MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript

Interview

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For more on this, let‘s bring in Illinois Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky tonight. Congresswoman, that‘s my stick and I‘m sticking to it, so to speak, all right? I need to know what you formulate...

REP. JAN SCHAKOWSKY (D), ILLINOIS: I - and I not - OK. I couldn‘t agree with you more, Ed. The idea now is to focus entirely, wake up every morning and think about how are we going to create the jobs. Send the money to community banks. Get them out - get it out into the community.

But I‘m going to - I want to say something else. I think there has been way too much focus on deficit. I think right now what we need to do is spend to create the jobs, that once we get the economy going and we put money into actually creating those jobs, then the deficit is going to - is going to take care of itself, because people are going to be paying taxes, they‘re going to be buying things, they‘re going to have money in their pockets.

So I think we - we need to regulate - we need to regulate Wall Street. We got to get the money to Main Street and we‘ve got to create more jobs.

SCHULTZ: Why is this such a heavy lift for the Congress to do this? I mean, it was so quick, so fast, so expedient to Wall Street.

We‘ve got - we‘ve got small businesses across this country that are absolutely screaming for credit and capital. The credit markets have tightened up. The regulations on the smaller banks are - are like a grip on the - on the jugular. It‘s frustrating to see the Democrats with the power to do something about this sit back and say, well, we got a stimulus package. You know? Where do you board (ph) on that?

SCHAKOWSKY: Well, let me tell you, we‘ve been focusing a lot - no, I know. We‘ve been focused on -

Well, let me just say, stimulus package, no. I think we need to make major, major investments. We don‘t have to think about them as, you know, cost to the - the government. We need to make the investments. We need to pass another transportation package that we‘re looking at in the - in the House of Representatives, get people to work in the new construction season that‘s - that‘s coming up.

But you‘re right. We are thinking about this day and night now. We‘re having the - the White House is going to have a job summit. We‘ve been having back-to-back caucus meetings about this. And you‘re going to be seeing a major focus on Main Street right now, and that does include exactly what you‘re saying, putting the money in the - in the community banks.

SCHULTZ: There is no downside here. First of all, you know the Republicans are going to be against it, because they‘re absolutely against everything, but if the Democrats can prove they can do jobs and they get health care done, even at the level that it‘s out right - at right now, these poll numbers are going to turn, Obama is going to look like, you know, everything he said on the campaign trail has come true in the first two years.

But the key now - the key now with the majority is to make sure that the regulation takes place on Wall Street, but that also you - you loosen up the regulations for the small banks. If that happens, we would be able to get more seats a year from now and really do health care the way the Democrats really want to do health care and really marginalize the Republicans. I mean, I really see this being a successful conclusion.

Now as - if - you know, you can‘t go to the White House and have a photo-op. I mean, what are - what are your expectations?

SCHAKOWSKY: No.

SCHULTZ: What are your expectations when it comes to this economic summit at the White House in December?

SCHAKOWSKY: Well, I think we‘re going to see that the TARP money, which is supposed to end at the end of December, is going to be extended and that that money will - a significant amount of that are going to go just where you said it‘s going to go. It‘s going to go into the communities, into the community banks.

You know, we‘re also concerned that we‘re buying things like wind turbines from - from China, that we‘re buying batteries for the new green economy from overseas. We‘ve got to let the money go to the kinds of projects that are going to actually create these good green jobs and make our - our economy rolling again.

And so there‘s so much we can do. You‘re right, Ed. This is not rocket science. We can figure out how to do this, and I think everybody really is focused on that now, from the White House, the House, the Senate, as soon as the Senate gets its health care bill, and I hope it‘s a good one with a public option and - and then we‘re - not even then. Simultaneously. We are moving right now in the House on jobs. Jobs, jobs, jobs.

SCHULTZ: And Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, always a pleasure to have you. Thanks for speaking up. This is going to be fun to watch because it‘s going to be fun...

SCHAKOWSKY: Thank you.

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