MSNBC "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue" - Transcript

Interview

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MR. SHULTZ: Senator, good to have you with us tonight on "1600." I want to get your quick reaction, if I can, sir, to the news that the AIG executives, nine out of the top 10 and 15 out of 20, are going to return the bonus money. Let's get to that first. What do you think?

SEN. BARRASSO: Well, that's exactly what I said on MSNBC the other morning. I said, "This is the time where it's really going to tell the character of the people," and if they would come out forward and do that, that would speak to them wanting to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. And I'm delighted to see that they're showing their character, which is not greed on Wall Street but a commitment to help America and the American people.

MR. SCHULTZ: Senator, let's get to today's news as well when it comes to the plan that the president and his Treasury secretary put out. On the surface, are you okay with this, or do you think that this is too much of a gamble with taxpayer dollars?

SEN. BARRASSO: Well, I want make sure that there is risk as well as a reward. And it's really not an even-steven putting up money. It seems like that what we're asking the partners to put up is small and what the government is going to put up is large. You know, it's a trillion dollars. I want to know where that money is coming from. Even the president's budget director, Ms. Romer, said that it's only 7 or 8 percent of the money is going to be from a private put-up of money, whereas the rest is going to come from the government. So it's sure not an even partnership.

MR. SCHULTZ: Well, Senator, when you take a look at the numbers that are out there, the president seems to be playing pretty loose with a lot of tax dollars. But what's the Republican plan for fixing this? If we don't do this private and public partnership, if we don't invest to get these toxic assets off the books for the banks, what other plan could there be?

SEN. BARRASSO: Well, you want to have accountability, you want to have oversight, and you want to have transparency. That's what was lacking in that first $700 billion bailout last year. But I'm concerned about the entire budget, which is what the president was talking about Saturday in his radio message.

I say focus on the economy. It's the economy, Mr. President. It's not all of these other things of rebuilding and redoing health care and education and energy and the environment. You have two jobs, Mr. President. One is the economy. The other is to keep us safe at home. And I say focus all your attention on the economy. Don't deal with this big budget which we're debating this week in the Senate, which to me spends too much, taxes too much and borrows too much.

MR. SCHULTZ: Senator, one of your colleagues, Alabama Senator Richard Shelby, had some pretty harsh words for Mr. Geithner yesterday. Here's what he had to say.

SEN. RICHARD SHELBY (R-AL): (From videotape.) Nobody wanted to claim responsibility for the language in the stimulus bill that grandfathered the bonuses in at AIG. Now we know it came from Treasury. There's a lot of questions to be asked. I'm not feeling real good about Treasury's role or the specific role of Tim Geithner at the moment. I'll tell you what; if he keeps going down this road, I think that he won't last long. I think he's probably on shaky ground now, at least with the Congress and a lot of the American people.

MR. SHULTZ: Senator Barrasso, do you think that Tim Geithner is on shaky ground? Should he be on shaky ground? Where do you stand on the Treasury secretary?

SEN. BARRASSO: You know, I voted against his nomination because of the tax issues. We were told in the Senate that he was the only person in America to do this job, the only one prepared to save the day. On a scale of one to 10, with one being the worst and 10 being the best, to me he's still less than a five. I have great concerns. And I'm not sure he's the only one that can solve the problems. And I think we need more confidence on behalf of the American people than what's going on now at Treasury.

MR. SCHULTZ: Senator, good to have you on with us tonight. I appreciate your time on "1600."

SEN. BARRASSO: Thanks, Ed.

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