CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Anthony Brown

Interview

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Joining me now to discuss the issue of voting restrictions, Congressman Anthony Brown. He's a Democrat from the state of Maryland. He's also a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Congressional Black Caucus.

Congressman, thanks so much for taking the time this morning.

REP. ANTHONY BROWN (D-MD): Yes, good morning, Jim. Thanks for having me on.

SCIUTTO: So you know well that there's science behind these voting restrictions, political science, right? I mean there are particular kinds of voting looked at and judgments made about what kind of voting advantages one party versus another party. And, by the way, there's a history of both parties doing this. But tell me what specifically, not just in the Florida law but in other laws you've seen, is designed, in your view, to reduce the number of Democrats -- what do you find most impactful? Is it -- is it drop boxes? Is it -- is it mail-in voting?

BROWN: First of all, Jim, let me say it's -- it's less about whether it restricts or limits Democratic voters or Republican voters. It's that it restricts American voters, all voters, although it does have a disparate impact, I believe, on Democratic voters.

When you purge your voting roll --

SCIUTTO: Does it, though? I mean does the data show that? Does the data show that by restricting box offices more, mail-in, that it's going to impact Democratic voters more?

BROWN: What we know is that when you limit access to the ballot, you reduce the number of hours, the voting locations, the ease at which you can register, that that has a disparate impact in totality.

So, to be able to point to one specific provision may be difficult, but we know that when you limit access to the ballot, to registration, that it has the effect of impacting brown and black communities, senior citizens, and even first time voters. And when you discourage or make it more difficult to vote, it has proven to be more impactful on those communities.

We should be looking at ways to expand access to the ballot. We saw last year in the pandemic, states across the country, mail-in ballot on demand, expanded early voting locations, drive-through voting, same day registration, and we saw record turnouts at ballots -- at precincts across the country. That's the direction we should be moving.

SCIUTTO: Understood. OK.

Senator Tim Scott, Republican senator, of course, like you, African- American, he has said it is absurd, that's the word he used, to compare these voting laws to Jim Crow, as the president and other Democrats have done.

Is Tim Scott wrong?

BROWN: Look, whether you want to use the label, "Jim Crow" or not, what we are seeing in Florida, Georgia, Iowa and Montana, an effort, a concerted effort by state legislatures, and in some cases governors, to limit access to the ballot. That certainly was a feature of Jim Crow laws. So there is certainly a comparison to be made.

This is 2021. We should be finding ways where people can register on the same day, vote from home by dropping a ballot in the mail and be able to drive-through and vote, not -- we should not be looking at ways to limit. And that's why I think it's important that in the House we do pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which is coming up in a few weeks.

[09:45:03]

SCIUTTO: OK, I wanted to ask you about that. The John Lewis Voting Rights Act, as well as HR-1.

You don't have any GOP support for this, zero. In fact, you know, unified opposition. And you have Democrats, including Joe Manchin, opposing busting the filibuster, which would be necessary to get this passed purely with Democratic votes.

In light of those two things, are these voting bills as a matter of fact in practicality dead?

BROWN: No, Jim, what it mean, we just have to work a lot harder. In 2006, President George W. Bush signed the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act with support from Republicans in both the House and the Senate. It can be done. Republicans understand the value of voting and the right to vote.

We are in a very partisan environment on Capitol Hill, so it's going to be more difficult. We've got to breakthrough that.

I would certainly encourage senators who want to cling to the filibuster to consider at least a narrow exception for vote rights and civil rights legislation. We can't let the filibuster, which successfully block civil rights legislation in the 1950s and '60s, to do the same thing today.

SCIUTTO: That's right, it was a powerful weapon during that time period.

Given your position on the infrastructure committee, we hear a lot about bipartisan negotiation here and yet the two proposals, the president's ambition versus what Republicans have publicly offered are so wide apart at this point.

Do you -- do you see room for compromise here? Because there are Democrats who said, listen, maybe we could parcel out the hard infrastructure, roads, bridges, as well as broadband, for the larger picture here? Is there room for compromise? Is it going to happen?

BROWN: I think there's room for compromise. I think it's going to happen. I point to the fact that President Trump proposed a $1.5 trillion infrastructure package. Now, he didn't have the will to see that through and to identify resources to fund that package, but it does demonstrate that Republicans are willing to go certainly higher than the 600 or 700 billion that they're proposing and are willing to go much more closer to the $2.2 trillion that President Biden is proposing.

Jim, it's about creating jobs. So whether you want to consider it an expansive definition of infrastructure or not, I think we can all agree, we need to create jobs in this country. We need to invest in innovation. We need to invest in the workforce. And that's what the American jobs plan does.

SCIUTTO: Congressman Anthony Brown, always welcome on the program.

BROWN: Thanks, Jim.

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