ABC "This Week" - Transcript: Interview with John Barrasso
Interview
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SEN. JOHN BARRASSO (R-WY): Well, it's the trillions and trillions of dollars of reckless spending. When I look at this, this is a staggering amount of spending, like someone with a new credit card. And these are for things that we don't necessarily need, we certainly can't afford, but they're going to delight the liberal left of the party. It seems to me that this is a cradle to grave role of government, whether it's paying for child care for everyone, college -- free college for everyone, and ultimately, someone is going to have to pay for this. It's almost creating an addiction to spending.
So, it's either massive new debt to China, as well as massive taxing, probably the largest tax increase in 50 years. And anybody that says this is going to be just on the 1 percent or big corporations -- I mean, that's just phony math. Americans understand that with this kind of spending and this kind of borrowing and taxing, everyone is going to get hit in their wallet.
RADDATZ: Our new ABC/Ipsos poll shows more than half of those polled willing to raise their taxes if it will help the economy.
BARRASSO: Well, I think people take a look at this and say, what is the impact on me? And when the Biden administration says it's just going to be on the wealthiest, it's just going to be on corporations, look, it's going to be seen -- anybody that earns a paycheck, small businesses, families. People are going to pay through expenses in their life with cost of living going up, and whether that's gasoline prices, grocery prices. And I will tell you, Democrats are also getting concerned about the -- all of this spending and borrowing, realizing that they're going to be held accountable in the 2022 election. And some Democrats publicly, but most privately are saying, this isn't sustainable. We cannot continue with this reckless borrowing and spending, especially with the taxes coming out of a pandemic.
RADDATZ: And on your point about Democrats. Reportedly, Biden and top Democrats are willing to make concessions or break the plan into chunks, and are contemplating Senator Shelley Moore Capito's counteroffer of $568 billion. Could you get behind that?
BARRASSO: Well, yes. We are working closely with the administration. We had four of us that represented this plan the other day. It is focused on core infrastructure -- roads, bridges, ports, airports, waterways -- things that people think of when they think of infrastructure, things that will get our economy firing on all cylinders. The problem is, of course, that President Biden's proposal, only 6 percent of the money actually goes for roads and bridges. And they have more money for electric cars than they do for all of those other things --
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RADDATZ: Senator -- Senator, I've got to stop you there. The 6 percent for roads and bridges figures you and other GOP leaders have cited has been fact-checked multiple times. The total amount for what you have called traditional infrastructure -- roads, bridges, rails, airports, waterways, public transit -- is more than 25 percent of the Biden plan. So do you want more?
BARRASSO: Well, what we're working with, and as Shelley talked to President Biden Thursday, I've been working regularly with the -- with the other Joe, powerful Joe in Washington, Joe Manchin. And we're focusing on core infrastructure. President Biden calls it hard infrastructure as opposed to soft infrastructure.
So I actually believe there's a deal to be had if we leave things out like the Green New Deal, and recyclable cafeteria trays and climate justice, because $500 billion to $600 billion of infrastructure is a massive amount of infrastructure. And we ought to start with the core that we passed when I chaired the Environment and Public Works Committee, which was a plan that passed 21-to-nothing. I voted for it, Bernie Sanders voted for it. It focuses on building faster, better, cheaper, smarter. It focuses on the things that people think of as core infrastructure that the president talks about as hard infrastructure.
RADDATZ: So, on our ABC/Ipsos poll also. It says 67 percent of those polled said Republican leaders in Congress are doing too little to compromise with Joe Biden. You are a Republican leader. So, are there places where you could compromise on the president's agenda? Where you see a good opportunity to meet him and Democrats in the middle even beyond this?
BARRASSO: Well, a couple of things. You know, with coronavirus relief, we did five bipartisan bills, each of which got over 90 votes and when President Biden came into office, gave the speech about unity on Inauguration Day. Ten Republicans went to the White House to meet with him on another coronavirus package, and we made really good faith efforts. He ignored all of it. They did this with budget reconciliation by the slimmest margin of votes. Ignored Republicans. We want to work together on this with true infrastructure, and I think there's a deal to be had.
RADDATZ: Well, we'll see if that happens. Within your party, former President Trump continues his attacks on leaders you worked closely with, including Mitch McConnell, including Liz Cheney there in Wyoming. How damning -- damaging is that, what the president is doing to your party?
BARRASSO: Well, President Trump has a remarkable record of accomplishments in his administration. Working together, President Trump along with leader McConnell in the Senate, we were able to confirm three justices to the Supreme Court, conservative justices. We were able to rebuild the economy, cut taxes, eliminate regulations, rebuild the military. It was the strongest economy really in a generation.
(CROSSTALK)
RADDATZ: But let's go back to McConnell and Liz Cheney. Some people are trying to get Liz Cheney out.
BARRASSO: But we need to get beyond all of this and focus on the 2022 elections so that we can win back the House, win back the Senate, get united on the things on which we agree, and then successfully stop the far extreme efforts of this Biden administration, and those that are taking the country towards socialism.
RADDATZ: OK, that question not exactly answered. But we appreciate you coming on this morning, Senator.
BARRASSO: Thank you.
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