CNN "The Lead with Jake Tapper" - Transcript: Interview with Ro Khanna

Interview

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Here to discuss, Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California. He was part of that meeting with progressive Democrats that the President had that just wrapped up at the White House.

Congressman Khanna, good to see you. What can you tell us about your meeting with President Biden and why so many of your fellow progressives seem so optimistic?

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Jake, this was a president in charge, he's taken over the details of the negotiation. He said he is confident that he can get Senator Sinema and Senator Manchin to a place on a framework. And the framework he outlined was an inspiring one and one that I think progressives can get behind. So, you saw him in full command of the details. He was going through in detail on the chart, every program.

TAPPER: Can you give us an idea of what this compromise might look like? What the total cost will be, whether or not programs will be cut or whether or not it will just be for allocated funds for a shorter number of years? Any details.

KHANNA: I think most of the programs, almost all of the programs will be there in some form. It's no secret that the President has thrown out a number around 2 trillion. That is, I think, where we will end up around that number. And almost every priority will be funded.

Some of them will be funded last -- for last year, some four more years. But overall, there was a sense that the priorities that the progressives care about are in the framework.

TAPPER: Give us an idea of some of the specific programs that will be in this compromise, theoretically.

KHANNA: I appreciate your raising that, because one of the things we talked about is we need to be more specific about what's in there. There is going to be universal preschool.

The President was the most passionate about this, saying all these other countries do that this is going to give every kid in America a fair starting point. There's going to be a child tax credit continued. We will have vision, dental hearing, that is going to be in there.

There will be some funding for community college scholarships. There will be funding for the expansion of the Affordable Care Act. So, it is a robust program. And there are going to be climate investments, massive investments and extensions in solar, in wind, in water.

TAPPER: So, universal pre-K would suggest, just for anybody out there who's not paying incredibly close attention to this, that there is not any means testing, meaning that doesn't matter how much money you make. You can send your kids to this universal pre-K the same way that any wealthy person can send their kids to the local high school, the local public high school. So that would stay universal. Is their means testing for anything else, because obviously Senator Manchin has been and has been pushing for that?

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KHANNA: That will be universal and that's a big win. There will be means testing for the child tax credit and the earned income tax credit. As you know, Jake, there was means testing for those programs, even in the American rescue plan that we passed.

The question is, what is the threshold going to be? I believe it will be higher than the 60,000 that Senator Manchin proposed, it will be significant. There wasn't the level of detail on exactly what that number will be. That will be worked out. But I'm confident a lot of working class and middle class families will be covered.

TAPPER: Now, you just said that there will be climate change provisions. We have heard and read that one of the big sticking points for Senator Manchin, who we should note, represents West Virginia, a coal state, is that he opposes a lot of the climate policies, climate change policies in the bill. Where is that going to land?

I mean, there is this provision that would give federal money to companies who increase their share of electricity from clean sources and penalize carbon tax those who do not. Is that going to be in the bill?

KHANNA: The good news is, there's going to be about 300 billion of investment in solar, in wind, in hydro, the tax credits to be able to develop that.

The CEPP program, that you refer to, is probably not going to be in the bill. That is a disappointment. But the President said that he has committed to finding alternative means to get to the 50 percent reduction in emissions that he is committed to and to make sure that he delivers that before he goes to Glasgow. So that is a work in progress.

One of the things we discussed is how important it is to make sure West Virginia is a winner in this, that the jobs, the new jobs are actually in West Virginia and other fossil fuel dependent states.

TAPPER: Now, the provision, the bill that you're talking about, the Build Back Better Act, proposes paying for, if not all, most of these programs by raising the corporate tax level, by raising the very highest level tax level. But we've also heard that this is a nonstarter or at least the corporate tax increase for Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. Is that true? Is there any change in what Washington, D.C. calls the pay for or the revenues or what most human beings call tax increases?

KHANNA: The President said that it will be completely paid for. We didn't get into the specifics of how.

Now, half of the plan is basically a tax cut, the part of it that's an earned income tax credit, a child tax credit, that's putting money in the pockets of the working class, especially if it's refundable, it's a tax cut. So that part, Senator Sinema may not be opposed to that spending.

For the other parts, the President is confident we'll be able to raise the revenue. I obviously think we should be raising taxes on the ultra-wealthy in the corporate tax rates. I believe some of that will be in there.

TAPPER: What happens if Democrats cannot make a deal before the self- imposed deadline of October 31? Again, there's nothing magic about that deadline. It's something that Democrats put as a goal. You guys have already blown through multiple deadlines.

And as you know, moderates already frustrated that the vote didn't happen last month as promised, but do you think this will happen by October 31? And if not, when?

KHANNA: Jake, I used to think probably not until I met the President this afternoon. And I'll tell you what struck me, he wasn't focused on October 31, but he was focused on delivering something before he goes to Glasgow.

And he made a very compelling case, he said, and he looked people in the eye and he said, the prestige of the United States is on the line. I need this to go represent the United States overseas. I need people to see that the Democratic Party is working, that the country is working that we can govern. I think that is a very compelling appeal.

It appealed to me that we need to compromise and give this president a win. And I hope it will appeal to every American that we want this president to succeed on the international stage.

TAPPER: Right. Glasgow where there will be a big international discussion on how to combat climate change.

Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, thank you so much for your time today. We really appreciate it.

KHANNA: Thank you, Jake.

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