CNN "Lou Dobbs Tonight" - Transcript

Interview

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DOBBS: Tonight, a leading Republican in the Senate says there's not much hope for bipartisanship in the fight over health care legislation. Senator Chuck Grassley from Iowa, he's on the Senate Finance Committee to pass one version of the health care overhaul without a so-called public option. Senator Grassley joins us now.

Senator, good to have you with us.

SEN. CHARLES GRASSLEY (R), IOWA: Glad to be with you.

DOBBS: This -- I've got 1796 in front of me here, 1,502 pages, and that's without a public option. Is the public option so-called dead or not?

GRASSLEY: Well, I don't know for sure. You know the vast majority of the Democratic caucus wants it put in. I've heard Harry Reid wants it in. Senator Baucus has been arguing that it shouldn't be in, Senator Conrad has. But now you're asking me, I'm a Republican, this ought to be a bipartisan bill, but the Senate health bill, the Senate finance committee bill is being put together into one bill. And at this point, I don't know whether it'll include a public option or not. But I'll bet the further down the road it'll move more left ward and include a public option.

DOBBS: Well, you know, I'd like to get your reaction to the chairman of the Senate finance committee. And this is Senator Max Baucus talking today about how transparent the process to create 1796 was. I want you to listen and give us your reaction.

GRASSLEY: I am so proud that this -- how transparent we have been in this open process we have in enacting this bill. Finance committee, health committee, countless hearings, all public, all in the open. Senators from both sides able to offer amendments.

DOBBS: Did he capture the spirit of the thing you think, accurately?

GRASSLEY: Well, the answer is yes for the 1,502 pages of that bill. It was more open. You know, plenty of hearings, opportunities to discuss among members, open sessions. Being on the internet for a period of time. All the amendments put out for public inspection, I don't think the committee's ever done that. But now you go to a process of merging that bill with the Senate health bill -- health committee bill and I believe that's being entirely done behind closed doors and you want to remember what President Obama said during the campaign that we're going to deal with health care where it's going to be on c-span, Republicans at the table, Democrats at the table, it's going to be open, stake holders there, it's going to be an open process. But right now, that's being -- that's not being done or followed at all. I think it'd be a good thing if the president would intervene with Senator Reid and tell him what he promised during the campaign and have Senator Reid deliver on that and have this merger of these two bills be much more transparent.

DOBBS: What do you think the odds are of that happening, senator?

GRASSLEY: Zero.

DOBBS: I thought we might as well get a reality check while we were at it. This legislation, we just had two leading experts on legislation on health care and legislation say to us basically that the scoring by the Congressional budget office of this particular piece of legislation doesn't amount to a hill of beans. We've heard the Senate majority leaders say the Senate health care will cost. No one figured out if it's a slip of the tongue, a Freudian slip or an open transparency on the part of your colleague and majority leader Harry Reid. What in the world is going on? We had demonstrations all across the country. In town hall meetings. Did all of this -- did all of the Senate leadership suddenly forget about those town hall meetings?

GRASSLEY: They've got a president that was elected. This is his number one goal. There's 60 senators, there's an overwhelming majority in the House of Representatives. The president is taking this very personally. He wants this. It'll be considered a defeat for his administration if he doesn't get it. If those 60 Democrats stick together, they will get it. And in that sense, then the grass roots of America is represented by those town meetings and I had some big turnouts at my town meetings will be ignored. Now here's what you've got to think about. It isn't too late for the people to rare up again in reaction and opposition. We're going to be on this bill several weeks in the United States Senate. And they start phoning that are Congressmen, maybe people will still have meetings, write their Congressman an e-mail, there can be a tremendous turnout that's going to make a difference yet in this debate. I'm saying to the people of this country; don't give up on the fact that you can make an impact.

DOBBS: Senator Chuck Grassley. Appreciate it.

GRASSLEY: Thank you.

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