CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcripts

Interview

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BLITZER: On this April 15th tax day, a new CNN poll finds that Americans think the government is wasting your money, big time. Joining us now to talk about that and more, I'm joined by the House majority leader, Congressman Steny Hoyer, and the House minority whip, Representative Eric Cantor. Both the number two leaders of their respective parties in the House of Representatives. Congressmen, thanks very much for coming in.

REP. STENY HOYER (D), MAJORITY LEADER: Thank you, Wolf.

REP. ERIC CANTOR (R), MINORITY WHIP: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Steny Hoyer, let me show you the results of the CNN opinion research corporation poll today. We asked the question, how much of your taxes does government waste? 74 percent said a lot. 23 percent said some. Only three percent of the American people, only three percent, say not much. That's not a vote of confidence in what you guys are doing up on Capitol Hill. HOYER: Well, you know, I think the 3 percent are correct. Not much. Do we waste some, yes. Any enterprise this large, private sector, public sector, obviously had trouble keeping track of every nickel. But very frankly, it depends upon what you mean by waste. Social security, Medicare, Medicaid take a huge sum of money that we pay for health care and senior retirements. And poor people who can't get health care. So is that a waste? Do we waste some money within that? We do. Do we need to be very careful about it? We do. In the health care bill that we just passed, of course one of the major investments is to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in the health care programs. But they're right. It's an important consideration for us. We need to go after waste, fraud and abuse.

BLITZER: That's a lot easier as both of you know, said than done. If we asked you that question, Congressman Cantor, how much of your taxes does government waste, would you say a lot, some or not much?

CANTOR: I think you're going to predict right, Wolf. I'm going to say a lot. And, you know, today is tax day as you said before. Steny and I work together on a lot of things. As you may expect, we disagree on some. I think today, tax day, though, would be a great time for us to start and maybe join together, and I would challenge Steny to say, hey, come on. Let's just say right now we're not going to allow for tax hikes to occur this year because we don't need anymore money coming out of people's pockets into Washington. That would probably be the best response to the poll that you speak about.

BLITZER: You ready --

HOYER: Not only will I accept the challenge, we accepted the challenge. Taxes for Americans, 95 percent of Americans, were reduced substantially last year. Over $300 billion in tax cuts last year. And the average refund is 10 percent greater this year than it was last year under the last year of the Bush administration. Very frankly, taxes have gone down. Eric, of course, doesn't mention that. But a third of the recovery and reinvestment act were tax cuts.

BLITZER: Go ahead Eric Cantor.

CANTOR: Well listen. What I'm saying is this. Certainly with can argue about the stimulus bill. What I can say is this. Every American knows their taxes are going up in December. Let's say right now we're not going to allow taxes to increase. Especially when we've got the unemployment that we have and the need for us to grow in this economy and to produce jobs. Let's say right now no tax hikes this year.

HOYER: Wolf, clearly, if what Mr. Cantor is talking about, I suspect he is, is the tax program that was adopted in '01 and '03, then had a 2010 ending date, so automatically taxes would go up, the answer to his question, the president has said, we've said, we're certainly going to make sure that middle class taxes don't go up.

BLITZER: But they will go up for people making -- households making more than $250,000 a year, individuals making more than $150,000 a year. Steny Hoyer, is that right?

HOYER: Well, that may be the case.

CANTOR: And all capital gains taxes.

BLITZER: Go ahead. What was the point, Eric Cantor?

CANTOR: And, Wolf, I would say to Steny, and Steny knows, too, that all capital gains taxes will go up. Will have marginal rates increase. This is a huge tax increase on the American people that is set to happen in a time in which we've got really high unemployment and the need for job growth.

BLITZER: Steny Hoyer, first to you. There's a lot of buzz out there about a new tax, a value added tax, a so-called national sales tax. Yes or no? Good or bad idea?

HOYER: Well, I don't think we're going to do a value added tax. The Senate is going to pass a resolution today or essentially the Senate that no value added tax -- I don't know whether they'll pass it or not. I understand it's coming over to us. There's no discussion right now about a value added tax. What I have said in the commission that the president has formed with respect to how do we get a handle on this debt and deficit that confronts us, one of the most serious problems that confronts this country, everything's got to be on the table. We got to pay for what we buy if we want to buy it. The Republican is the Republican leadership during the last decade bought a lot of things, tax cuts, wars, drug prescription programs, not bad programs -- but they didn't pay for it.

BLITZER: They just, by the way, Eric Cantor passed through the Senate a nonbinding resolution saying this idea of a value added tax or a national sales tax, not a good idea.

CANTOR: Listen, that is certainly good news. Nobody in this country wants to become like some of the big government nations in Europe where taxes really are effectively even just at the marginal rates over 50 percent. Then you put a value added tax on, they're over 60 percent taxed. Like your poll said, Wolf, you know, Americans think Washington wastes a lot of money, and we do. We don't have a revenue problem here, which is why I say we ought to join together and say no tax hikes this year. We've got a spending problem. And Steny talks about the commission the president has put in place. You know what? The intent and the goal is laudable. The problem is they didn't put tax hikes off the table. And we can't afford tax hike right now when we have to grow jobs in this country and get investors back into the game of putting their capital to work so that we can grow again.

HOYER: Wolf, let me make a comment. Since Ronald Reagan they've been talking about waste, fraud and abuse. We ought to get rid of it. I agree with that. Eric just said there's a lot of waste in the government. They were in charge for eight year. Just a few months ago they were in charge. They should have gotten rid of that waste, fraud and abuse they think exists. We'd be for that.

BLITZER: Let me move on. HOYER: What they didn't do, Wolf, was pay for what they bought. That's created a great big deficit problem for us that have got to be solved.

BLITZER: I want to move on. We have a limited amount of time. There is one issue both of you agree on. That is U.S./Israeli relations. Steny Hoyer, you weren't very happy with the way president Obama treated the Israeli prime minister on his recent visit here, were you?

HOYER: I think that we need to treat Israel for what it is. Our closest ally in the Middle East, one of our closest friends in the world. And when we have those differences need to be discussed, in my opinion, in private. I think the administration has made it very clear that our relationship with Israel is very, very strong, as strong as it's ever been. There is no way to dissolve the bonds between us and Israel. But obviously, I have indicated that I think that whatever differences we have ought to be discussed in private.

BLITZER: Eric Cantor, you and Steny Hoyer co-sponsored a letter, 333 members of the House signed it, Democrats and Republicans. Basically, correct me if I'm wrong, because I've read it carefully, rebuke the White House for the way the president treated Benjamin Netanyahu.

CANTOR: That is correct. I stand side by side with and salute the leadership of Steny Hoyer on the precedent of U.S. Israel relationship. I think it is very clear to most Americans that Israel's security is synonymous with our own. We have a lot of struggle out there in this world, and we are in an ideological fight with the spread of radical Islam. And it's something that we've got to take seriously, because we know the impact of what that can have on free-loving people like those of us in the United States. And Steny and I also are working hand in hand together on a resolution that I'm hopeful Congress will produce very shortly which will impose real sanctions on any nations doing business with the state -- the nation of Iran. Because it is Iran that poses an existential threat to us here in this country as well as Israel.

BLITZER: On that note of cooperation, very quickly ten seconds.

HOYER: Wolf, all I wanted to say is, the president has said, the Congress has said, a nuclear-armed Iran is not an acceptable alternative and we need to be very strong and clear on that proposition.

BLITZER: Steny Hoyer and Eric Cantor, they agree on that issue. Let's see if they agree on other issues down the road. Gentlemen, thanks very much.

HOYER: Thank you, Wolf.

CANTOR: Thank you, Wolf.

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