CBS "Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer" - Transcript: Immigration, Marriage Equality, and Healthcare

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

SCHIEFFER: Senator Ayotte, what do you think? Why do you think that John Boehner suddenly stepped back? Was this in response to the president's speech or was it that he just can't get his caucus together over there in the House?

AYOTTE: Well, I have to say, Bob, I think there is a real trust deficit right now that the speaker is facing, and it's related to Obamacare and the disastrous rollout. Because, let's think about it, immigration means doing a lot of complex things well. And in addition to that, the administration keeps issuing executive orders to change the law very frequently. So I think there's a trust deficit that's related. And then when the president came out in his State of the Union talked about more executive orders, that certainly, I think, didn't help the situation. You know, I supported the bill in the Senate. I think we should solve this. I hope the speaker can find a way forward. You know, certainly the bill that came out of the Senate was not perfect, but it was a good solution to a hard problem. I think this is an important issue to solve, not only for the country but for the Republican Party.

SCHIEFFER: Do you think, Senator, that Republicans can win a presidential election if they don't find some way to appeal to Hispanics, who are such a growing part of the voting public right now? Because they just almost -- Mitt Romney got fewer Republican (sic) votes than any -- even any Republican in recent years. Aren't you going to have to do something on that line?

AYOTTE: Well, I hope, Bob, that we will take this issue up because this is an issue of national security and an issue for our economy. And I think, for Republicans, there are many ideas that we have that Hispanic voters, on the economic front, certainly on values, that we share with them. So I think we need to solve it. And here's -- here's the deal. The status quo is totally unacceptable, both on the illegal immigration front and legal immigration with regard to our economy. That said, there is a big trust deficit, right now, which you can understand. I mean, when you do big things poorly like this administration has done with Obamacare, you can understand, with a complex issue like immigration reform, that there's a lot of lack of trust among House Republicans and other Republicans.

SCHIEFFER: Well, what is it that they don't trust on the immigration front? Are they afraid he's going to pull...

(CROSSTALK)

... the Border Patrol back or something, or what?

AYOTTE: Well, I mean, what he's done is issued multiple executive orders where the law said this and we're going to do this because it's not working out. So I think that's what it comes from. And the issue relates to securing the border, wanting to avoid a third wave of illegal immigration. Now, that said, I think the administration, if they ignored securing the border, they'd do so at their own political peril. So I hope that the House Republicans will take this up and will solve this problem because, again, status quo is not acceptable for the country.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

SCHIEFFER: Senator Ayotte, would Republicans have any -- will there be a pushback against this? Is there anything that, if they do not like it, that they can do about it?

AYOTTE: Well, the memo comes out on Monday, so I haven't seen all the facts yet. But it appears to be another example of the Obama administration imposing its will on the states. For a state like New Hampshire, it's not going to be an issue because our legislature has decided to recognize same-sex marriage. It could be an issue for other states that are having this debate or have made different policy decisions.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

SCHIEFFER: Senator Ayotte, I'll let you have the last word here on this subject. What happens now on Obamacare, as they call it?

AYOTTE: Well, I can tell you that Senator Durbin can spin this all he wants, but I hear it from my constituents. They've been writing me concerned about higher health care costs, losing their plans or their doctor, and also just concerns about a disastrous rollout, gross incompetence. And now we have 22,000 people seeking an appeal and no process by the administration for them to do that. So what happens to those people? The law is deeply unpopular. And I think, at this point, the administration is trying to come up with ways to spin it, but people are really seeing the effect of this and they're deeply concerned about it, I can tell you, in my state.

SCHIEFFER: Twenty seconds to you, Senator Ayotte. What should the president do right now about this?

AYOTTE: The -- the president -- right now, he needs to stop changing the law based on executive order. He needs to work with Congress. And, frankly, I think we need to start over, Bob. I mean, this has been a mess. You've got a situation where people, I know, are going to pay more -- in New Hampshire, we only have one insurer who got on the exchange and 10 of our 26 hospitals have been excluded from the exchange.

SCHIEFFER: All right.

AYOTTE: So less choice for people. So he needs to work across the aisle at this point.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source