CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: Interview with Sen. Roger Wicker

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

SCIUTTO: Well, more bipartisan meetings are now in the works as the White House tries to sell a $2 trillion infrastructure plan. But skepticism of a deal is growing on both sides of the aisle. Lawmakers drawing a clear line in the sand during President Biden's first bipartisan get-together. My next guest was in yesterday's meeting at the White House. He is Republican Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi. He's the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. Key in these negotiations.

Senator, thanks so much for taking the time this morning.

SEN. ROGER WICKER (R-MS): Thank you, Jim. Glad to be with you.

SCIUTTO: So, to your credit, you were in that meeting there attempting a bipartisan approach to this. Before you went in, you said you were willing to negotiate, but you since said that any increase in taxes, corporate taxes, to pay for the plan is really a nonstarter for Republicans. And I wonder, are you willing to negotiate on the issue of taxes?

WICKER: Well, let me say this, I don't think there were that many lines drawn in the sand yesterday. I do think that the president wants this plan to not only build infrastructure but to really give our economy a big boost. And the point I'm making to the president is to raise corporate taxes on small business job creators actually is a job killer, and I don't think he wants to do that.

But let me say this, Jim, those of us in Washington, D.C., need to get this done so we can show the country that we can do big things in a bipartisan way. And after the meeting yesterday, I have every hope and belief that both sides really are negotiating in good faith.

SCIUTTO: That's good to hear. And I think, listen, the American people, our viewers, happy to hear that. I just wonder then what the middle ground is here, right because, as you know, Republicans and Democrats have been talking for years about infrastructure as a bipartisan area of agreement. Do you see perhaps a middle ground where President Biden brings down his target of $2 trillion, maybe to a trillion dollars, and Republicans agree to a small tax increase?

WICKER: I think we're definitely going to have to pay for this infrastructure bill. And we have -- during the pandemic, we did a lot of things, and added it to the national debt because it was a recession, if not a depression, and we had to act quickly. But we're -- I think both sides, the president and Republicans, acknowledge that this has to be paid for. He was clear yesterday, he's not into deficit financing for this.

But there's another thing. We've been passing infrastructure bills every year or so for quite some time now. The idea now is to make those infrastructure programs much bigger.

[09:40:02]

But there was a lot of talk yesterday from Republicans and Democrats about taking the programs we have now and simply adding to them. We know what works. Congressman Price from North Carolina was talking about doing a portion of the housing through the appropriation bill, something he's very familiar with and something that has worked.

SCIUTTO: OK.

WICKER: Our friends in the Transportation Department know about the build (ph) grant and the INFRA grant and the CRISI (ph) Grant. So we simply can plus those up, not reinvent the wheel and do a lot more building for America.

SCIUTTO: OK.

You say it has to be paid for. I wonder, are you, therefore, not ruling out some kind of tax increase to pay for it, perhaps even a gasoline tax?

WICKER: I'm not ruling out some kind of pay-for, absolutely. If you're going to spend, say, $600 billion over several years on an infrastructure program that's much bigger than we've had before, absolutely. We have to be grown-ups and say it has to be paid for. It's -- we're not going to be able to come up with that money out of thin air. And, yes, normally when we talk about infrastructure financing, we're

talking about some sort of user pays system so that the businesses and the individuals that actually use the roads more pay their fair share. And if it's a fair share, I think the American people will understand that. It's clearly not something we've worked out yet. But I'll tell you, I am really optimistic that we can take existing programs, ones that we're familiar with, one that the bureaucracy -- ones that the bureaucracy have already been involved in and come up with a program that will make Republicans and Democrats proud.

SCIUTTO: Well, optimism, not something folks hear often, so I'm sure a lot of folks listening right now welcome that.

I do want to ask about the future of your party because, as you know, there's quite a public disagreement about the direction of the party going forward. The former president, Trump, who you've been a supporter of, over the weekend said that the leader of your party in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, is a stone-cold loser. A dumb SOB. I won't repeat his language there. I just wonder what your reaction is to that.

WICKER: Well, former President Trump has a large following out there among members of our party. And I think we all acknowledge that. I don't think comments like that are helpful. And I think, as the year -- as this year, 2021, moves along and then we move into 2022, the actual election year, I think we'll be more focused, and should be more focused on the different approaches of the two parties.

And I think in an off-year election, the first even numbered election after a presidential race, the party that is not in power often gains seats. And I think there will be every reason for the American people to vote for some sort of balance.

SCIUTTO: Well, Senator Roger Wicker, we enjoyed having you on the program. You're welcome back any time. Thanks very much.

WICKER: Thank you, Jim.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source