State of the Union: Interview With Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD)

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Yes, I think you did a good job of providing the outlines as far as the spending.

I mean, this is going to cut non-defense and non-VA spending back to 2022 levels. That is a big get for Republicans. That's what we had in Limit, Save, Grow, and it's going to save $1.5 trillion over the course of the next 10 years.

It also, for six years, establishes caps at 1 percent, so we can slow the growth of spending. But, Jake, two things I want to hit that your graphic did not have. First off, late last night, a new provision was agreed to by the White House and the speaker whereby we're going to unlock American energy.

We are going to provide shot clocks for NEPA review, environmental review, of 12 months and 24 months. That is going to help -- whether you like renewable energy or traditional energy, this is going to help unlock that energy.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Speed up the process.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Germany and France, the same kind of project they would get done in two years, it takes us seven years, Jake. So we do need reform here.

And, obviously, Democrats like Buttigieg and Manchin have talked about doing this. Well, now we're going to get it done. And then, finally, just a big thing. It's administrative pay-go. When you have the administration step forward and propose some vast new regulation that's going to cost hundreds of billions of dollars, now they have to go find the money within the existing bureaucracy.

It is a huge strike against a growing regulatory state.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Well, I'm the head of a group of 75 pragmatic conservatives called the Main Street Caucus.

And so when we say conservatives are against it, I want to make it clear I don't know a single one of the Main Street Caucus conservatives.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Well, and even some of them. I -- listen, there will be Freedom Caucus people who vote for this package.

So, when you're saying that conservatives have concerns, it is really the most colorful conservatives. Some of those guys you mentioned didn't vote for the thing when it was kind of a Republican wish list, Limit, Save, Grow. Those votes were never really in play. We get that.

But, overwhelmingly, Republicans in this conference are going to support the deal. How could they not? It is a fantastic deal.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

We're starting the whipping process now.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

I have talked to maybe between two and three dozen

Republican members. I have not had a single one of them tell me: "I can't support that."

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Well, yes.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

I'm not sure having Dusty Johnson call Bob Good is the perfect way to get his vote.

But, I mean, let's be honest. Bob Good will not vote for this thing. And it doesn't matter if Mother Teresa came back from the dead and called him. He's not voting for it. He was never going to.

We're going -- this is going to pass.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

I would be surprised. I mean, I haven't talked to every single one of them, but everybody I'm talking to, Jake, understands that, when you're reducing spending, that when you're peeling back the regulatory state, when you are unlocking American energy and when you're getting people back to work, this is a big deal.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

That is kind of the amazing part to me. There were no wins for Democrats.

If you look at the state of policy today in this country and you say, OK, we're going into a deal and one side is going to get half and the other side is going to get half, Republicans will pull their half this way, Democrats will pull their half that way, there is nothing after the passage of this bill that will be more liberal or more progressive than it is today.

It's a remarkable conservative accomplishment.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

There will be some Democrats who will vote for this.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Well, we only have 222 Republicans.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

I think it is certainly plausible that we could get 218, although I think it's going to look a lot better for this country if we can put a big number up on the board, Democrats like Joe Biden and some in the House coming together with Republicans to pass this. That's going to be better for the country.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

She will be a no-vote too.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Well, we raised taxes -- not me, but Joe Biden and Democrats raised taxes on corporations by $700 billion last year.

There was not, frankly, an appetite among Republicans to allow Democrats to do that again. What there is an appetite for is making sure that we're helping people find that pathway out of poverty. I grew up in a family of modest means. I saw my parents busting their butts every single day.

And I know it was those efforts that helped me escape poverty. You cannot escape poverty without work. You just can't. It's got to be a part of the solution. These requirements are not mean. They're not onerous. It's 20 hours a week work training, education, or volunteering at a local food bank for people who are able-bodied, not pregnant, don't have kids at home, live in an area where there are jobs.

We know they work. These requirements have been in place since 1996, when Bill Clinton signed them into law.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source