CNN "Newsroom" - Transcript: Government Shutdown and ACA
Interview
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COSTELLO: Republican Congressman Todd Rokita will stand with fellow Republicans in just about an hour to talk about the government shut down, but he's made his feelings clear. He says this crisis is less about shutting down the government and more about protecting people from Obamacare.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. TODD ROKITA (R), INDIANA: We want to keep the government open. We just want to help the American people get by and through what is one of the most insidious laws ever created by man. And that is Obamacare.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Still, a growing group of Republicans are ready to call it quits on the Obamacare fight, like Republican Scott Rigell, who spoke to CNN's Dana Bash.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. SCOTT RIGELL (R), VIRGINIA: Now, we're at a point, what are we fighting for, the delay of one-year of the individual mandate and also the elimination of some subsidies. My point is I don't think a continued shutdown advances our conservative agenda.
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, you want the speaker to bring up a clean bill, no strings attached, to fund the entire government?
RIGELL: That's correct.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Joining us now is the congressman you saw a moment ago, Todd Rokita, a Republican from Indiana.
Welcome, Congressman.
ROKITA: Hey, Carol. Good to be back.
COSTELLO: Can we get just get the paycheck out of the way? We did a lot about lawmakers accepting their paychecks while government workers can't get their paychecks at this particular time. Are you accepting your paycheck?
ROKITA: I am. You know, I'm here at my duty station trying to keep the government open. We produced no less than four different scenarios and plans that Harry Reid and the senate Democrats and the president rejected. So, as long as I'm at my duty station, as long as I'm working, I'm going to keep my paycheck.
COSTELLO: But you know how angry, angry a lot of people are cross the country that lawmakers are choosing to keep their paychecks. They said, why should you keep your paychecks when government workers can't receive theirs because you're actually not doing your job?
ROKITA: Well, first of all, every time the government shut down in the past, government workers when they came back got back pay. And furthermore, even the lawmakers who are saying they won't get paid have to get paid under the Constitution. So the best they're doing is holding their pay at the clerk's desk.
COSTELLO: So why don't you hold your pay or donate it to charity like so many other lawmakers are doing?
ROKITA: Well, I'm fortunate and lucky that Kathy and I both donate a lot to charity, and we're privileged to be able to do so, and we'll continue to do so. But it sends the wrong message. I don't intend to send the message that I'm not doing my job. In fact we are doing our job and we're fighting on behalf of the American people, we're fighting to get rid, like I said before, one of the most insidious laws ever developed by man.
COSTELLO: OK, well let's talk about that part of the argument now, because congressman, after hearing your fellow lawmakers Scott Rigell, Republican, are you worried you're beginning to lose the battle? Because he says come on, we've lost the fight, we've made our point, it's time to move on and fight another day.
ROKITA: Well, we're fighting for fairness for the American people. You know, President Obama has delayed about 19 parts of this law over the last eight months. One of those was a delay of the employer mandate -- the idea that the big companies in this country don't have to abide by a portion of Obamacare.
We think if it's not ready for primetime for big companies, individuals should have the same break and we should delay the individual mandate as well.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: We're going to get into the same fight.
ROKITA: Hold on, Carol, we should make sure that Congress is equally under this law, like the American people are, if it's so good for the American people it should be good for Congress.
And so, I disagree with Scott. I like him a lot, he's a friend, but I am fighting for fairness to the American people and that's the latest negotiation that's on the table, why wouldn't we fight for that? Who wants Congress to be treated differently than the American people? If people are so angry like you say and rightfully so, they should be angry that they have to live under a law that Congress doesn't.
COSTELLO: Well, I'm just asking you why that should be connected to the federal budget. Let me run this other thing by you.
ROKITA: Sure.
COSTELLO: Another Republican, Devin Nunes of California, he's one of the Republicans also slamming his party for this divisive approach. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. DEVIN NUNES (R), CALIFORNIA: Now that we have made the jump, set ourselves on fire and made the jump, we have to -- we are now in the valley of death. We decided to go into the valley, we have to run together. We have to stay together, in order to fight the onslaught that's coming from the White House.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So, the congressman goes on to say the Democrats are giddy about this government shutdown because it's hurting Republicans.
So, if that's true --
ROKITA: Well, all I can tell you is my observation on the floor of the House last night, they didn't seem giddy. They seemed pretty frustrated because we continue to offer plans for keeping the government open and parts of the government open and they just voted last night against veterans. They just voted last night against research at the NIH.
We are for these things. We are for keeping the government open. We are against Obamacare. And pretty soon, this is all going to come together and the debt ceiling.
COSTELLO: I'm pretty sure the Democrats are for those things, too but the piecemeal approach they object to. Like funding the parts of the government that are noncontroversial that Republicans like and not funding others.
ROKITA: If they're for it, Carol -- if they're for it, Carol, what does the process matter? Keep it open, keep parts of it open. Let veterans go see the World War II Memorial like they've been trying to do for the last two days. It's simple.
COSTELLO: Is this how we want to decide our federal budget? I mean, really, is this the right way to go?
ROKITA: Well, the wrong way to go for the Senate not to produce a budget for the last four years. As a member of the Budget Committee, I'm proud of the budget we produced, it balanced in ten years, balanced one year before the 10-year window, and all we've seen from the Democrats and the president are budget proposals that never balance.
What we're fighting for at the end of the day, Carol, I don't know if you have children yet or grandchildren, you look much too young.
COSTELLO: Thank you.
ROKITA: We're fighting for them. Every child doesn't want $60,000 of debt assigned to them of the public debt. And it continues to go on. It's not even the $17 trillion now, Carol. It's the $100 trillion on the way if we don't reform the way we do business in Washington, and that's really what the fight is about.
COSTELLO: No, this fight is about Obamacare in your mind. It's not about reforming the system. You're not talking about reforming our tax system, or et cetera, et cetera.
ROKITA: Do you know how much this law is going to cost? It's an insidious law because it's a lie. It says it's going to be affordable.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: Do you know how much it costs every day the government is partially shut down? You are taxpayers millions of dollars.
ROKITA: I understand that and Obama is going to cost the children of tomorrow $2 trillion just over the next 10 years. So, Obamacare hurts this economy. Obamacare hurts this country much more, much more than any government shutdown.
COSTELLO: Seriously, the debt ceiling fight coming up.
ROKITA: Seriously, Carol. Seriously, Carol.
COSTELLO: Obamacare hurts the country worse than not raising the debt ceiling? ROKITA: Seriously, Carol.
COSTELLO: That's not what a bunch of Wall Street bankers told the president yesterday.
ROKITA: Well, I had a lot of CEOs in my office yesterday and they shared with me the same vision apparently some CEOs shared with the president. The CEOs in my offices yesterday were mothers and fathers and grandfathers and grandmothers as well.
And every generation, Carol, including ours, to date, has cared more about the future generation than ourselves. And if we don't change our ways, if we don't work together, if we don't get government spending under control, so we don't put on our plate --
COSTELLO: We're not working together. We're not remotely even working together.
ROKITA: Well, the one way we don't help the children of tomorrow is by putting $2 trillion more on their plate and that's what Obamacare spends over the next ten years. It's an insidious law. It's a lie. It is not providing more affordable health care. People are losing their health care.
COSTELLO: I think most Americans would say fight that fight separate from the federal budget. Don't partially shut down the government. Don't make things worse like fighting the same fight over and over --
ROKITA: But it is. Carol, we seem to go around in circles.
COSTELLO: Right, we're going in circles. Right. That's what you guys are doing.
ROKITA: You're part of the problem. The media is part of the problem as well.
COSTELLO: Come on, that's so easy. That's so easy.
ROKITA: Carol, you're beautiful but you have to be honest as well.
COSTELLO: OK, I think we should leave it here. Thank you so much for joining me, Congressman Todd Rokita.
ROKITA: Thanks, Carol.
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