CNN "American Morning" - Transcript

Interview

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REP. STENY HOYER (D-MD), MINORITY WHIP: Good to be with you, Kiran.

CHETRY: I want to ask you about the talk of civility, the seating arrangements. Of course, you sat with your Republican counterpart, Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy.

How different was the mood last night than, say, last year's State of the Union?

HOYER: Well, I think it was significantly different. I mean, the fact that Republicans and Democrats were sitting together, not sort of in two camps ready to pop up on something they liked or pop up on something -- or sit -- or sit silent on something they didn't like, I think the fact that we were together, I think, was a good start. It created an atmosphere that I think is important.

But as the president pointed out, sitting together will be not the key, working together will be. I think the American public expects us to work together. And what the president and what I thought was a serious thoughtful call to action, not a rah-rah speech but a serious reflection on the challenges that confront us and his suggestion of some of the solutions, I thought that it created an atmosphere to listen to that speech.

Now, hopefully, that atmosphere will carry over to meet the challenges, given the fact that there are differences of opinion. But, Kiran, one of the things we saw in the post-election session was that it can be done. Not 10 years ago, 20 years ago, but last month, it was done where we came together and made compromises by definition compromises, have some things in that each party doesn't like, but, on the whole, they believe the proposition is supportable.

I think we need to do that. I think we can do that. I've been working with Mr. Cantor and Mr. McCarthy --

CHETRY: Right.

HOYER: -- and Speaker Boehner, in discussions to hope that we can move forward in a way that will affect change.

CHETRY: All right. So, two things I want to ask you about then. One is, of course, the health care situation. The president last night said working to, you know, that the repeal is not necessarily helpful, that working together to sort of tweak moving forward would probably be more helpful.

Do you really think you're going to get any give from the other side who -- they voted to repeal it? They want to repeal it, not necessarily just change.

HOYER: Well, there was a vote to repeal in the House. That, obviously, is a pledge Republicans made and they have fulfilled that pledge. But I don't really think it was a serious effort and, frankly, the debate surrounding it didn't make it much of a serious debate.

Bill Frist, a former Republican leader of the United States Senate, very close to George Bush, and a great surgeon in his own right, a great medical leader -- Bill Frist said that, talking about getting rid of it, it didn't really make sense, that it would be the basis upon which we would build to make sure that we had affordable, accessible quality health care available to our people.

I think he's right. I think it will be the basis. I think that's what the president said last night. That would be the basis upon which we could build.

He was open to making improvements. He said that anything of this magnitude certainly could be improved. I think we all agree on that.

But as Senator Bill Frist, the former Republican majority leader said --

CHETRY: Right.

HOYER: -- it will be the basis on which we will build.

CHETRY: I want to ask you about the budget, because the GOP has a very different take on what it will take to balance the budget, what it will take to get out of deficit spending.

But where do you see common ground after listening to the GOP responses last night on any type of legislation to bring down the deficit?

HOYER: Well, certainly what we saw was common ground in a recognition that dealing with a budget deficit is an absolutely critical objective if we're going to stabilize and grow our economy. We cannot sustain the deficit picture that confronts us.

The president referenced that two commission reports that were made. One, his commission that he appointed; the other commission led by Alice Rivlin and Senator Pete Domenici. Both of them put forward that we had to deal across the board with spending and revenues that we had deal, not only with domestic nondefense, non-security spending, which the president talked about, our Republican friends talked a lot about -- but we also got a deal with defense spending and spending on health care, and the president mentioned Medicare and Medicaid in particular.

We have to deal across the board with spending, constrain it, make sure that it's sustainable in the future, and get our deficits down.

CHETRY: He also mentioned earmarks. He said, anything that comes across this desk that has an earmark he's going to veto it. It didn't get that response from the Democrats. I saw a standing ovation from Senator John McCain who has talked about this time and again.

Why do you think the Democrats might not have been as excited about that prospect?

HOYER: Well, very frankly, the Constitution of the United States, in Article I, we heard a lot about reading the Constitution, says that it is the Congress of the United States that's given the authority under our Constitution to appropriate monies and to apply those to needs that the Congress sees in the country.

I think that's a constitutional responsibility of the Congress. I frankly wasn't very taken with the president's thought. Clearly, if there's an additional spending initiative by the Congress that is not appropriate, the president ought to veto it. On the other hand, if it is an appropriate expenditure in a community, in a state, in the nation, then I think, frankly, the president ought to sign that.

I thought simply a blanket statement that because Congress adds an item of spending to the appropriation bills that he would, therefore, veto it -- I think that was unfortunate and a proposition with which I do not agree.

CHETRY: Well, it was great to get your take this morning. Congressman Steny Hoyer, Democratic whip, thanks so much.

HOYER: Thank you.

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