Fox News "The O'Reilly Factor" - Transcript

Interview

FOX NEWS CHANNEL "THE O'REILLY FACTOR" INTERVIEW WITH REP. ROB BISHOP (R-UT) INTERVIEWER: BILL O'REILLY
SUBJECT: CHIMPANZEE LEGISLATION

Copyright ©2009 by Federal News Service, Inc., Ste. 500, 1000 Vermont Ave, Washington, DC 20005 USA. Federal News Service is a private firm not affiliated with the federal government. No portion of this transcript may be copied, sold or retransmitted without the written authority of Federal News Service, Inc. Copyright is not claimed as to any part of the original work prepared by a United States government officer or employee as a part of that person's official duties. For information on subscribing to the FNS Internet Service at www.fednews.com, please email Carina Nyberg at cnyberg@fednews.com or call 1-202-216-2706.

MR. O'REILLY: (In progress) -- is reporting that 55-year-old Charla Nash, the Connecticut woman who was mauled by that chimpanzee earlier this month, is in a medically induced coma at the Cleveland Clinic. The woman has suffered catastrophic injuries to her hands and face. And her prognosis is uncertain. Because of that, Congress is now involved. The House has voted to make it illegal to transport chimpanzees across state lines if the intention to make them pets. But 95 congresspeople opposed that, including 93 Republicans. Joining us now from Washington, one of those Republicans, Congressman Rob Bishop of Utah.

So why did you vote against this law?

REP. BISHOP: Well, there's two problems with the law. The first one is it doesn't solve the problem. You spend a lot of money and create a bureaucracy. But at the end of the day, this problem which is horrific would not have been solved. And the second one is kind of emblematic of what we're doing in Congress. We will actually spend more time talking about this bill than talking about the half-trillion dollars in spending we just did.

MR. O'REILLY: Well, I don't get the bureaucracy business. You make it a federal law, you can't do it. If somebody does it, they get prosecuted by a U.S. attorney. So what? It just heightens the law, it heightens the penalties. It sends a message, you better not do it.

REP. BISHOP: Well, what it does, though, is simply -- the issue is only in pets. That's a small segment of the entire primate population. And it says, you can't pass them across interstate lines. And it does cost $4 million a year to allow Fish and Game which doesn't want to do it, they have other responsibilities, to try and be the border guards. Actually, what you said would be the intelligent way. If you just say, you're going to ban pets, monkeys that no one can have a pet primate, that would solve the problem. This deals with trade, it doesn't deal with solving the issue.

MR. O'REILLY: Yeah, but it makes it very difficult for anybody to get a pet. Look, I would have voted for this bill, and I'm a small-government guy, and I don't want any wasted money. And I would have voted for it just to send the message. But you know what your vote reminded me of? It reminded me of state Senator Barack Obama. That's what it reminded me of. Now, listen to this, Congressman. Stay with me now.

REP. BISHOP: (Laughs.) Okay.

MR. O'REILLY: In Illinois, there was a law proposed that if a baby is born after a botched abortion, the state of Illinois demanded that the doctors save the baby's life, no matter what. State Senator Barack Obama voted against the law using the same rationale you just used -- we don't need it, it costs too much money, it sets up another bureaucracy. And I'm saying to myself, that's just not enough. We have to protect the folks. We have to have the law so sharply written that if somebody transports a chimpanzee or botches an abortion and doesn't do the right thing, the feds are on them because you know the federal system is a lot more efficient than a state criminal justice system. You can reply.

REP. BISHOP: Well, I'm not going to go with that last point that far. But you said the key element right there. You need to solve the problem. If the problem is people are being attacked by monkeys, then go after that attack. Interstate transportation doesn't solve it. You can still transport them all over the place, you've grandfathered them in. You know, 20 states have solved this problem.

MR. O'REILLY: No, you can't. The federal law would say anybody trafficking across state lines is subject to harsh federal penalties, so that puts an end --

REP. BISHOP: Only on interstate you can't do anything. Intrastate is still fair game.

MR. O'REILLY: Yeah. But I mean, how many monkeys are running around the state of Connecticut? You know, not many.

REP. BISHOP: You've already hit on the other issue.

MR. O'REILLY: Look, here's the deal. A lion country safari shuts down in southern California, okay. They try to sell off the animals. They try to get as much money as they can. And so they transport an animal that shouldn't be a pet from southern California to Connecticut or wherever. This stops it cold. See, look, I want small government, but I think the government has to send messages in crazy stuff, and this is crazy stuff. I'll give you the last word.

REP. BISHOP: Well, I appreciate that. The bottom line is if you're trying to stop monkeys from attacking people, then ban the concept of pet monkeys, don't allow it to take place. That's a different issue than simply saying we're going to catch somebody coming there saying, I will be at the border.

MR. O'REILLY: I would probably have written that bill.

REP. BISHOP: If you passed the bill you have said, I probably would have voted for it. This just didn't do it.

MR. O'REILLY: Okay. All right, Congressman, we appreciate you coming on.

END.

Source