Fox News "Your World" - Transcript
Interview
Fox News "Your World" - Transcript
MR. CAVUTO: Fox on top of a government spigot that is very much on tap. Welcome, everybody, I'm Neil Cavuto, and this is "Your World" and we are live on Capitol Hill where House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is meeting with the heads of GM, Ford, Chrysler. They're already getting a $25 billion loan. Talk is now the speaker's about to give them another 25 billion (dollars). And talk is now that Senator Chris Dodd says, whoa, go slow. Do they deserve it? Democratic Congressman Joe Sestak says they need it.
Congressman, good to have you. Congratulations on your reelection.
REP. SESTAK: Thank you. Glad to be rehired.
MR. CAVUTO: Let me ask you, even Chris Dodd is saying, more moderate Democrats are saying, let's not go crazy here. Are you guys risking going crazy here?
REP. SESTAK: No. I lean toward supporting another $25 billion. And Neil, here's why. Unlike this bailout, as people call it, of Wall Street where much of the problem was on an expectations market, of creating wealth for wealth's sake, what we're doing here is different. This is something where we're going to help make things, future, salable technology and help to have an industrial base for higher- value manufacturing that's economically efficient and environmentally sound and can revolutionize -- revolutionize -- private transportation because it is supposed to be -- and we've got to watch it -- not just to help them create jobs but jobs in the higher-value types of lithium, ion batteries and other types of fuel efficiency --
MR. CAVUTO: But Congressman, I know. But we have stimulus already. Even Chris Dodd is saying, as are others in your party, let's see how that other stimulus works out. Let's see how that goes through the system before we start piling money on top of money.
REP. SESTAK: I agree. But when you have GM actually assessing its own credit line -- which you know, Neil, when a corporation does that, it's got a big problem -- and it's now under a law that we passed last December saying, get up to a higher miles per gallon, and all of a sudden after that a lending freeze happens, you're going to have a danger here of not just losing 2.5 million jobs --
MR. CAVUTO: Congressman, I know you have a big heart, but where are you going to draw the line? If it's the auto guys one time, it could be, who knows, the pharmaceutical guys the next time. You know, the home builders -- I just had Ara Hovnanian on. He wants a big tax credit. I mean, they're all going to come to you, Congressman, with hands out and say, help me, too.
REP. SESTAK: You know, Neil, I wish you and I had been together in Congress eight years ago so that we didn't add $5 trillion of debt. What we're talking about at $25 billion is one-half of 1 percent of that debt that President Bush and his policies added over the last eight years.
MR. CAVUTO: Congressman, let's not make this a stupid political argument. Let's not even get --
REP. SESTAK: It isn't, Neil.
MR. CAVUTO: No, Congressman, let's not get into the fact the Internet bubble burst and we had this thing called 9/11. I'm so tired of repeating these arguments. I'm talking about here and now. The fact is you want to help out the auto companies. It's all well and good. But we are essentially rewarding them for mistakes their management made. Now, yes, their workers are suffering, and that's a problem and that isn't fair, but that is also capitalism. You guys are coming in to the rescue to say, look, I know you botched it, but we're going to clean up after your mess. Be careful, Congressman, because once you do that -- once you do that -- then you've set the stage to do that time and again.
REP. SESTAK: No, Neil, if I might. You understand business very well. You understand that because -- and it wasn't a political statement. It was a financial statement. Five trillion dollars of debt has meant the value of our dollar has dropped precipitously, which means that it costs a U.S. automaker 3.5 times as much to borrow in the U.S. as it does for a Korean plant to borrow. So my argument did not have to do with President Bush. It had to do with his policies that makes it more expensive to get lending.
MR. CAVUTO: Congressman, I'll play to your argument. Alcoa had a lousy quarter. Alcoa is a big, you know, aluminum manufacturer in this country. It has trouble because of the same dollar issues, dealing and selling here and abroad. Now, are you going to help those manufacturers? Are you going to help U.S. textile manufacturers? Are you going to help U.S. shoe manufacturers? Are you going to help one industry after another that is hurt by the same issues you just addressed? Because if you are -- if you are -- then you better plan on spending a hell of a lot more money.
REP. SESTAK: Neil, I honestly do believe, much as President Bush in 2003 gave a tax incentive for manufacturing writ large after we lost 14 million jobs, which was very wise on his part, that we have an obligation as government to have selective intervention. And those types of industries, like solar power, like fuel-efficiency vehicles, like windmill power to help incentivize the job creation of those more important manufacturing sectors that can help lead the world, I think this is what I'm talking about.
MR. CAVUTO: We'll see how it goes. Congressman, I'm just worried.
REP. SESTAK: Thanks for having me.
MR. CAVUTO: We'll see what happens.
REP. SESTAK: I understand your argument, but I think this is smart.
MR. CAVUTO: Okay.
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