CNN "Newsroom" - Transcript Interview with Chris Van Hollen

Interview

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GOLODRYGA: Well now, with impeachment behind them, lawmakers are turning their focus to President Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan, and the clock is ticking. In less than a month, unemployment benefits will begin to lapse for millions of Americans. Joining me now is Maryland Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen.

Senator, thanks so much for joining us today. So the House has been working on COVID relief this entire time. Speaker Pelosi has set a deadline of March 14th to get a bill signed, that is of course when some unemployment benefits will expire. Is that a realistic timeline?

SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD): Well, Bianna, it's good to be with you. Yes, it is, because it's urgent that we get it done for exactly the reason you just mentioned, which is a lot of the current relief will expire in the middle of March, including the extended unemployment insurance benefits.

But we know that we won't have beaten the pandemic by the middle of March, so we are going to rush to get this done, to help deploy more vaccine, to help get kids back into school safely and to provide the other important benefits in this rescue package.

GOLODRYGA: Well, that is a relief to hear for millions of Americans that definitely need the aid. But President Biden has said that a minimum wage increase will likely not make it into the COVID relief bill for a number of reasons, but do you see room in getting one passed this year with Republican support?

VAN HOLLEN: Well, as you said, we -- the president included the minimum wage proposal, $15 an hour proposal, in this package. I'm going to continue to fight for it, but as of right now, you're right, we don't have the votes to get that done. If we can't get it done in this American Rescue package, I think it's essential that we enact the $15 minimum wage in the coming weeks.

And as you know, that would be phased in over time. You get to the $15 an hour minimum wage in the year 2025. But we have to lift the millions of Americans out of poverty, and that is one of the ways that we can do that.

GOLODRYGA: Of course, so many Republicans and even some Democrats are arguing that that will hurt small businesses. But we can talk about that when we approach that down the road.

House Democrats, meantime, are reportedly looking to bring back earmarks as a means to break the gridlock that we're seeing. And this sort of struck my attention because these don't sit well with voters. They haven't sat well with voters for years, sort of the Bridge to Nowhere comes to mind.

And in 2010, then-President Obama made a similar argument against them. Take a listen.

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BARACK OBAMA, THEN-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In these challenging days, we've can't afford what are called earmarks. These are items inserted into spending bills by members of Congress without adequate review. Now, some of these earmarks support worthy projects in our local communities, but many others do not.

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GOLODRYGA: So I can understand that you may be able to entice certain members to vote for bills because it will serve their interests and their constituents' interests, but is bringing back earmarks a good idea in the long term?

VAN HOLLEN: Well, Bianna, I agree with President Obama's criticism in that clip you just played, that earmarks in the past were not subject to adequate review and public scrutiny. I look forward to seeing the proposal that's going to be brought forward here. As I understand it, they would require 100 percent transparency. In

other words, no more earmarks that are tucked in the middle of bills, like the Bridge to Nowhere, that nobody has a chance to scrutinize. That you would put these proposals in full public view, put them on the internet, that they would be limited to public purposes only, no private sector entities would be able to benefit from these public dollars.

[10:45:22]

So I look forward to the proposal that's coming forward. It would have to have these provisions that I'm talking about: 100 percent transparency to ensure 100 percent accountability with respect to projects.

GOLODRYGA: Yes.

VAN HOLLEN: I will say that without earmarks, as you know, Congress is essentially just exporting the constitutional power of the purse to the executive branch, and they then make decisions. So again, I agree with the criticism that President Obama leveled, and I look forward to the proposal to see if they can address those concerns.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, clearly detect the hesitancy there. Obviously you need to look at more detail.

Quickly, I want to ask you, in terms of moving forward following this impeachment, are you going to be able to work with those 43 Republicans who voted not to convict the president?

VAN HOLLEN: Well, Bianna, in my view they did totally violate their constitutional duty with respect to the trial and impeachment. At the same time, we have a national emergency on our hands. We have to defeat this pandemic, we have to deliver, you know, vital assistance to the American people. And if Republicans are willing to join us in that effort, we will work with those who want to join us.

I will say, as of right now, unfortunately, we don't have Republican partners in that effort. They've rejected President Biden's proposal, the $1.9 trillion proposal, even though it is popular across the country with Republicans and Democrats and independents. So I hope, you know, Republicans in the House and Senate will listen to their own voters around the country and join us in this effort. Because we are moving forward, because the priority is to make sure that we deliver this --

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GOLODRYGA: Yes. Well, if there is one thing to be optimistic about, and that is bipartisanship in your pitch for Officer Eugene Goodman and his merits to get the Congressional Gold Medal. I think many people would support that. Senator Chris Van Hollen, thank you so much --

VAN HOLLEN: Thank you.

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