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Speaker 1: Live from our nation's capital. This is Bloomberg sound On

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Speaker 1: talking about a huge issue here is investment in marginalized communities.

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Speaker 1: They want to deconstruct this package and cherry pick what

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Speaker 1: they like what they don't like. China is surgeon powered

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Speaker 1: with major investments. Bloomberg sound On, the insiders, the influencers,

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Speaker 1: the insides. Siding has promised again and again it he

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Speaker 1: will unite the country. Who do you think Biden has

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Speaker 1: to watch in terms of moderate defectors infor the structure

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Speaker 1: that has always been by part of the Bloomberg sound

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Speaker 1: On on Bloomberg Radio. Happy Friday. I'm Emily Wilkins. In

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Speaker 1: just a few minutes, my colleague David Weston is going

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Speaker 1: to be speaking with Transportation Secretary Pete Boudeg taking us

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Speaker 1: through an unexpected lower than expected jobs numbers to day

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Speaker 1: where the infrastructure package, and later we'll be speaking with

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Speaker 1: Republican Congressman Kevin Hearn before he and his colleagues make

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Speaker 1: a crucial decision on the future of the Republican Party

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Speaker 1: next week. Honestly, the big news of today, we cannot

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Speaker 1: ignore it. First Friday of the month, It's Job's Day.

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Speaker 1: Jobs Day is always a big deal here at Bloomberg,

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Speaker 1: but today is extra notable. Experts and analysts expected we

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Speaker 1: would add one million jobs in April. We added two

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Speaker 1: hundred sixty six thousand, way below what we were expecting.

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Speaker 1: And we have some sound today from President Biden, who

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Speaker 1: addressed the nation. We never thought that after the first

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Speaker 1: fifty or sixty days everything would be fine. Today there's

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Speaker 1: more evidence of our economies moving in the right direction,

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Speaker 1: but it's clearly we have a long way to go.

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Speaker 1: Jennie talked to me a little bit about this. I mean,

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Speaker 1: he says that we have a long way to go.

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Speaker 1: It's also seems like, you know, just earlier this week

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Speaker 1: we heard from the administration painting this Rosie picture, getting

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Speaker 1: people vaccinated, getting back on track. What is sort of

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Speaker 1: a realistic expectation here for the rest of the year.

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Speaker 1: It's such a good question and so hard to know

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Speaker 1: at this point. I mean, I think we were thinking

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Speaker 1: a low of nine thousand. I mean, it came in

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Speaker 1: much much lower, as you were just saying, than anybody expected.

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Speaker 1: The President came out today and tried to make the

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Speaker 1: case that the economy is growing, jobs are coming back

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Speaker 1: and the way he expected him and I think at

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Speaker 1: one point he said these were, you know, better than

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Speaker 1: he would have forecast some time ago. We're doing better,

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Speaker 1: but it's very, very hard, and it creates some real

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Speaker 1: political turmoil for the White House. On the one hand,

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Speaker 1: it is probably a bit easier for him to sell

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Speaker 1: his infrastructure bill at a much higher cost than the

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Speaker 1: Republicans want. On the other hand, of course, he's facing

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Speaker 1: a lot of questions about things like the unemployment benefits.

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Speaker 1: And you know, I was really fascinated by the governor

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Speaker 1: of Montana saying he is going to cancel the federal

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Speaker 1: unemployment benefits to deal with the job shortage in his state.

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Speaker 1: That to me is a warning sign for the President

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Speaker 1: the White House. Yeah, we had both the Montana governor

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Speaker 1: and the South Carolina governor Henry McMaster go ahead and

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Speaker 1: announced this week that they would be ending those pandemic

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Speaker 1: unemployment benefits. That's supplemental three hundred dollars that those on

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Speaker 1: unemployment we're getting. And their argument was that, you know,

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Speaker 1: that just makes unemployment really palatable for people, sort of saying,

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Speaker 1: why should we go back and try and find a

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Speaker 1: job when we're already making so much as we are

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Speaker 1: with unemployment Rick, I want to bring you in here.

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Speaker 1: You've been a lifelong Republican, former campaign manager for John McCain.

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Speaker 1: How much do you think that unemployment benefits are playing

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Speaker 1: in here and how much do you think it might

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Speaker 1: be from other causes? Well, certainly from a political point

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Speaker 1: of view, the it's a bouncing ball, right, I mean

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Speaker 1: even Republicans were complaining when Donald Trump put those kind

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Speaker 1: of benefits in his unemployment benefits package in the height

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Speaker 1: of coronavirus last year. So, uh, this is consistent, right,

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Speaker 1: This isn't just because Joe Biden has it in his package.

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Speaker 1: And there are a lot of states who are really

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Speaker 1: struggling to find ways to get people back to work.

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Speaker 1: One of the dynamics that we haven't talked about is schools.

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Speaker 1: I mean, one of the reasons there is such a

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Speaker 1: large unemployment number is because women out of the workforce,

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Speaker 1: and they make up the vast majority of this number,

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Speaker 1: and they're not going back and and and most experts

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Speaker 1: I've talked to indicate that until schools are back to

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Speaker 1: full force and there is active childcare, which is also

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Speaker 1: lagging behind the openings, Uh, you're not going to have

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Speaker 1: those women, especially women had a households who are managing

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Speaker 1: children at home going to be entering in the workforce again.

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Speaker 1: So I think there's a lot of unpacking still to

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Speaker 1: do with this pandemic before you're going to see those

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Speaker 1: consistent job numbers come down. Yeah, Ricka, it's a as

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Speaker 1: you kind of pointed out, and I think Secretary yell

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Speaker 1: And also made this point today. It's schools. And yes,

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Speaker 1: while we have seen more school reopen a lot of

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Speaker 1: them are on a hybrid schedule, so you have you know,

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Speaker 1: if you've got a family with two kids, one might

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Speaker 1: be going to school on Monday Wednesday, the other one

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Speaker 1: is going to school on Tuesday Friday, you're having to

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Speaker 1: balance those things. Daycares might not be opened up yet.

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Speaker 1: I mean, are these things? I know that Biden has

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Speaker 1: them in his overall Social Infrastructure package, but obviously the

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Speaker 1: package isn't going to be passing for for a number

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Speaker 1: of months. It seems like by the time it does,

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Speaker 1: we're going if it does, we're going to be much

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Speaker 1: closer to the fall at that particular point. Uh So

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Speaker 1: I wonder, rick I mean, what do you think the

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Speaker 1: outlook is here? Are we going to see a lot

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Speaker 1: more jobs numbers that are that are as a disappointing

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Speaker 1: as as what we saw today. Well, from what I

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Speaker 1: can tell, it's going to be sort of good news

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Speaker 1: bad news on a regular monthly weekly basis. And and

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Speaker 1: until we have you know, sort of firm openings up.

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Speaker 1: I mean, part of all the money in the world

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Speaker 1: can't be spent on childcare unless the schools are and

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Speaker 1: and and people are going back to work because the

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Speaker 1: businesses are opening, right and so there's even though there's

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Speaker 1: a demand for jobs now, um, you still have infrastructure

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Speaker 1: that we were talking about and these cities. Um, I

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Speaker 1: live in the district of Colombia and it is far

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Speaker 1: from being open right now. I mean, you know, you

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Speaker 1: go some other cities and it seems like the COVID

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Speaker 1: never happened at this stage. So we need a uniform policy.

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Speaker 1: Maybe you know, governors getting on board with you know,

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Speaker 1: looking at how this is impacting their states. But I

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Speaker 1: think that's going to drive a lot of people going

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Speaker 1: back to work if they feel safe in the workforce,

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Speaker 1: you know that they're not going to get sick if

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Speaker 1: they go to work. Uh. And and if governors and

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Speaker 1: mayors and state legislatures can guarantee that or at least

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Speaker 1: ensure it as best they can. Then I think you

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Speaker 1: start to see some of the workforce, uh, make efforts

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Speaker 1: to go back into the back into the job market.

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Speaker 1: And Rick, that was one of the things on that

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Speaker 1: point you just made that we heard today, but didn't

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Speaker 1: get as much coverage as say, you know, the the

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Speaker 1: overall jobs and I'm or was that you've got a

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Speaker 1: lot more people who are saying they are not scared

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Speaker 1: of the virus in terms of going back to work.

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Speaker 1: So that was really a positive sign, but didn't get

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Speaker 1: as much coverage obviously as the overall number. And what

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Speaker 1: I wanted to ask you, with all your expertise and

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Speaker 1: campaigning and working on the hill, how much of this

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Speaker 1: is a real pr challenge for the White House as they,

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Speaker 1: on the one hand, and you and Emily were just talking,

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Speaker 1: want to really sell this bill and move it through quickly.

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Speaker 1: They don't want to repeat what Obama did. On the

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Speaker 1: other hand, you know, if they pushed this thing back

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Speaker 1: much further and they try to get some compromise here,

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Speaker 1: you could be running dangerously close to two as terms

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Speaker 1: of campaigning. Yeah, I mean the White House has to

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Speaker 1: be looking at these numbers and say, we need this

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Speaker 1: infrastructure bill now, and and so you know, I think

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Speaker 1: you'll see next week's congressional bipartisan meeting at the White House,

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Speaker 1: uh as as as President Biden said, get real right,

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Speaker 1: I mean like they're going to actually start talking about

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Speaker 1: how to get a deal done. Republicans on the other hand,

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Speaker 1: and I mean they're looking at sort of spotty job numbers.

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Speaker 1: You know, you don't want to stick your neck out

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Speaker 1: too far because next week or next month could be

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Speaker 1: a million you know employment months like um, like May

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Speaker 1: was or April and so um, So they can't walk

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Speaker 1: that plank too far. And um. But this is going

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Speaker 1: to be a very important political fight regardless of what

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Speaker 1: happens in the legislation that starts to get around, especially

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Speaker 1: as you've seen and you mentioned, these governors are in

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Speaker 1: the act right. They want people coming back. They're they're

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Speaker 1: needing to get jobs percolating in their states again so

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Speaker 1: that they can improve their economic data. And so you know,

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Speaker 1: I think you're going to see a lot of opportunism

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Speaker 1: political opportunism at play in the next few months. President

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Speaker 1: Biden also said today that we're going to be seen

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Speaker 1: more jobs come back from state and local jobs, and

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Speaker 1: that comes from that one point nine trillion dollar COVID

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Speaker 1: stimulus bill. Here's the sound on that. Later this month,

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Speaker 1: we're going to be distributed in the first trams of

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Speaker 1: the state local assistance from the American Rescue Plan. We

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Speaker 1: won't get all one point six million of those jobs

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Speaker 1: back in one month, but you're gonna start seeing those

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Speaker 1: jobs state local workers coming back, Jennie, as we do

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Speaker 1: see states and localities come back, what is that actually

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Speaker 1: going to look like for the average American to see

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Speaker 1: those jobs coming back in those positions being filled again.

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Speaker 1: I think it's such an important point that the President made. Um.

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Speaker 1: You know, it does take time to get these people

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Speaker 1: back into the workforce. He's talking about obviously, these public

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Speaker 1: workers at the state and local level, a lot of them,

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Speaker 1: you know, first responders of one kind or another. And

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Speaker 1: I think that's going to be welcome in these communities

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Speaker 1: where obviously we've seen, you know, a huge change since

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Speaker 1: COVID UM. But I think it's also important to keep

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Speaker 1: in mind it does take time to rehire people in

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Speaker 1: other sectors as well, and I think, you know, we

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Speaker 1: have to be patient as people go out to try

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Speaker 1: to find workers that these these things do take time,

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Speaker 1: and for me, I found interesting that the Republicans, to

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Speaker 1: Rick's point, are already taking this number and saying that

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Speaker 1: the low number is a sign of failure of Biden's policies.

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Speaker 1: And he's only been in office for you know, a

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Speaker 1: little over a hundred days. Um. Certainly not something they

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Speaker 1: were saying when Donald Trump was in office for a

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Speaker 1: lot longer. So I think the politics running muck here, Ricky,

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Speaker 1: You're right about that. Don Jennie, I I must tell you,

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Speaker 1: I'm not looking forward to having more parking tickets because

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Speaker 1: the meter managing now going back to work. I mean,

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Speaker 1: that's a disaster in my view. But I am curious.

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Speaker 1: Um uh, you know you're in New York. I'm in Washington.

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Speaker 1: Um Uh you know the city services uh do seem

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Speaker 1: to be um really minimum basic requirements, right. It takes

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Speaker 1: forever to get a driver's license anymore. I just went

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Speaker 1: through some of that myself, you know, And uh, and

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Speaker 1: I am I am kind of curious how life in

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Speaker 1: New York is because uh, I'm am seeing a need

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Speaker 1: to get these people back to work, even though I

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Speaker 1: am probably going to get more parking tickets at the

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Speaker 1: result Emily, we don't want Rick to get any more

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Speaker 1: parking tickets. Rick, for God's sakes, park park safely and

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Speaker 1: park legally. Will you, Ricky Gott you got to join

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Speaker 1: the bike crowd. There are no parking tickets crowd. And

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Speaker 1: I will say, I mean we are starting to see

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Speaker 1: localities say hey, we are planning on opening up within

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Speaker 1: the next couple of weeks. That includes major cities. So

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Speaker 1: I think it is going to be interesting to see

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Speaker 1: how this begins to develop. Um. Well, hey, coming up,

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Speaker 1: we're going to continue to go deeper into day's job report,

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Speaker 1: what it all means for the upcoming infrastructure package. We're

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Speaker 1: going to see speaking with Transportation Secretary Pete Boutage as

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Speaker 1: well as Oklahoma Republican Kevin parn Coming up next, I'm

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Speaker 1: Emily Wilkins. This is Bloomberg. This is Bloomberg Sound On

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Speaker 1: on Bloomberg Radio. I'm Emily Wilkins. I'm here tonight today

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Speaker 1: along with Bloomberg Ace political contributors Jenny Schanzano and Rick Davis.

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Speaker 1: We are waiting with bated breath for Transportation Secretary poot

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Speaker 1: Pete boute who will be joining our colleague David Weston

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Speaker 1: to break down the crazy job stay that we saw

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Speaker 1: with the jobs numbers falling far below expectations, as well

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Speaker 1: as talk about that ever present infrastructure plan that Congress

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Speaker 1: is continuing to work on. There finally coming back next week.

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Speaker 1: But Jennie Rick, I want to spend a minute digging

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Speaker 1: a little more into what we heard about the jobs today.

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Speaker 1: We're still down about eight million jobs from where we

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Speaker 1: were pre pandemic, and today we heard Treasury Secretary Janet

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Speaker 1: Yellen suggesting that it's going to be a while before

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Speaker 1: we're really going to see all of those oops to

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Speaker 1: come back. In addition, we also have the debt limit

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Speaker 1: to deal with. Here's the sound on that. I believe

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Speaker 1: we will reach full employment next year, but today's numbers

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Speaker 1: also show that we're not yet finished. There are scenarios

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Speaker 1: in which, um, you know, sometime during the summer um

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Speaker 1: with the extraordinary measures were grown out. No, Rick, this

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Speaker 1: was interesting. We had initially some analysts telling us that

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Speaker 1: we had until October one to deal with this debt limit.

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Speaker 1: Why might we have to wind up dealing with it

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Speaker 1: sooner than expected? And is that going to be a

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Speaker 1: problem for for Congress? Yeah, a lot of it is

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Speaker 1: just timing of funds, right. So Treasury Department has its

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Speaker 1: hands on the controls. They decide when things get funded

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Speaker 1: and when it doesn't. And I have no doubt that

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Speaker 1: the strategy for the Biden administration is to get capital

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Speaker 1: into the system. It's been certainly his stated uh strategy

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Speaker 1: all along since he became president. And so my guess

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Speaker 1: is they've had those um they've had the events open

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Speaker 1: all the way. Everything that the Treasury could do to

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Speaker 1: pump capital into the market uh has probably been done

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Speaker 1: now um. UH. The result of that is you burned

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Speaker 1: through cap cash faster than uh than the budget was

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Speaker 1: originally designed to do. So Treasury can do the opposite, right,

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Speaker 1: they can start to dial down those expenditures, hold off

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Speaker 1: on things to fund, you know, until they can catch up,

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Speaker 1: you know, with the funding. At the end of the day,

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Speaker 1: it's not unusual for an administration to go back to

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Speaker 1: Congress and and and and lift the debt ceiling so

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Speaker 1: that they can continue to function. Um. But it's just

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Speaker 1: another political dynamic, especially at a time towards the end

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Speaker 1: of the summer early fall, when they probably are hopeful

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Speaker 1: that they would be getting a you know, big chunk

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Speaker 1: of the infrastructure buil done, so you can see a

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Speaker 1: big omnibus coming down this pike that would include a

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Speaker 1: debt payment ceiling lift, if if, if they can make

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Speaker 1: progress on their legislative agenda, Rick, you're you're so right.

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Speaker 1: I mean late summer it tends to be very much

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Speaker 1: crunch time in d C. Lawmakers usually have their eye

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Speaker 1: on that long August recess. It's kind of a time

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Speaker 1: that things need to get done because they come back

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Speaker 1: after Labor Day and then it's suddenly everything at once.

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Speaker 1: They have to pass government's funding. They have other programs

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Speaker 1: that are running out that need to be refunded or

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Speaker 1: at least extended for a period of time. Genie, when

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Speaker 1: it comes to all of this stuff that is on

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Speaker 1: Congress's plate, how is the debt limit going to factor in?

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Speaker 1: Is this something we're going to see bipartisan support on

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Speaker 1: or is this something that Democrats are just going to

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Speaker 1: have to try and use one of their budget reconciliations for.

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Speaker 1: You know, I I don't think we know the answer

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Speaker 1: for that, but I think at the end of the day, um,

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Speaker 1: they're gonna have to lift that debt ceiling. To your point,

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Speaker 1: there is going to you know, it's they're going to

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Speaker 1: be crunched, as you mentioned, as they get into that

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Speaker 1: summer break, so they are going to have to take action.

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Speaker 1: So whether Democrats end up doing it alone, I think

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Speaker 1: Republicans will end up going along with it. But you know,

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Speaker 1: I think one of my big questions, um, you know,

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Speaker 1: on the politics of this thing is aren't Republicans And

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Speaker 1: I don't know, you know, Rick, if you as a

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Speaker 1: as a Republican can answer this, do you think that

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Speaker 1: they are on the wrong side of the argument here

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Speaker 1: arguing for this on taking away an unemployment benefit. I mean,

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Speaker 1: you know, people like the money coming in from government.

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Speaker 1: So what kind of political move is this on the

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Speaker 1: part of the Republicans to argue that that that it

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Speaker 1: should be taken away. Well, I think it's just a

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Speaker 1: matter of sort of moving forward, right, I mean, you

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Speaker 1: can't stay on unemployment forever in an extreme situation like UM,

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Speaker 1: like COVID, like the pandemic. And and you'll notice that

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Speaker 1: the theme coming from Republicans, especially on Capitol Hill, but

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Speaker 1: a lot of governors too, has been the sooner we reopened,

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Speaker 1: sooner people can go back to work, sooner the schools

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Speaker 1: can reopen. Sooner we can get childcare, sooner everything gets

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Speaker 1: back to normal. And so you know, the Biden administration

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Speaker 1: comes and say, oh, we're gonna pay not to work,

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Speaker 1: and NET runs counter to that theme. So I think

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Speaker 1: Republicans believe they are on the right side of of

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Speaker 1: the public, moving toward reopening, moving towards getting back to work,

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Speaker 1: moving towards things opening up, and um, and they're willing

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Speaker 1: to take the gamble that um that we're in this

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Speaker 1: inflection point where an extra three hundred dollars to keep

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Speaker 1: someone from going into work. Remember, you don't get the

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Speaker 1: three hundred if you go to work, And so you've

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Speaker 1: got to make a choice. And a lot of people

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Speaker 1: are making a choice to stay at home and take

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Speaker 1: the government money. And a Republican I don't know any

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Speaker 1: Republicans who think it's better to be on the government

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Speaker 1: dole than on a private payroll. You know, Rick, it's

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Speaker 1: interesting that that you mentioned sort of the Republican stance

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Speaker 1: on this. I actually I had a tweet today. It

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Speaker 1: was very surprised to see it, responded uh from Dr

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Speaker 1: Roger Marshall. Uh that one of the senators off and

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Speaker 1: he said, you know, there are certainly people who need

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Speaker 1: access to increased employment benefits um during the heart of

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Speaker 1: this pandemic. But we shouldn't be in the business of

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Speaker 1: creating these lucrative government dependency And I'm wondering, is he

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Speaker 1: kind of right in a sense? Is there a need

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Speaker 1: to make sure that those who are still hurting during

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Speaker 1: this pandemic and for whatever reason, really can't get back

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Speaker 1: out there yet into the job market are taken care

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Speaker 1: of while we are still very much in this pandemic.

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Speaker 1: I think there were yesterday forties more than forty seven

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Speaker 1: thousand people got coronavirus. It's still very much here. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: And it's and and and it's in other you know,

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Speaker 1: certain places more than others. Right West coast California seems

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Speaker 1: to be opening up and doing better. A lot of

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Speaker 1: good reports on the number of COVID patients coming down.

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Speaker 1: But but Oregon and Washington have a surge going on.

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Speaker 1: So it is spotty, and and the politics on this

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Speaker 1: is spotty, right. So you know, if you're in a

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Speaker 1: state where you're getting back to normal and and and

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Speaker 1: you really need to prime the pump of economic expansion,

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Speaker 1: you need those people going back to work, and and

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Speaker 1: the federal government doesn't have eyes on that right when

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Speaker 1: they say you get three hundred bucks, you know, for

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Speaker 1: for not going to work, they don't say only in

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Speaker 1: places where they're still high concentration of COVID. They do

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Speaker 1: it for everybody, and so it is counterintuitive in a

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Speaker 1: lot of states where they can open up, they want

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Speaker 1: these people back to work. People by nature want to work,

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Speaker 1: and so if you take away the stimulus to get

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Speaker 1: them to stay at home, they're going to go back

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Speaker 1: and find a job. And from what we can tell anecdotally,

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Speaker 1: a lot of employers are looking for people to come back.

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Speaker 1: They need these jobs filled in order to gear up

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Speaker 1: there their businesses that have been basically shuttered, you know,

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Speaker 1: for the last year. And I think it's important to

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Speaker 1: just add here that while this is what the case

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Speaker 1: that is being made by many Republicans and some economists,

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Speaker 1: the President did push back on this, as Emily said earlier,

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Speaker 1: when he was asked about this. In his statement earlier today,

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Speaker 1: he was asked if it was the case that these

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Speaker 1: unemployment benefits were contributing to people not being willing to

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Speaker 1: return to work, and the President said, there is not

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Speaker 1: evidence in the data I get. The quote was nothing

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Speaker 1: is measurable. There's nothing measurable here. So I do think

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Speaker 1: it's important that you know they they are making this

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Speaker 1: case that this is a fact, and I'm not sure

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Speaker 1: the data yet supports it. So I just do want

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Speaker 1: to add that absolutely. No, that's a great point, Jeannie.

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Speaker 1: I also want to pivot to something else that happened today,

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Speaker 1: and it's actually going to be going forward into next week.

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Speaker 1: You know, we heard earlier this week Senate Minority Leader

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Speaker 1: Mitch McConnell saying he's quote one cent focused on stopping

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Speaker 1: the Biden administration. But the White House today said the

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Speaker 1: president will not be holding a grudge when he has

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Speaker 1: infrastructure and meeting next week with Senator McConnell. Remember that's

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Speaker 1: the one that's happening on May twelve, that's going to

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Speaker 1: have the Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and

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Speaker 1: the Senate. So McConnell, it's going to have Kevin McCarthy,

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Speaker 1: Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, the first time that all four

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Speaker 1: of them are really going to be sitting down with

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Speaker 1: President Biden in the White House. And we have sound

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Speaker 1: on that from White House Secretary Jen Saki. The President's view, uh,

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Speaker 1: is that Um. Uh, he's ready to have a clean

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Speaker 1: slate and let's welcome the leaders here. He also has said, UH,

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Speaker 1: and we're not at this point that uh inevitably, UH

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Speaker 1: there will be some strong disagreements with Republicans. And we

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Speaker 1: know that he was in the Senate for thirty six years.

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Speaker 1: He's certainly no stranger to that, uh, and that he's

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Speaker 1: ready to debate. He's ready to but he's also ready

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Speaker 1: to uh press forward and UH we're doing work on

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Speaker 1: behalf of the American people. Genie, what should we be

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Speaker 1: looking for here next week? What are you going to

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Speaker 1: be waiting to hear from the Republicans, from the Democrats,

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Speaker 1: from Congress versus the White House after this meeting? You know,

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Speaker 1: I think the biggest thing I'm going to be listening

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Speaker 1: for is our is the administration, you know, looking like

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Speaker 1: they are willing to negotiate on any of these big issues,

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Speaker 1: breaking the bill up as as as has been discussed.

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Speaker 1: Are they moving more in the direction of something like

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Speaker 1: Shelley Moore Capital both in terms of the size and

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Speaker 1: scope of this thing, in terms of the amount of

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Speaker 1: money being spent and how they define infrastructure. So any

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Speaker 1: movement from the Democratic side I also am really curious

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Speaker 1: about the timing here. You know, Joe Biden has made

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Speaker 1: the case, as has his team, that they do not

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Speaker 1: want to repeat what the Obama administration did when they negotiated,

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Speaker 1: you know, ad nauseum with the Republicans and of course

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Speaker 1: ended up with watered down policy, a lot of delays,

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Speaker 1: and then the bills that they didn't like and work

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Speaker 1: comfortable taking out to the American public. Biden has been

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Speaker 1: clear he doesn't want to repeat that, and so for me,

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Speaker 1: I think the timing here is a big issue. I

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Speaker 1: think if I could just add, I think another factor here.

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Speaker 1: I would love to be a fly on the wall

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Speaker 1: in those meetings, of course, but another factor here is

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Speaker 1: this this really an effort to in good faith negotiate

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Speaker 1: or is this to show Joe Manson and Kristen Cinema

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Speaker 1: and others that they are making a you know, they

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Speaker 1: are showing that they are acting in a bipartisan manner,

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Speaker 1: even if you know, in actuality they're going to repeat

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Speaker 1: what they did with the COVID bill, and and you

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Speaker 1: know when it comes to the actual bill itself not

432
00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:14,040
Speaker 1: be willing to move. So whether this is truly negotiation

433
00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:16,960
Speaker 1: or not, is something I'm curious about. Genie. That's a

434
00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:19,000
Speaker 1: great point. I mean, this is a little bit reminiscent

435
00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:22,320
Speaker 1: of when back when they were talking about the Coronavirus

436
00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:25,920
Speaker 1: Stimulus Bill at one point nine package, President Biden met

437
00:23:25,960 --> 00:23:29,640
Speaker 1: with all of those ten Republican senators and they had

438
00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:32,160
Speaker 1: this White House meeting and everyone came out and said

439
00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:34,679
Speaker 1: that there was good progress made, and then not a

440
00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:38,840
Speaker 1: single Republican wound up supporting that bill when it actually

441
00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:42,919
Speaker 1: went through. And Genie, you're you're absolutely right to point

442
00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:46,000
Speaker 1: out that it was this concern from Democrats that they

443
00:23:46,040 --> 00:23:49,040
Speaker 1: did not want to wind up weakening the package, as

444
00:23:49,080 --> 00:23:52,680
Speaker 1: they felt that they had done under President Obama. But Rick,

445
00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:54,760
Speaker 1: I want to ask you a little bit here. I'm

446
00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:57,800
Speaker 1: always thinking ahead to two, always thinking ahead to the

447
00:23:57,840 --> 00:24:00,399
Speaker 1: next election, because that's what all of the long makers

448
00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:03,560
Speaker 1: are doing as well. You know, if President Biden has

449
00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:07,520
Speaker 1: this meeting but doesn't wind up actually coming up with

450
00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:11,760
Speaker 1: a bill and infrastructure bill at least that Republicans can support,

451
00:24:12,359 --> 00:24:16,880
Speaker 1: is that going to hurt Democrats come the mid terms? Yeah?

452
00:24:16,920 --> 00:24:20,159
Speaker 1: I think the Democrats need to produce something that's a

453
00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:24,560
Speaker 1: job builder, right, and the best thing they've got is Um,

454
00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:27,439
Speaker 1: is the is the infrastructure bill, all the rest of

455
00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:30,800
Speaker 1: the legislation. The other three and a half billion dollars

456
00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:33,800
Speaker 1: that Biden has on the table for this year, which

457
00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:36,680
Speaker 1: will be the impact that you're talking about. For two

458
00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:41,240
Speaker 1: is government programs, support programs and you know, more sort

459
00:24:41,280 --> 00:24:44,919
Speaker 1: of wealth. I can't say welfare related, but like you know,

460
00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:48,080
Speaker 1: things that are going to really appeal to his constituency,

461
00:24:48,119 --> 00:24:50,879
Speaker 1: but not across the board. And so you know, the

462
00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:53,400
Speaker 1: question really is, I think does he have the votes

463
00:24:53,480 --> 00:24:55,280
Speaker 1: to do this right? I mean, he's right on the edge.

464
00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:59,480
Speaker 1: Different from Obama who had a comfortable margin. UM, Joe

465
00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:03,040
Speaker 1: Biden's no margin in the Senate. And so if he

466
00:25:03,119 --> 00:25:05,760
Speaker 1: thinks he can get four trillion dollars passed through, he

467
00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:07,439
Speaker 1: ought to call the question and move as quick as

468
00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:10,080
Speaker 1: he can. If he can't, then he ought to cut

469
00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:13,359
Speaker 1: a deal with Republican and get six billion dollars right away.

470
00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:16,240
Speaker 1: Do it as quick as you can. Because the one

471
00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:19,480
Speaker 1: thing that I've learned in politics is delay only helps

472
00:25:19,520 --> 00:25:22,560
Speaker 1: those who do nothing, And if Joe Biden actually wants

473
00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:25,560
Speaker 1: to avoid that, then getting deals done and moving quickly,

474
00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:28,479
Speaker 1: you know, with this kind of support, is the only

475
00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:31,720
Speaker 1: way to get success. Rick, you have touched on such

476
00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:34,399
Speaker 1: a Washington truism, which is when you have the votes,

477
00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:37,240
Speaker 1: take the vote. And I think that sort of speaks

478
00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:40,400
Speaker 1: to the fact that at this point you do have Um,

479
00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:44,480
Speaker 1: I'm just getting word. We actually have a Secretary boute

480
00:25:44,840 --> 00:25:47,000
Speaker 1: with us. So we are going to go to David Weston.

481
00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:50,080
Speaker 1: Thank you so much, Family Wilkins, and it's a light

482
00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:52,240
Speaker 1: and a privilege to have you, Mr Secretary. That's Pete

483
00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:54,760
Speaker 1: Bouteg on the line. So I understand you just came

484
00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:56,880
Speaker 1: from a meeting at the White House with the President

485
00:25:56,880 --> 00:25:59,000
Speaker 1: and the rest of the Job's cabinet. What did you

486
00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:02,120
Speaker 1: learn at the meeting. Well, it was a great opportunity

487
00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:04,640
Speaker 1: for members of the Job Cabinet to discuss what we've

488
00:26:04,680 --> 00:26:07,240
Speaker 1: been seeing and hearing as we've been communicating with the

489
00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:09,920
Speaker 1: American people and and and traveling to communities to talk

490
00:26:09,960 --> 00:26:12,479
Speaker 1: about the impact of the Jobs Plan. And every member

491
00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:15,960
Speaker 1: of the cabinet who was there shared stories about communities

492
00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:18,240
Speaker 1: that saw what it would mean to invest in infrastructure.

493
00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:24,120
Speaker 1: There the enthusiasm that you see in among mayors, among workers,

494
00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:26,880
Speaker 1: and among business leaders as well to do something big.

495
00:26:27,440 --> 00:26:29,320
Speaker 1: So it's a great opportunity to sync up on our

496
00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:32,960
Speaker 1: different experiences and to hear the President reinforce his commitment

497
00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:35,000
Speaker 1: to making sure that we deliver in a way that's

498
00:26:35,440 --> 00:26:37,640
Speaker 1: not just going to help us in the near term,

499
00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:40,760
Speaker 1: but really set up America to compete economically for the

500
00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:43,399
Speaker 1: rest of our lifetimes. As you know, Mr Secretary, and

501
00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:45,280
Speaker 1: the rest of us has memorized now it's two hundred

502
00:26:45,280 --> 00:26:48,240
Speaker 1: and sixty six thousand jobs were created last month. It's

503
00:26:48,280 --> 00:26:50,760
Speaker 1: a good number, and any other regular month it would

504
00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:52,680
Speaker 1: be a great number. At the same time, we still

505
00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:55,080
Speaker 1: have something like eight million people who don't have jobs

506
00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:58,280
Speaker 1: who did before the pandemic. It was disappointing to economists

507
00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:01,320
Speaker 1: who expected as much as one million. Let's talk specifically

508
00:27:01,359 --> 00:27:04,800
Speaker 1: about transportation. To what extent did transportation have a role

509
00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:08,200
Speaker 1: in that, and for example, the chip shortage for automobiles,

510
00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:12,800
Speaker 1: problems at the ports, Well, there's certainly a concern with

511
00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:15,680
Speaker 1: the chip shortage. It's one of the reasons you've seen

512
00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:18,919
Speaker 1: the President and his economic teams so focused on supply

513
00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:20,920
Speaker 1: chain issues for the country. I mean, some of these

514
00:27:20,920 --> 00:27:23,720
Speaker 1: are concerns that have been brewing for a long time,

515
00:27:23,760 --> 00:27:26,639
Speaker 1: and they are going to impact our competitiveness if we

516
00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:29,439
Speaker 1: don't do something. At the same time, we're also seeing

517
00:27:29,520 --> 00:27:33,720
Speaker 1: an increasing safe return to travel, and part of what

518
00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:36,800
Speaker 1: the Rescue Plan did was avoid some of the worst

519
00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:39,920
Speaker 1: of what we were facing just a few months ago.

520
00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:42,520
Speaker 1: You know, when we saw flight attendants being told that

521
00:27:42,560 --> 00:27:45,080
Speaker 1: they could tear up their furlough notices, when we saw

522
00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:47,920
Speaker 1: transit agencies that were getting ready to cut routes and

523
00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:51,160
Speaker 1: layoff workers, get news that help was on the way.

524
00:27:51,600 --> 00:27:53,359
Speaker 1: We we should. I know, we're all always trying to

525
00:27:53,359 --> 00:27:55,399
Speaker 1: take the next hill, and right we're talking about the

526
00:27:55,440 --> 00:27:58,000
Speaker 1: Jobs Plan, but let's remember what the Rescue Plan is

527
00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:01,040
Speaker 1: doing right now and really help us from going off

528
00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:02,800
Speaker 1: the cliff. And I think that's part of why over

529
00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:05,200
Speaker 1: the last three months all in, you know, we've added

530
00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:07,720
Speaker 1: on average five hundred thousand jobs. We've got a long

531
00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:10,000
Speaker 1: way to go to the tune of millions. And that's

532
00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:12,520
Speaker 1: why the President has never let up and said, Okay,

533
00:28:12,600 --> 00:28:14,879
Speaker 1: job done, We're good to go. He's pushing us to

534
00:28:14,920 --> 00:28:17,480
Speaker 1: do everything we can to keep building a stronger economy,

535
00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:20,600
Speaker 1: as the President pointed out, as did Secretary Yelling today

536
00:28:20,720 --> 00:28:22,439
Speaker 1: at the at the White House. But one of the

537
00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:25,280
Speaker 1: other things that Secretary Yellen mentioned was that one constraint

538
00:28:25,440 --> 00:28:27,720
Speaker 1: on filling some of the jobs. Maybe a concern on

539
00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:31,879
Speaker 1: people's part for getting back on public mass transit because

540
00:28:31,880 --> 00:28:35,520
Speaker 1: it fears about safety and health. Is there anything that

541
00:28:36,119 --> 00:28:40,160
Speaker 1: Transportation Department can do to help with that problem. Well,

542
00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:43,080
Speaker 1: we've been working to make sure that public transit is safe.

543
00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:45,600
Speaker 1: It's one of the reasons we backed up transit agencies

544
00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:48,040
Speaker 1: with that mass mandate, the same as we backed up

545
00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:50,480
Speaker 1: the airlines with that, to make sure that it was

546
00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:52,959
Speaker 1: very clear what was expected and it didn't feel like

547
00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:56,280
Speaker 1: it was up to a bus operator, for example, to

548
00:28:56,840 --> 00:28:59,080
Speaker 1: have to handle a public health decision that we really

549
00:28:59,160 --> 00:29:02,440
Speaker 1: needed to make to other as a country. So obviously,

550
00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:06,400
Speaker 1: each transit agency has its own plans for any changes

551
00:29:06,440 --> 00:29:08,520
Speaker 1: that are underway. But what I'll say is that you

552
00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:11,400
Speaker 1: know we've the result of the steps we've been taking

553
00:29:11,920 --> 00:29:15,480
Speaker 1: supporting these agencies with funding UH and with other resources

554
00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:18,560
Speaker 1: is precisely to make sure that it is not a barrier.

555
00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:21,200
Speaker 1: Lack of transportation is not a barrier to people getting

556
00:29:21,240 --> 00:29:24,200
Speaker 1: to work sexually. Britage, as you have become something of

557
00:29:24,240 --> 00:29:26,760
Speaker 1: a point person on the infrastructure you mentioned just a

558
00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:29,640
Speaker 1: moment ago, let's talk about the progress you are making,

559
00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:33,120
Speaker 1: from your point of view, in getting moving forward with

560
00:29:33,120 --> 00:29:36,280
Speaker 1: a two point two five trillion dollar proposal from President Biden.

561
00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:39,400
Speaker 1: Are you getting any bipartisan movement here? We talked with

562
00:29:39,440 --> 00:29:41,560
Speaker 1: Marsha Blackburn earlier this week and she said she'd be

563
00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:44,480
Speaker 1: willing to go along with something like the six billion

564
00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:47,160
Speaker 1: of our proposal put forward by Shelley Moore. Capital. Is

565
00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:51,720
Speaker 1: the negotiation going on? Are you taking steps forward on that? Yeah,

566
00:29:51,720 --> 00:29:54,360
Speaker 1: that's exactly the process that's underway right now. We welcome

567
00:29:54,400 --> 00:29:57,520
Speaker 1: the fact that Senator Capita and her Republican colleagues came

568
00:29:57,560 --> 00:30:00,080
Speaker 1: forward with a specific proposal. They have a lot of

569
00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:02,160
Speaker 1: interest and at least parts of what we've been working

570
00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:05,360
Speaker 1: on the Jobs Plan, especially areas like roads and bridges.

571
00:30:05,400 --> 00:30:08,640
Speaker 1: Of course, we believe that less traditional things like internet

572
00:30:08,640 --> 00:30:12,280
Speaker 1: infrastructure and care infrastructure belong there. But uh, that give

573
00:30:12,320 --> 00:30:15,280
Speaker 1: and take is exactly what the process is about. And

574
00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:17,719
Speaker 1: that's what I think you're going to see, uh, certainly,

575
00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:19,880
Speaker 1: especially as we look to next week with so many

576
00:30:19,880 --> 00:30:23,120
Speaker 1: members returning to Washington. Exactly, and and in fairness, my

577
00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:27,440
Speaker 1: understanding is there is sixty billion dollars put in I'm sorry,

578
00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:32,360
Speaker 1: sixty billion dollars put in for the um why broadband

579
00:30:32,680 --> 00:30:35,480
Speaker 1: access not for the care but there is money put

580
00:30:35,520 --> 00:30:40,360
Speaker 1: in the capital bill as I understand it for broadband access. Correct. Yeah,

581
00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:42,120
Speaker 1: I think broadband is one of the areas where you're

582
00:30:42,120 --> 00:30:45,719
Speaker 1: gonna see some healthy bipart as an interest, especially when

583
00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:47,920
Speaker 1: you look at how many rural areas are among those

584
00:30:47,920 --> 00:30:51,080
Speaker 1: that uh that that have been left out. So you know,

585
00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:52,719
Speaker 1: that's just one of the things I think we can

586
00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:54,920
Speaker 1: build on as as well as the areas like the

587
00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:56,560
Speaker 1: roads and the bridges. You know, there's a lot of

588
00:30:57,240 --> 00:30:58,800
Speaker 1: a lot to work through in terms of the math.

589
00:30:58,840 --> 00:31:00,920
Speaker 1: Look at the baseline, see what would really mean to

590
00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:03,720
Speaker 1: make a big investment. I think the focus here is

591
00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:05,720
Speaker 1: to make sure that we do something big enough to

592
00:31:05,800 --> 00:31:08,880
Speaker 1: meet the moment. We have fallen to thirteens place in

593
00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:11,800
Speaker 1: infrastructure as a country, and we shouldn't be going to

594
00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:13,840
Speaker 1: all this trouble just to do what it takes to

595
00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:16,920
Speaker 1: hold onto their teens place. We've got a position America

596
00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:20,240
Speaker 1: to compete with places like China that are investing huge

597
00:31:20,280 --> 00:31:22,480
Speaker 1: amounts right now, and we've got a position workers to

598
00:31:22,480 --> 00:31:25,160
Speaker 1: succeed in the years ahead. And that's something that we

599
00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:27,280
Speaker 1: hope can be a bipartisan cause, even if there are

600
00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:29,800
Speaker 1: some differences about exactly how to get there and exactly

601
00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:31,560
Speaker 1: how to pay for it. And one way maybe to

602
00:31:31,600 --> 00:31:34,120
Speaker 1: get there is to break into pieces. Is it possible

603
00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:37,480
Speaker 1: to take the part that again Senator Blackburn and Shelley

604
00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:39,760
Speaker 1: Moore capitever saying they do. Would that make sense for

605
00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:42,960
Speaker 1: your point of view? Well, we believe these things fit together.

606
00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:45,440
Speaker 1: It's why the President announced them as one plan. But

607
00:31:45,560 --> 00:31:48,040
Speaker 1: these are exactly the kinds of things that get negotiated

608
00:31:48,040 --> 00:31:50,400
Speaker 1: as you sit down with members on both sides of

609
00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:53,520
Speaker 1: the aisle. There are a lot of different congressional mechanisms

610
00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:56,680
Speaker 1: that that could get this done. And we're really ready

611
00:31:56,720 --> 00:31:59,720
Speaker 1: to talk about just about anything. That The only red

612
00:31:59,800 --> 00:32:03,959
Speaker 1: line and that i've heard from the President, well they're too. One, uh,

613
00:32:04,120 --> 00:32:07,680
Speaker 1: that he's committed to not raising taxes on anyone making

614
00:32:07,720 --> 00:32:10,520
Speaker 1: less than four hundred thousand dollars, And the other is

615
00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:13,440
Speaker 1: that it is unacceptable to do nothing. We've we've got

616
00:32:13,440 --> 00:32:17,080
Speaker 1: to do something. We've got to act relatively quickly. Secondary Buddaghist,

617
00:32:17,120 --> 00:32:19,560
Speaker 1: let me put together two priories of the president. We have.

618
00:32:19,640 --> 00:32:22,160
Speaker 1: On the one hand, infrastructure clearly a priority, on the

619
00:32:22,200 --> 00:32:25,280
Speaker 1: other climate, and I wonder how those fit together. If

620
00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:29,000
Speaker 1: you've got all that you wanted today to put into infrastructure,

621
00:32:29,120 --> 00:32:32,240
Speaker 1: it would involve a lot of concrete. Concrete is not green.

622
00:32:32,720 --> 00:32:35,200
Speaker 1: How can you address that issue. That's a real challenge,

623
00:32:35,200 --> 00:32:39,040
Speaker 1: isn't it. Well, there's no such thing as an infrastructure

624
00:32:39,080 --> 00:32:42,280
Speaker 1: decision that's not also a climate decision. The question is

625
00:32:42,280 --> 00:32:44,600
Speaker 1: where whether we're going to recognize that. Now. What I

626
00:32:44,680 --> 00:32:48,000
Speaker 1: find so exciting about this moment and so exciting about

627
00:32:48,040 --> 00:32:51,800
Speaker 1: this plan is that this is our chance to demonstrate

628
00:32:51,880 --> 00:32:55,120
Speaker 1: that climate is also how we can create jobs for

629
00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:58,880
Speaker 1: the future, whether we're talking about concrete, which includes research

630
00:32:58,960 --> 00:33:02,600
Speaker 1: to uh find more of the means that are less

631
00:33:02,640 --> 00:33:06,720
Speaker 1: carbon intensive, potentially even carbon negative when it comes to concrete,

632
00:33:07,080 --> 00:33:10,160
Speaker 1: whether it's making sure the electric vehicle revolution is made

633
00:33:10,480 --> 00:33:13,400
Speaker 1: right here in America with American workers making union wages

634
00:33:13,560 --> 00:33:16,760
Speaker 1: at American companies on American soil. All of the steps

635
00:33:16,840 --> 00:33:19,760
Speaker 1: we need to take around transportation can also be job

636
00:33:19,840 --> 00:33:22,880
Speaker 1: creating investments in our climate future. That's how all of

637
00:33:22,880 --> 00:33:25,240
Speaker 1: these things fit together in the President's vision, and that's

638
00:33:25,240 --> 00:33:27,760
Speaker 1: the case that we're making to the American people too. Okay,

639
00:33:27,800 --> 00:33:30,200
Speaker 1: so let me just very finally come back to the

640
00:33:30,280 --> 00:33:33,880
Speaker 1: jobs question and tie it into the infrastructure very concretely,

641
00:33:34,080 --> 00:33:37,720
Speaker 1: no pun intended, but very specifically, how many jobs would

642
00:33:37,720 --> 00:33:43,320
Speaker 1: be created over the next year from the infrastructure. Well, look,

643
00:33:43,560 --> 00:33:45,840
Speaker 1: most of the scoring that we've seen in terms of

644
00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:47,960
Speaker 1: the millions of jobs that are going to be created

645
00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:50,840
Speaker 1: through this plan look at a longer time horizon than that.

646
00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:53,480
Speaker 1: What I will say is that there are shove already

647
00:33:53,520 --> 00:33:57,360
Speaker 1: projects right now in communities all over the country that

648
00:33:58,040 --> 00:34:01,520
Speaker 1: could go as soon as there was funding, and theoretically

649
00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:03,320
Speaker 1: we could move that as soon as a bill got

650
00:34:03,320 --> 00:34:05,120
Speaker 1: to the President's desk to sign up. But let me

651
00:34:05,160 --> 00:34:08,680
Speaker 1: be clear, we are of course rightly concerned about getting

652
00:34:08,680 --> 00:34:11,359
Speaker 1: through this year. But this Job's Plan is about making

653
00:34:11,360 --> 00:34:14,440
Speaker 1: sure we have a strong economy for the rest of

654
00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:18,040
Speaker 1: our lifetimes. This is not just about getting through the

655
00:34:18,040 --> 00:34:21,160
Speaker 1: business cycle. This is about making sure that America is

656
00:34:21,200 --> 00:34:26,040
Speaker 1: prepared to compete through the fifties, because right now we're

657
00:34:26,040 --> 00:34:28,760
Speaker 1: relying on infrastructure that was built in the nineteen fifties,

658
00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:31,440
Speaker 1: and each passing year, or for that matter, each passing

659
00:34:31,520 --> 00:34:35,200
Speaker 1: day that we continue to do that has safety, economic

660
00:34:35,400 --> 00:34:38,919
Speaker 1: and climate implications that we've got to address. Okay, thank

661
00:34:38,920 --> 00:34:40,640
Speaker 1: you very much for the secretary that is Pete bo

662
00:34:41,400 --> 00:34:43,840
Speaker 1: He is the Secretary of Transportation, and I turned it

663
00:34:43,880 --> 00:34:47,359
Speaker 1: now back over to Emily Wilkins. My colleague, David, thank

664
00:34:47,400 --> 00:34:49,800
Speaker 1: you so much. I am here with Jeanie shan Zano

665
00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:54,759
Speaker 1: and Rick Davis, the Bloomberg political contributor a team uh. Rick,

666
00:34:55,000 --> 00:34:59,640
Speaker 1: you know the very fascinating interview there with Secretary boudhaj

667
00:35:00,280 --> 00:35:02,719
Speaker 1: Uh said that this package needs to be big enough

668
00:35:02,760 --> 00:35:04,800
Speaker 1: to meet the moment, kind of as we were saying

669
00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:09,120
Speaker 1: right before that interview, that there is that danger that

670
00:35:09,200 --> 00:35:12,359
Speaker 1: Democrats perceive in having the package be a little bit

671
00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:18,160
Speaker 1: too small. But we also heard the secretary invoke China. Rick,

672
00:35:18,239 --> 00:35:22,680
Speaker 1: We keep hearing the administration used China, invoke China when

673
00:35:22,719 --> 00:35:25,600
Speaker 1: they're talking about infrastructure and the need for the US

674
00:35:25,680 --> 00:35:29,360
Speaker 1: to remain competitive on the global stage. How much truth

675
00:35:29,480 --> 00:35:32,160
Speaker 1: is there to that and how much of this is

676
00:35:32,239 --> 00:35:35,960
Speaker 1: just President Biden talking about something that he knows has

677
00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:44,239
Speaker 1: bipartisan support. Secretary say that we were on the international

678
00:35:44,280 --> 00:35:48,760
Speaker 1: scale of uh, you know, modernized infrastructure. Any any invokes

679
00:35:48,840 --> 00:35:50,640
Speaker 1: China in that regard because they're ahead of us, right

680
00:35:50,680 --> 00:35:53,960
Speaker 1: and say which which slot therein? But UM. But this

681
00:35:54,040 --> 00:35:57,359
Speaker 1: is a part of our rallying cry and this administration

682
00:35:57,360 --> 00:36:00,239
Speaker 1: to get public support. We want to be better than China, right, so,

683
00:36:00,640 --> 00:36:03,280
Speaker 1: you know, find a common enemy and unite the public

684
00:36:03,320 --> 00:36:05,440
Speaker 1: around something that we think we can get ahead of

685
00:36:05,480 --> 00:36:09,080
Speaker 1: them on UH. It unites votes in Congress. There's no

686
00:36:09,160 --> 00:36:12,239
Speaker 1: question that Republicans and Democrats alike don't want to be

687
00:36:13,040 --> 00:36:17,960
Speaker 1: UM less competitive against China that's becoming more and more

688
00:36:18,040 --> 00:36:22,120
Speaker 1: of a competition on the global scale, not just domestically.

689
00:36:22,480 --> 00:36:25,040
Speaker 1: And so I think he's plugging into a very positive

690
00:36:25,560 --> 00:36:30,160
Speaker 1: message that this administration is latchhold of UM. Even even

691
00:36:30,200 --> 00:36:34,440
Speaker 1: President Trump latchhold of the China UM competition message at

692
00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:37,759
Speaker 1: the end of his term. UM. And so I think

693
00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:41,240
Speaker 1: that is a smart way to sell this package in

694
00:36:41,239 --> 00:36:44,400
Speaker 1: in that it is going to help enhance our ability

695
00:36:44,440 --> 00:36:49,000
Speaker 1: to compete excellent. Well, right now we are joined by

696
00:36:49,160 --> 00:36:54,520
Speaker 1: Republican Congressman Kevin Hearn of Oklahoma. Congressman, thank you so

697
00:36:54,640 --> 00:36:57,719
Speaker 1: much for joining us today. I want to quickly get

698
00:36:57,760 --> 00:37:01,000
Speaker 1: your take on the job numbers, as that's a big

699
00:37:01,040 --> 00:37:05,560
Speaker 1: story today. What was your takeaway from the numbers and

700
00:37:05,600 --> 00:37:09,360
Speaker 1: what do you think needs to happen next? Well, clearly

701
00:37:09,440 --> 00:37:11,480
Speaker 1: it was a disappointment to everyone, and it's great to

702
00:37:11,480 --> 00:37:13,160
Speaker 1: be with you, thanks for having me on. But it's

703
00:37:13,160 --> 00:37:16,239
Speaker 1: a great disappointment to everyone. Whether you're uh, you know,

704
00:37:16,320 --> 00:37:18,440
Speaker 1: you're down the middle, or where you're left leaning liberal

705
00:37:18,719 --> 00:37:21,480
Speaker 1: media outlets, you're you're all disappointed. You don't you're making

706
00:37:21,520 --> 00:37:24,239
Speaker 1: all kinds of excuses. But the reality is, I've been

707
00:37:24,280 --> 00:37:26,440
Speaker 1: a job creator for thirty five years before I came

708
00:37:26,440 --> 00:37:29,600
Speaker 1: to Congress two years ago, and I've got people calling

709
00:37:29,640 --> 00:37:31,680
Speaker 1: me from all over my district, the state, and across

710
00:37:31,719 --> 00:37:33,960
Speaker 1: the country on many of the meetings are having and

711
00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:37,080
Speaker 1: everybody's just the worst thing. As a business owner, you

712
00:37:37,080 --> 00:37:39,800
Speaker 1: want to compete with the federal government for jobs. And

713
00:37:40,120 --> 00:37:43,879
Speaker 1: that's what's happening for the American workers is the administration

714
00:37:43,880 --> 00:37:48,000
Speaker 1: has gone out there and incentivized Americans not to work

715
00:37:48,520 --> 00:37:50,759
Speaker 1: and to wait for the money to run out. And

716
00:37:50,800 --> 00:37:55,359
Speaker 1: it's very unfortunate. We had, as everyone knows, very bipartisan

717
00:37:55,360 --> 00:37:59,799
Speaker 1: bills too to go after the COVID uh pandemic last year.

718
00:38:00,120 --> 00:38:03,560
Speaker 1: We passed four point five billion trillionscuse me, trillion dollars

719
00:38:03,640 --> 00:38:07,280
Speaker 1: in care last year, and I was on the forefront

720
00:38:07,280 --> 00:38:09,719
Speaker 1: of talking about we have to be careful that we

721
00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:12,239
Speaker 1: don't pay more to people to stay home than to

722
00:38:12,280 --> 00:38:14,840
Speaker 1: go back to work. And and the Democrats agreed, by

723
00:38:14,880 --> 00:38:17,960
Speaker 1: the way last year, they agreed to phase out the

724
00:38:18,400 --> 00:38:20,920
Speaker 1: care of the help on April five, and then when

725
00:38:20,920 --> 00:38:23,960
Speaker 1: President Biden came in, he incentivized more people to stay

726
00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:27,240
Speaker 1: home by extending this out to September six. I argued

727
00:38:27,320 --> 00:38:29,920
Speaker 1: during the UH, I'm on ways of means, and I

728
00:38:30,040 --> 00:38:33,279
Speaker 1: argued during our market our amendment process that we should

729
00:38:33,320 --> 00:38:35,720
Speaker 1: phase this out to allow people to come back to work.

730
00:38:36,280 --> 00:38:40,160
Speaker 1: And I was called all kinds of crazy names for

731
00:38:40,400 --> 00:38:42,800
Speaker 1: proposing that Americans should be able to get back to work.

732
00:38:42,840 --> 00:38:45,719
Speaker 1: And we're seeing the result of that now the American

733
00:38:45,840 --> 00:38:48,080
Speaker 1: worker is saying, I'm not going back to work until

734
00:38:48,280 --> 00:38:52,319
Speaker 1: the money runs out. So Congressman, it's so good to

735
00:38:52,360 --> 00:38:55,040
Speaker 1: talk to you. And you you may have heard when

736
00:38:55,040 --> 00:38:57,200
Speaker 1: you were just on the line that our colleague David

737
00:38:57,239 --> 00:39:01,560
Speaker 1: Weston was talking to the Transportations Secretary Pete Vuddha Judge

738
00:39:01,840 --> 00:39:04,360
Speaker 1: about these, uh you know, several things that the jobs

739
00:39:04,400 --> 00:39:07,160
Speaker 1: you were just talking about, but also about these meetings

740
00:39:07,160 --> 00:39:11,000
Speaker 1: coming up next week on infrastructure. So what is your

741
00:39:11,040 --> 00:39:14,799
Speaker 1: review on where you stand in terms of breaking up

742
00:39:14,840 --> 00:39:19,239
Speaker 1: the infrastructure bill and how high are you willing to go?

743
00:39:19,360 --> 00:39:24,080
Speaker 1: In your Republican colleagues in the House, Well, we all

744
00:39:24,080 --> 00:39:27,600
Speaker 1: saw this president proposed a two point to five tillion

745
00:39:27,640 --> 00:39:29,600
Speaker 1: dollar plan. Now we're hearing that could be even higher

746
00:39:29,600 --> 00:39:33,080
Speaker 1: than that based on some some studies after the fact.

747
00:39:33,320 --> 00:39:36,440
Speaker 1: We know that you know, traditional infrastructure, roads, bridges, and

748
00:39:36,520 --> 00:39:42,919
Speaker 1: ports and airports. Also broadband is critically important. Uh that Uh,

749
00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:46,880
Speaker 1: that area is not being accurately addressed. It's roughly, you know,

750
00:39:46,960 --> 00:39:49,560
Speaker 1: five hundreds of seven hundred billion dollars is the range,

751
00:39:49,560 --> 00:39:51,680
Speaker 1: and you could pick pick a number in there. I

752
00:39:51,719 --> 00:39:54,160
Speaker 1: serve five years as the Finance Committee chair on the

753
00:39:54,200 --> 00:39:56,320
Speaker 1: Oklahoma Turn five Authority. I think I have a pretty

754
00:39:56,320 --> 00:39:58,960
Speaker 1: good insight or what infrastructure is and what the cost

755
00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:00,520
Speaker 1: for a mile of road is us to do that

756
00:40:00,600 --> 00:40:03,400
Speaker 1: and take care of bridges and ports. So I'm not

757
00:40:03,440 --> 00:40:06,680
Speaker 1: speaking as a political person. I'm speaking of someone's got

758
00:40:06,680 --> 00:40:11,279
Speaker 1: practical experience in this area. I understand the secretaries want

759
00:40:11,280 --> 00:40:14,640
Speaker 1: to pivot out of this disappointing job report and to

760
00:40:14,640 --> 00:40:17,600
Speaker 1: talk about infrastructure. I agree with him on that. By

761
00:40:17,600 --> 00:40:20,480
Speaker 1: the way, the infrastructure is critically important to our country.

762
00:40:20,920 --> 00:40:24,120
Speaker 1: In fact, if you look at historically, every great society

763
00:40:24,160 --> 00:40:26,440
Speaker 1: in the history of this planet has felled because it

764
00:40:26,520 --> 00:40:29,160
Speaker 1: could maintain this infrastructure. And we've done a very poor

765
00:40:29,239 --> 00:40:32,880
Speaker 1: job of getting together and very putting a very targeted

766
00:40:32,880 --> 00:40:36,719
Speaker 1: build together to attack infrastructure. I know we have differences

767
00:40:36,719 --> 00:40:38,160
Speaker 1: on how to pay for that, but I think we

768
00:40:38,200 --> 00:40:41,080
Speaker 1: can come together on that as well. Congressman, let's talk

769
00:40:41,080 --> 00:40:43,799
Speaker 1: a little bit about the people who are trying to

770
00:40:43,840 --> 00:40:47,080
Speaker 1: actually rebuild their businesses, uh in this sort of you know,

771
00:40:47,280 --> 00:40:50,680
Speaker 1: I hate to even say it, posts COVID environment Oklahoma,

772
00:40:50,719 --> 00:40:54,480
Speaker 1: your state, Uh, is uh starting to reopen and come

773
00:40:54,520 --> 00:40:57,360
Speaker 1: back and and and and that's the tug on these

774
00:40:57,400 --> 00:41:01,000
Speaker 1: people who are currently receiving a ployment assistance from the

775
00:41:01,000 --> 00:41:04,080
Speaker 1: federal government and access of a normal unemployed person, And

776
00:41:04,160 --> 00:41:07,040
Speaker 1: so they're they're competing. What what are you hearing from

777
00:41:07,040 --> 00:41:10,360
Speaker 1: the business community in your district and your state is

778
00:41:10,360 --> 00:41:13,640
Speaker 1: to what frustrations they're having to reopen? I mean, is

779
00:41:13,680 --> 00:41:18,520
Speaker 1: it the resident you know, is that the restaurants and

780
00:41:18,840 --> 00:41:21,920
Speaker 1: transportation hubs? Is that other businesses that are having trouble

781
00:41:21,920 --> 00:41:25,359
Speaker 1: getting workers to come back? Well, I'll tell you it's

782
00:41:25,360 --> 00:41:27,120
Speaker 1: all the above. And we have to remember the history

783
00:41:27,120 --> 00:41:30,200
Speaker 1: of this federal unemployment assistance on top of the state

784
00:41:30,280 --> 00:41:33,319
Speaker 1: unemployment insurance. It goes back to all the ways back

785
00:41:33,360 --> 00:41:35,799
Speaker 1: to the beginning where we looked at, how do we

786
00:41:35,840 --> 00:41:38,080
Speaker 1: give more to the New York unemployed than we do

787
00:41:38,160 --> 00:41:41,080
Speaker 1: stay to the Oklahoma unemployed, and based on the systems

788
00:41:41,120 --> 00:41:43,080
Speaker 1: being different per state, we just all agreed that six

789
00:41:43,440 --> 00:41:46,640
Speaker 1: dollars per state are per week per state would be great.

790
00:41:46,840 --> 00:41:48,680
Speaker 1: That would be kind of leveled the easy to roll

791
00:41:48,719 --> 00:41:51,920
Speaker 1: out and quickly get out to those folks. Along with PPP,

792
00:41:52,200 --> 00:41:54,480
Speaker 1: we wanted to keep American workers in their jobs, their

793
00:41:54,480 --> 00:41:57,120
Speaker 1: skill sets to those jobs of the American businesses could

794
00:41:57,160 --> 00:42:00,640
Speaker 1: quickly reopen. And I worked feverishly on that. Uh we

795
00:42:00,760 --> 00:42:03,320
Speaker 1: know that it saved a roughtly fifty one million jobs.

796
00:42:03,600 --> 00:42:06,680
Speaker 1: And then let's fast forward to what happened just you know,

797
00:42:06,719 --> 00:42:09,759
Speaker 1: in the in the conversations and the negotiations with the

798
00:42:09,800 --> 00:42:12,960
Speaker 1: one point nine trillion dollar COVID relief bill. It was

799
00:42:12,960 --> 00:42:16,560
Speaker 1: originally four hundred dollars per week coming out of the House.

800
00:42:16,640 --> 00:42:20,760
Speaker 1: The Senate being very uh prudent at least trying to negotiate,

801
00:42:20,840 --> 00:42:22,799
Speaker 1: got it down to three hundred dollars per week. So

802
00:42:22,840 --> 00:42:24,799
Speaker 1: here we are today, and we moved this all the

803
00:42:24,800 --> 00:42:28,000
Speaker 1: way utter September six. I suggested in the house markup

804
00:42:28,040 --> 00:42:30,680
Speaker 1: that we sort of phased that out on the federal side,

805
00:42:30,719 --> 00:42:33,399
Speaker 1: that we go from four hundred again House being four

806
00:42:33,440 --> 00:42:36,360
Speaker 1: hundred at that time four hundred one hundred, so we

807
00:42:36,360 --> 00:42:39,759
Speaker 1: can sort of slightly nudge people to move on back

808
00:42:39,800 --> 00:42:42,799
Speaker 1: into jobs. We know that there are jobs open all

809
00:42:42,840 --> 00:42:48,480
Speaker 1: across all sectors. You mentioned restaurants, you miss in agriculture, construction, manufacturing.

810
00:42:48,560 --> 00:42:50,839
Speaker 1: All of these folks, as I talked to them, are

811
00:42:51,320 --> 00:42:54,520
Speaker 1: just dying for workers and they can't get even people

812
00:42:54,560 --> 00:42:57,040
Speaker 1: to show up to even do an interview. They're paying

813
00:42:57,080 --> 00:42:59,719
Speaker 1: as much as fifty dollars an interview to get people

814
00:42:59,760 --> 00:43:00,920
Speaker 1: to show up, and they won't show up for that

815
00:43:01,000 --> 00:43:04,480
Speaker 1: just to come and interview. And now what we're seeing is, uh,

816
00:43:04,520 --> 00:43:08,480
Speaker 1: you know, people who are business minded governors like my

817
00:43:08,520 --> 00:43:12,200
Speaker 1: friend Greg Gianforte, who just became the Montana governor, first

818
00:43:12,200 --> 00:43:16,080
Speaker 1: Republican government Montana for twenty years doing taking that COVID

819
00:43:16,080 --> 00:43:19,399
Speaker 1: relief money for for unemployment and creating incentives or folks

820
00:43:19,400 --> 00:43:21,400
Speaker 1: to go back to work. I believe our governor here

821
00:43:21,400 --> 00:43:23,479
Speaker 1: in Oklahoma will be doing that. Other states are looking

822
00:43:23,480 --> 00:43:24,880
Speaker 1: at it as well. I know that will be a

823
00:43:24,880 --> 00:43:28,279
Speaker 1: big topic on the Republican governor's meeting next week when

824
00:43:28,320 --> 00:43:30,960
Speaker 1: they have that or in two weeks rather. So, I

825
00:43:30,960 --> 00:43:32,920
Speaker 1: think these are folks that are understanding that we've got

826
00:43:32,920 --> 00:43:36,279
Speaker 1: to get American workers back into jobs, getting back on

827
00:43:36,320 --> 00:43:38,640
Speaker 1: the journey to the American dream, so that they can

828
00:43:38,719 --> 00:43:41,400
Speaker 1: understand you get back and get this economy resurrected. But

829
00:43:41,560 --> 00:43:43,840
Speaker 1: this is not the right direction when you have every

830
00:43:43,920 --> 00:43:46,080
Speaker 1: person out there that's in the in the business to

831
00:43:46,080 --> 00:43:49,360
Speaker 1: predicting job growth, predicting you know, nine hundred and seventy

832
00:43:49,400 --> 00:43:52,280
Speaker 1: eight thousand jobs will be created and only two hundred

833
00:43:52,360 --> 00:43:54,799
Speaker 1: sixty six, and then then the Secretary and others are

834
00:43:54,800 --> 00:43:58,080
Speaker 1: calling this a success. I'm not sure whether they're getting

835
00:43:58,120 --> 00:44:01,960
Speaker 1: their information from Congressman. I'm I'm a little bit curious

836
00:44:02,040 --> 00:44:04,480
Speaker 1: because I've been listening to all of the news today

837
00:44:04,880 --> 00:44:07,600
Speaker 1: and you I've heard Republicans like yourself say, you know,

838
00:44:07,680 --> 00:44:11,840
Speaker 1: the problem is the unemployment assistance that individuals are getting.

839
00:44:12,040 --> 00:44:15,120
Speaker 1: But then Democrats are saying that the issue is actually

840
00:44:15,480 --> 00:44:18,239
Speaker 1: more about individuals and not being able to go back

841
00:44:18,280 --> 00:44:20,560
Speaker 1: to work because they still have kids to watch, they

842
00:44:20,560 --> 00:44:24,120
Speaker 1: still have childcare, and also just concerns about going back

843
00:44:24,160 --> 00:44:29,160
Speaker 1: in general. Yesterday, more than forty seven thousand Americans got coronavirus,

844
00:44:29,280 --> 00:44:32,759
Speaker 1: despite the fact that we now have more widely available vaccines.

845
00:44:33,160 --> 00:44:36,120
Speaker 1: So how do we know that it's the unemployment assistance

846
00:44:36,480 --> 00:44:39,120
Speaker 1: rather than some of these other factors that Democrats have

847
00:44:39,160 --> 00:44:42,239
Speaker 1: been speaking about today. Well, well, first of all, it's

848
00:44:42,280 --> 00:44:44,680
Speaker 1: not a Republican or Democrats issue. It should be an

849
00:44:44,680 --> 00:44:48,760
Speaker 1: American worker issue. And when you hear businesses crying for help,

850
00:44:49,080 --> 00:44:51,680
Speaker 1: to get help to come open their businesses back up,

851
00:44:51,680 --> 00:44:53,879
Speaker 1: and you have businesses with signs on their door, sat

852
00:44:53,920 --> 00:44:55,520
Speaker 1: and we would be open, but we can't get help.

853
00:44:55,880 --> 00:44:59,600
Speaker 1: And you're in states where more than of the population

854
00:44:59,640 --> 00:45:02,680
Speaker 1: has been and vaccinated, in some states even more than

855
00:45:02,719 --> 00:45:05,359
Speaker 1: that have gotten their second shot, and you still can't

856
00:45:05,360 --> 00:45:08,920
Speaker 1: get people back to work. There isn't anything allows left

857
00:45:09,040 --> 00:45:11,320
Speaker 1: other than the fact that they're getting paid more to

858
00:45:11,360 --> 00:45:16,040
Speaker 1: be at home, uh than to go back to work. Congressman,

859
00:45:16,080 --> 00:45:18,200
Speaker 1: I also want to ask, just because you're a business guy,

860
00:45:18,320 --> 00:45:21,239
Speaker 1: you've owned a McDonald's franchise. There's been a debate going

861
00:45:21,320 --> 00:45:24,360
Speaker 1: on right now about the minimum wage and about what

862
00:45:24,480 --> 00:45:27,440
Speaker 1: some of these franchises should pay people. The argument is

863
00:45:27,480 --> 00:45:30,239
Speaker 1: that they need at least fifteen dollars. I know that

864
00:45:30,320 --> 00:45:33,600
Speaker 1: individuals like yourself from rural areas say that that's too

865
00:45:33,680 --> 00:45:37,319
Speaker 1: much for some of these towns. That fifteen dollars, you know,

866
00:45:37,440 --> 00:45:40,400
Speaker 1: it might go a certain distance in in d c.

867
00:45:40,640 --> 00:45:42,279
Speaker 1: Or Seattle, or in New York, but it doesn't go

868
00:45:42,320 --> 00:45:45,080
Speaker 1: the same in these more rural areas. At the same point,

869
00:45:45,120 --> 00:45:48,400
Speaker 1: there are concerns that Americans, you know, they are having

870
00:45:48,440 --> 00:45:51,279
Speaker 1: stagnant wages, and so what do you think the right

871
00:45:51,360 --> 00:45:55,239
Speaker 1: solution is here when it comes to the minimum wage. Well,

872
00:45:55,280 --> 00:45:58,080
Speaker 1: I've said all along, and I've said this out of fact,

873
00:45:58,200 --> 00:46:01,600
Speaker 1: not just political speak, but long before I got into

874
00:46:01,840 --> 00:46:05,120
Speaker 1: politics again two years ago, is that every state has

875
00:46:05,120 --> 00:46:08,080
Speaker 1: a different cost of basket of goods, and New York,

876
00:46:08,440 --> 00:46:10,719
Speaker 1: clearly it's a much more expensive place to live than

877
00:46:10,800 --> 00:46:15,759
Speaker 1: say Oklahoma City in Oklahoma. And this the state of

878
00:46:15,800 --> 00:46:17,880
Speaker 1: New York raised their minimum wage. So I think the

879
00:46:18,000 --> 00:46:20,640
Speaker 1: twenty dollars an hour a couple of years ago with

880
00:46:20,480 --> 00:46:23,040
Speaker 1: a with an iteration of getting up to twenty three.

881
00:46:23,080 --> 00:46:25,480
Speaker 1: If you're in the boroughs in Oklahoma, you know, it's

882
00:46:25,480 --> 00:46:28,080
Speaker 1: still at the federal level as this Delaware, by the way,

883
00:46:28,080 --> 00:46:30,560
Speaker 1: where the President's man he had four years ago lobby

884
00:46:30,640 --> 00:46:33,080
Speaker 1: to raise that minimum wage, and he seemed not to

885
00:46:33,120 --> 00:46:35,919
Speaker 1: talk about that until he became the president. And this

886
00:46:35,920 --> 00:46:38,480
Speaker 1: this fight for fifteen and all the different iterations of

887
00:46:38,480 --> 00:46:42,640
Speaker 1: that are I understand that. But the fact of the

888
00:46:42,680 --> 00:46:45,719
Speaker 1: matter is is that when you look at providing a

889
00:46:45,760 --> 00:46:48,359
Speaker 1: living wage in Oklahoma, it's ten to eleven dollars an hour.

890
00:46:48,640 --> 00:46:50,920
Speaker 1: I don't know anybody in years that has hired at

891
00:46:50,920 --> 00:46:53,000
Speaker 1: minimum wage to be able to get people. In fact,

892
00:46:53,080 --> 00:46:56,280
Speaker 1: if you look back, but prior to COVID, the fastest

893
00:46:56,320 --> 00:47:00,600
Speaker 1: growing wages double digit growth and wages was that the

894
00:47:00,600 --> 00:47:02,719
Speaker 1: lower end of the spectrum, not the high end, the

895
00:47:02,719 --> 00:47:05,279
Speaker 1: low end, which meant there was I know, there's a

896
00:47:05,280 --> 00:47:07,960
Speaker 1: whole narrative of supplying demand. I actually like to refer

897
00:47:08,040 --> 00:47:11,480
Speaker 1: it as the demand and supply issue. The demand for

898
00:47:11,640 --> 00:47:14,600
Speaker 1: jobs and getting people in those jobs was very high

899
00:47:14,640 --> 00:47:17,279
Speaker 1: with the limited supply, so businesses went out had to

900
00:47:17,280 --> 00:47:19,920
Speaker 1: pay more for labor, which is the way our country

901
00:47:19,960 --> 00:47:22,920
Speaker 1: has always been founded, and the and the idea of

902
00:47:23,000 --> 00:47:26,479
Speaker 1: capitalists free enterprise, that you pay people and if you don't,

903
00:47:26,520 --> 00:47:28,480
Speaker 1: you can't stay open, You can't stay in business, so

904
00:47:28,520 --> 00:47:30,919
Speaker 1: you pay the wages that you get people. And we're

905
00:47:30,920 --> 00:47:33,319
Speaker 1: in a free economy of free is society where people

906
00:47:33,360 --> 00:47:35,719
Speaker 1: can go, they don't have to work anywhere, they're not

907
00:47:35,840 --> 00:47:38,840
Speaker 1: mandated to pay union wages like the Proact wuld dictate.

908
00:47:39,200 --> 00:47:41,040
Speaker 1: And so this is an opportunity for us to get

909
00:47:41,080 --> 00:47:43,239
Speaker 1: back to the economy we had just fifteen months ago.

910
00:47:43,360 --> 00:47:45,759
Speaker 1: We saw in a very short window. If you go

911
00:47:45,840 --> 00:47:48,920
Speaker 1: back to pre COVID that day, let's say March thirteenth,

912
00:47:48,920 --> 00:47:51,680
Speaker 1: and you back up six months, we saw a glimpse

913
00:47:51,719 --> 00:47:54,160
Speaker 1: of what America could be. We saw three point five

914
00:47:54,160 --> 00:47:58,200
Speaker 1: percent unemployment, We saw rising wages across all spectrums across

915
00:47:58,320 --> 00:48:02,000
Speaker 1: we saw the lowest unemployment in history for many of

916
00:48:02,040 --> 00:48:04,880
Speaker 1: the diversity groups, the lowest and seventy years for women.

917
00:48:05,680 --> 00:48:08,600
Speaker 1: This is what America needs to be. And we had limited,

918
00:48:09,000 --> 00:48:12,920
Speaker 1: very limited interaction of the government reaching into the pockets

919
00:48:12,960 --> 00:48:15,160
Speaker 1: of the small businessman and woman. And that's what businesses

920
00:48:15,200 --> 00:48:18,160
Speaker 1: want to return to absolutely. Congressman, I also need to

921
00:48:18,160 --> 00:48:19,960
Speaker 1: ask you know you guys are coming back to d

922
00:48:20,040 --> 00:48:23,160
Speaker 1: C next week and House Republicans are on Wednesday are

923
00:48:23,200 --> 00:48:26,719
Speaker 1: said to remove Congresswoman Liz Cheney as conference chair. This

924
00:48:26,840 --> 00:48:29,160
Speaker 1: follows a number of cases where she has not been

925
00:48:29,160 --> 00:48:32,040
Speaker 1: in step with other members of the party, most notably

926
00:48:32,080 --> 00:48:35,480
Speaker 1: when she's pushed to get back against former President Trump

927
00:48:35,520 --> 00:48:39,799
Speaker 1: on the validity of the election. You've publicly called on

928
00:48:39,960 --> 00:48:42,719
Speaker 1: Cheney to resign her position. You wrote that a good

929
00:48:42,800 --> 00:48:45,000
Speaker 1: leader must be willing to go for bat for all

930
00:48:45,040 --> 00:48:49,000
Speaker 1: that they've lead, even if it means personal sacrifice. And

931
00:48:49,000 --> 00:48:52,359
Speaker 1: I'm wondering, have you felt that Congresswoman Cheney has not

932
00:48:52,520 --> 00:48:55,480
Speaker 1: gone to bat for you? How have you been affected

933
00:48:55,480 --> 00:49:00,359
Speaker 1: by what she said? Well, personally, I don't know lives

934
00:49:00,440 --> 00:49:02,879
Speaker 1: very well. I know that's strange being in Congress. Uh.

935
00:49:02,920 --> 00:49:05,040
Speaker 1: You know, there's a lot of members on both sides

936
00:49:05,080 --> 00:49:07,239
Speaker 1: and you get to know some better than others. And

937
00:49:07,280 --> 00:49:10,680
Speaker 1: my personal conversation with a congress on the Cheney was

938
00:49:11,120 --> 00:49:14,440
Speaker 1: As a leadership person, is that you represent when you

939
00:49:14,440 --> 00:49:16,960
Speaker 1: take those roles as the number three person in the conference,

940
00:49:17,200 --> 00:49:19,240
Speaker 1: you have to look at everybody. I've been a leader

941
00:49:19,560 --> 00:49:21,600
Speaker 1: in the McDonald's level in the system like they just

942
00:49:21,760 --> 00:49:24,719
Speaker 1: my my opinions or my opinions, and I'd love to

943
00:49:24,760 --> 00:49:27,840
Speaker 1: have my opinions imposed upon everyone. But in the leadership position,

944
00:49:27,880 --> 00:49:29,799
Speaker 1: you have to listen to everyone. You have to lead

945
00:49:29,840 --> 00:49:32,960
Speaker 1: the entire conference, not you yourself, and you know eight

946
00:49:33,040 --> 00:49:37,720
Speaker 1: or not other people. I'm wondering, though, there are members

947
00:49:37,760 --> 00:49:41,040
Speaker 1: of your conference who are Republicans and have Republican values,

948
00:49:41,080 --> 00:49:43,640
Speaker 1: but are not particular fans of President Trump and agree

949
00:49:43,640 --> 00:49:46,440
Speaker 1: with some of the stuff that Congressman Cheney has been saying.

950
00:49:46,680 --> 00:49:51,040
Speaker 1: By removing her from leadership, is the Republican Party isolating

951
00:49:51,200 --> 00:49:54,600
Speaker 1: all Conservatives who don't necessarily agree with trump stance on

952
00:49:54,640 --> 00:49:57,719
Speaker 1: the election? You know, honestly, I don't know that that's

953
00:49:57,760 --> 00:50:01,120
Speaker 1: the entire reason she's being removed. Uh. I think she's

954
00:50:01,120 --> 00:50:04,000
Speaker 1: also lambastad other Republicans that if we didn't think the

955
00:50:04,040 --> 00:50:07,080
Speaker 1: way she did, that there were somehow inferior. And as

956
00:50:07,120 --> 00:50:10,400
Speaker 1: I share with Congresswoman Cheney, I've been around a lot

957
00:50:10,400 --> 00:50:13,680
Speaker 1: of CEOs in my working career that some were really

958
00:50:13,719 --> 00:50:16,120
Speaker 1: talented and they are sended to their job because of

959
00:50:16,160 --> 00:50:19,080
Speaker 1: their talents and their abilities. Others have ascended to their

960
00:50:19,280 --> 00:50:22,920
Speaker 1: role in many America have because they've stepped on others

961
00:50:22,960 --> 00:50:24,960
Speaker 1: to push them down so that they could achieve their role.

962
00:50:25,400 --> 00:50:28,440
Speaker 1: And that's what Congresswoman Cheney. It's not just the fact

963
00:50:28,440 --> 00:50:32,360
Speaker 1: that she supported uh against Donald Trump. But it's the

964
00:50:32,360 --> 00:50:34,680
Speaker 1: fact that she said the rest of us that didn't

965
00:50:34,680 --> 00:50:37,719
Speaker 1: support her views or somehow inferior to her. Well, some

966
00:50:37,800 --> 00:50:41,040
Speaker 1: strong words. They're from Congressman Kevin Hern. Congressman, thank you

967
00:50:41,120 --> 00:50:43,920
Speaker 1: so much for joining us today. That is it for

968
00:50:44,120 --> 00:50:47,560
Speaker 1: today's show. Thank you so much to Jeanie van Zano

969
00:50:47,840 --> 00:50:51,000
Speaker 1: and Rick Davis for taking the time joining us here today.

970
00:50:51,400 --> 00:51:00,479
Speaker 1: Have a wonderful weekend. I'm Emily Wilkins. This is Bloomberg four.