CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Interview with Senator Bernie Sanders

Interview

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BLITZER: We are following breaking news up on Capitol Hill where both the House and the Senate are expected to pass a $900 billion coronavirus relief bill that includes a $600 direct payment to people below a certain income level and extends the $300 a week jobless benefit.

There are $284 billion in forgivable loans for small businesses under the Paycheck Protection Program. The package also contains $82 billion for schools and colleges, as well as $25 billion for rental assistance.

We are joined now by independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Senator, thank you so much for joining us. You've said the relief bill is not adequate. I know you pushed for more money for direct payments to Americans who are in desperate need right now. In your view, why does this deal fall short?

[17:20:01]

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): It falls short, Wolf, because this country today is facing the worst set of crises that we have faced in the modern history of this country. I mean, as we speak, you're looking at tens of millions of families that face eviction from their homes because they lost their jobs. They have no income.

You're looking at a record level of hunger in the United States of America. We got over 90 million people who are uninsured or underinsured in the midst of the worst pandemic in the modern history of our country. And you see poverty rising very, very significantly.

So with all of those crises out there, what we needed was a major, major response to tell the working families of this country who are struggling to keep their families in place, we hear their pain and we are responding.

Now, this bill to be honest has a lot of very important stuff in it. I mean, we work very hard. I worked with Senator Hawley to make sure there would be direct payments. I wanted $1,200 bucks. We ended up with $600, which for a family of four, the average family of four will be $2,400. Will that help? Yes, it will. Is it enough? No, it is not.

We manage to extend unemployment for another 11 weeks at a supplement of $300 on top of normal unemployment. Is that enough? No, it should have been for four months and that number should have been higher.

We provided zero financial aid to states and localities all over this country who are suffering devastating financial problems which will mean they'll have to layoff firemen, police officers, and teachers and so forth and so on.

So, this is a step forward. It is better than nothing. But it is nowhere near in my view where it should be going. And I should say, I very much look forward to when President Biden is in office that immediately, first thing he has got to do is to address this crisis and figure out a way as to how we can provide help to so many families facing economic devastation.

BLITZER: A lot will depend of course on who wins those two senate runoff seats whether the Democrats are the majority in the Senate or the Republicans as you know a lot better than I do. Bottom line, are you voting for this bill tonight?

SANDERS: Yes. Yes, I will.

BLITZER: You will vote for it. It's not perfect by any means, but it's got a lot of good things in there as you correctly point out. If the legislation is passed tonight or tomorrow, senator, when can Americans expect to finally receive those much needed stimulus checks that you fought to secure? SANDERS: According to Secretary Mnuchin, if people have the direct

deposit capabilities, those -- that money could be in their accounts within a week or two. Depending on the state in which you are living, unemployment help will get out sooner or later.

I think this time around the states should do better than they did the first time we were dealing with unemployment. So, in terms of the direct payments of $600, that money should be going out quite soon. And I can tell you that families in Vermont and all over this country desperately need that help.

BLITZER: Yes. There are so many millions of Americans who are now in poverty because of the pandemic, simply or having trouble feeding their kids, simply having trouble paying the rent. They desperately need this assistance and that's an important statement indeed.

Let me quickly turn to hack of the U.S. government agencies while I have you, senator. The president says China may be to blame but his Secretary of State, his attorney general, almost everyone in the U.S. intelligence community believes it was Russia. Why do you think the president once again is willing to contradict his own officials rather than hold Russia accountable?

SANDERS: Wolf, your guess is as good as mine. I think the American people are catching on to the fact that we have a president who is pretty far removed from reality. I think the intelligence agencies, his own Secretary of State suggest that the culprit here is Russia.

But he is on -- Trump is on an anti-Biden -- an anti-China kick and that's what he is, you know, that's what he keeps saying. But, you know, I think many of us know that the president lies all of the time and take anything that he says with a grain of salt.

BLITZER: Yes. It reminds me when I was in Helsinki covering his summit with Putin and he agreed with Putin and disagreed with the U.S. intelligence community that Russia was engaged and trying to interfere in the 2016 election. Senator Sanders, thanks for everything you're doing. Thanks very much for joining us.

SANDERS: Thanks you very much. Happy holidays to everybody.

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