CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D- CA) Is Interviewed About The Coronavirus Relief Bill

Interview

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BLITZER: All right. I want everybody to standby. The speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, is joining us from Capitol Hill right now.

House Speaker, thank you so much for joining us. I don't know if you had a chance to hear what the president said, but he was upbeat. He predicted that the --he and Steve Mnuchin predicted the Senate will pass this $2 trillion aid package tonight. It will go to the House, it will pass the House and then he will immediately sign it into law. He praised you, he praised Chuck Schumer, of course, Mitch McConnell, the Republican leadership. What do you think?

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Well, I'm very happy to hear the president say it will pass the Senate this evening. We thought it would be earlier in the day, and it's so necessary. As you know, Wolf, our country is facing a pandemic unlike anything we've seen in over a hundred years. It has -- the lives and livelihood of the American people are greatly affected. So from the standpoint of healthcare, which is the important issue, the health issue, because when we solve that then everything will bounce back I'm sure.

I want to take the opportunity to thank our men and women who are our healthcare provider, our first responders, our emergency responders as well for the sacrifice they make. And part of our insistence is that we continue to fight to get them the personal protective equipment that they need and they don't have at all yet. They are our heroes in all of this, saving lives by risking their own.

As we go to the economic side of it, I think the cure is the best answer to our economy. But we had the best minds in the country working 24/7, all hands on deck to take us to that place. In the meantime, we have to address the economic strife that our families are suffering in this time. And so I was very pleased that the set several days, the congressional Democrats were able to turn upside down the bill presented at the beginning the weekend. It was a trickle down corporate bill. It is now is bubble up workers' bill, and we're very proud of that.

I hope that it would pass the Senate quickly so that we could predict what time we can get on with it tomorrow. But we stand ready because the urgency is very clear. The solutions are not everything we wanted, but many of the provisions we had in our House bill are in the Senate bill and we know that we're going to need more for our states, for our cities, for hospitals, for healthcare providers, for our workers, for our families, for our economy.

BLITZER: How soon after the Senate passes it? And let's assume it passes tonight, Madam Speaker, can you pass it in the House?

PELOSI: Well, when we see that the bill has passed the Senate, our distinguished majority leader, Mr. Hoyer, will get 24 hours' notice, at least 24 hours' notice to our members that the bill we be on the floor and that we can show them actually what the bill is so they know what they're voting on and they can review it.

I believe that at that time, one option we will not have is unanimous consent because there are those who might object to that.

[18:40:01]

But we can take a voice vote. If someone calls the recorded vote, then we're prepared to go in that direction as well. But what is important is for us to recognize the good that is in the bill, appreciate it for what it does, don't judge it for what it doesn't because we have more bills to come.

At the start of all this we had two bills which were about emergencies, the first two bills. And the emergency isn't over but the focus was on those two bills. Now, we're mitigating for the damage of it all to the health and to the livelihood of the American people. That is in this bill.

And then we will go forward for recovery, emergency, mitigation, recovery, and, again, all along the way still addressing the emergency and mitigation needs by focusing on how we build the economy in a positive way as we meet the health needs of the American people.

BLITZER: Assuming the House passes the legislation as written and passed by the Senate, how quick -- and the president immediately signs it into law -- how quickly will relief get to those who really need it right now?

PELOSI: Well, one of the things we want to do is -- and we're doing it now. In fact, I didn't hear the president because I was on with my members. We've been on all day listening to our committee chairs make the presentation of what the bill would do, but also how members can enable their constituents to take advantage of what enables them to take advantage of it all.

And so it's important that people know that they're entitled to that provision but also that some things take a little longer, probably take a month to get the direct payments, which are really important. We had bigger direct payments in our bill, and we think we'll get more direct payments in another bill. But nonetheless it's still a process to get the checks out at the soonest possible.

So in different categories, what they're talking about, small business loans, you're talking about grants from small businesses, this the first time, small business grants, whether you're talking about unemployment insurance, whether you're talking about direct payments, whether you're talking about aid to hospitals, assistance, state stabilization fund, they all have their own pace, some of it almost immediate, others a little more time for the process.

BLITZER: It sounds like you and the treasury secretary, Steve Mnuchin, are roughly on the same page. He said there's going to be about three weeks before the checks start reaching folks out there, three weeks relatively quickly. He also says that the package is designed to help the American public for three months. Do you agree with him?

PELOSI: Well, the unemployment insurance, thanks to our Democratic members of Congress, and I salute Chuck Schumer because he led the way in that negotiation, we're at four months with unemployment insurance, and some of the provisions go even longer.

But I do think that if he said that -- I haven't heard him say that, but if that's the measure he has on it then that we are soon going to have, to have another bill. There's no way the states can bear the burden of this plague and this attack, assault on the economy and their states. I can speak with some authority on California. Governor Cuomo has been articulate in calling for more already. But that is not to diminish what we are doing now. So, hopefully, three months, we have the cure, it's all greatly diminished and that would be great. But I do think that the consequences of this will prevail for a while. So we have to be ready to not only finish the job but do it in a way that takes us in a very positive way for our economy. And to do so in a way that honors our values.

We're very prayerful for those who have lost their families, who have lost loved ones, families who are cases now in our country, again, prayerful for our healthcare providers and first responders and the rest. But, again, our scientists who are working very hard on this, but just because the -- we find a cure and that would be important, it doesn't mean that this all ends. This has had deep impact on our country.

BLITZER: I'm sure they have.

PELOSI: Let's hope that the need doesn't go beyond that. But I don't think we even have enough to go to three months right now.

BLITZER: He says three months and then they'll have to reassess where to go next.

Speaking of the Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, he said earlier today that in terms of what New York State will be getting in this package, he says it's a, quote, drop in the bucket. He says, New York State needs a lot more. How do you respond to that?

PELOSI: Well, I completely agree with him. The governors need more money. We had $200 billion in our package. They had $150. But neither of those figures is enough to go forward.

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And I've had the pleasure of hearing these concerns directly today, and I have great respect for the governor and his -- taking responsibility for the needs of his state. And I hear that from my own governor in California. In fact, I hear from governors all over the country that they need more resources, and they do.

And I hope that the Fed could be a resource for some of that money as well. Chairman Powell has said to me the interest rates are low, think big in what you do because the interest rates are low. I said back to him, think big in what you do because the need is great and we can't do it only with appropriated dollars.

So that, in our bill, we enabled the chairman of the Fed and the Fed to be able to do more for municipalities and states as well, and hopefully he will do that.

It is -- it's debilitating to the states. This isn't -- they were -- they have education and transportation -- you know, all the responsibilities that a state or municipality is responsible for, including, first and foremost, meeting the health needs of the population. But it is -- they need more and I don't want to say -- well, maybe a bit small bucket or big drop, but it is still several billion dollars, and at the same time, we'll be giving money for education and transportation -- and hospitals get 100 -- I think it's $130 billion the final number for hospitals.

So entities within the states will be well-served. But that doesn't diminish the need for those mayors and governors to meet their needs in their states as well. And we do have to do more. But that would be no reason to stop this step that we are taking, but we need -- we recognize this is -- this is bigger than anything we have ever imagined.

And I want people to have the confidence that everybody's doing everything possible, hopefully as much as possible in a bipartisan way.

Right now, the wrinkle is that the Senate Republicans are saying they don't want to give $600 to those with unemployment insurance over and above their unemployment insurance benefit. I think that that -- that discussion is indicative of what the difference between the two parties.

When this bill was introduced by Senator McConnell, it was corporate down. Now, it is worker up. And that's the difference between us, and why would the senators hold up this really important bill where the lives and livelihood of the American people because they resent people at the low end of the spectrum who have lost their jobs and getting $600.

BLITZER: Yes, that's three or four Republican senators who are making that threat right now.

I know you've got to run, but let me ask you a final question, Madam Speaker. What's your message tonight to Americans who are so scared and concerned about what their future holds?

PELOSI: Be confident. Be positive. We have to believe in America. This is the country we believe in and we have to be optimistic.

But I do also believe they have to understand that this should be science and evidence-based as we go forward. We want to be optimistic, but we don't want to be Pollyannaish about it. This is a scientific challenge and we have to think scientifically in how we meet that challenge.

I think that we could do better in that regard. But I want them to know that people appreciate the concerns that they have, that are putting aside differences so that we can move forward and wait to fight another day for some priorities we may have because we understand the urgency. And their priorities are kitchen table priorities of ours, too, and now, that's expanded to a health threat.

So, again, when it comes to health, science, science, science. And I wish that every person in America would subscribe to the fact that science is an answer to our prayers so that we can get through this in a very positive way. But our thoughts -- not only our thoughts, our actions are with them. And pay attention to the discussion. Thank you for all the work that

you all are doing to make sure the public is aware of this, the challenge that it is. But it cannot go away because we wish it away. We can't hope that it goes away. We can hope that it does, but we have to believe in what will really make the difference.

In my view, in every way, it should be science and evidence-based, done in a way that it really, truly understands that our economy will come back when our people are well.

BLITZER: Well, that's encouraging, Madam Speaker, you and Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the Senate, work together with the Republicans and the president to get this done. And let's make sure it gets done very quickly because there are a lot of people who are in desperate need right now.

PELOSI: Uh-huh.

BLITZER: Madam Speaker, thank you so much for joining us.

PELOSI: My pleasure in a sad time. Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you very much.

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