objection, which has not gotten a lot of attention, but is very, very important, there is language in this bill which repeals 40- year-old federal law protecting workers pensions. And if this bill goes through, millions and millions of workers who have worked for 20 or 30 years on a job, may found out find out that the pensions they expected were cut by 30 percent, 40 percent or 50 percent.
So, I`m going to vote very strongly against this legislation. I think we can do a heck of a lot better in terms of protecting working families.
MADDOW: In some of -- not in terms of the overall scope and aims of the bill, but in terms of some of the really specific stuff, some of the really specific complaints, things that were at it as riders in the bill, is there any hope of getting anything out of it? Is there any legislation --
(CROSSTALK)
MADDOW: You have to defeat the whole bill?
SANDERS: Absolutely. The House passed the bill. It now goes to the Senate. So, what the Senate has to do is defeat the bill, rewrite the bill and send it back to the House. I think what is working for us is if more that people learn in terms of what`s in the bill, they are absolutely disgusted. We`re getting calls from Vermont. Many, many of them.
And people are sick and tired of seeing the people on Wall Street whose greed and illegal behavior drove this country into this horrendous recession impacting millions of people. And now, they`re back in power and they are writing the legislation. Literally, Citigroup is writing the legislation that House Republicans are putting into the bill. People do not want to see that.
MADDOW: Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, still at work tonight, indefinitely there with the Senate, we don`t know how long it`s going to take. Sir, thank you for helping us understand. I appreciate it.
SANDERS: Thank you.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source