CNBC Interview - Transcript

Interview

CNBC Interview - Transcript

CNBC INTERVIEW WITH REP. CAROLYN MALONEY (D-NY)
SUBJECT: UNEMPLOYMENT INTERVIEWERS: ERIN BURNETT, MARK HAINES

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MS. BURNETT: And now, 598,000 jobs lost in January. It's a horrible headline, though it was within the realm of expectations and the market is taking it very much in stride.

Joining us first on CNBC, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, chair of the Joint Economic Committee.

Congresswoman Maloney, thanks so much for being with us. We appreciate you taking the time.

REP. MALONEY: Thank you, Erin.

MS. BURNETT: Certainly, the numbers are deteriorating; we can't deny that, half of the job loss since the recession has happened in the past three months.

Where do you stand though on the implications of these numbers, which is, do we have to rush something in terms of stimulus right now or can we afford to wait and take some time to get it right?

REP. MALONEY: Well, I think these numbers speak starkly to action. They are bad clear across every section of the country, every sector of our economy, even the good news is a dim, the one area where we're gaining in health care and private education, that has slowed, but it's a stunning job loss, almost 600,000 this past month, more than we expected.

I think that it speaks for action and acting now. We can no longer sit there and fiddle with numbers while the economy is burning. Many economists, Paul Krugman and others are saying that the economic recovery plan is not large enough. It does have a balanced approach with stimulus for jobs and also for tax cuts, middle class tax cuts and business tax cuts.

We had a letter that arrived in Congress last week signed by five Nobel laureates and over 150 economists urging us to move swiftly to get the economic recovery plan out of Congress and into the pockets of working men and women.

MS. BURNETT: Is it worth pushing it through if there is no bipartisanship, I mean, maybe people just aren't bipartisan just for the sake of it, in which case, who cares, right? But a lot of people across the country would say why is it like this? So many people are for this president -- has a 60 plus percent approval rating, why can't we get that sort of a split in Congress in favor of this?

REP. MALONEY: Well, it takes two people to dance together, and certainly, the president is reaching out. He's met repeatedly with the Republican leadership, the Republican Caucus. We have accepted their amendments, included them in the debate and we need to move forward.

I truly do believe the best legislation is bipartisan, but economists, conservative, moderate and liberal economists are all urging us to act for the benefit of the American people and the benefit of our overall economy.

MR. HAINES: But many of those same people, Congresswoman, are urging you not to do it this way. They say that this stimulus bill is too laden with pork.

REP. MALONEY: Well, some people have criticized the unemployment benefits, but other economists say it's a good expenditure because that money will go back into the economy. When we have so many people from across the country from the conservative, liberal, independent, Republican, Democratic point of view, economists supporting it, I do believe it's time to act and at some point if we have to act alone, I would urge the president to do so. It his choice. He is still working very hard to have Republican support, but these numbers are not good, they are bad across the board in every section and area of our country and in every sector of employment. And with so many professionals urging passage, we believe it will create four million jobs, we just lost 3.6 million since the recession began, I would say it's time to act.

MR. HAINES: Let's be fair here. The Republican complaint is that they weren't included in the negotiations that led to the creation of the bill. You said, you know, we've allowed them in the debate, but the Republican complaint is they were more or less presented with this and said, you know, take it or leave it.

REP. MALONEY: Well, Mark, really, the legislation moves through several different committees. I serve on one of them, the Financial Services Committee. We accepted and debated every Republican amendment. Some of them were included in the package that went to the floor. There were Democratic amendments and Republican amendments. That is the process. That's the regular order of Congress. You have a bill, you put it before a committee, it is debated, it is amended and moves to the floor.

MS. BURNETT: All right. It looks like we have lost the congresswoman's --

MR. HAINES: I think we've got a little audio problem.

MS. BURNETT: Audio issue.

MR. HAINES: Thank you, Congresswoman.

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