CNN "Newsroom" - Transcript: Interview with Tina Smith

Interview

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CAMEROTA: All right, joining us now is Democratic Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota. Senator, thanks so much for being here. I really want to focus on the climate portions of this whole package because it sounds like something has changed today.

Back on October 15th, you tweeted, let's be clear the Build Back Better budget must meaningfully address climate change. I'm open to different approaches, But I cannot support a bill that won't get us where we need to be on emissions. There are 50 Democratic Senators, every one of us is needed to get this passed. You weren't alone in June.

Senator Marky tweeted, no climate, no deal. Senator Heinrich tweeted, an infrastructure package that goes light on climate and clean energy should not count on every Democratic vote. And then today it sounds like something has changed. So, what happened?

SEN. TINA SMITH (D-MN): Well, Alisyn, first, it's great to be with you. And I do have a lot of optimism that we are getting closer and closer to finally delivering on the promises that President Biden made during the election, that I campaigned on in 2020 around this Build Back Better agenda. And you're asking about climate, which is so important. It has been the thing that I have worked on the hardest over the last few months.

So, my position is actually exactly the same. We need to get significant emissions reduction so that we can achieve the President's goal of cutting our carbon emissions by 50 percent in ten years.

[15:45:00]

CAMEROTA: I understand but hasn't the Clean Electricity program been dropped. I mean Senator Joe Manchin was dug in against it. Hasn't that portion been dropped?

SMITH: Well, I have been a huge champion of the clean electricity plan. And you're right, Senator Manchin has said, that he doesn't think he can get there on the Clean Electricity Plan. It's still out there and who knows where this may end. But that doesn't mean that there aren't other options for achieving --- that what we need to achieve, which is addressing the climate crisis that is on top of us right now and doing that in a way that keeps utility prices low, that creates jobs, that improves our health, that does all of the things that we have to do when we do address the climate crisis.

CAMEROTA: And are those things part of the package, I mean are those alternatives that are actually being built into the package, or no?

SMITH: That is what we are negotiating right this minute, and there are a variety of things we can do. You know, I mean, I continue to think that the clean electricity payment plan is the best way forward. But that doesn't mean it's the only way forward. So, we got to find the path, we got to find a path that 50 of us plus, our friends in the House can all get behind.

CAMEROTA: I know that you have been actively, I think, talking to Senator Joe Manchin who has been immovable as far as we can tell on this. Do you that think we're talking enough about Senator Manchin's financial conflicts of interest when it comes to coal?

Because just to remind everybody, he started his own coal company, I think called Enersystems, in 1988 and since then, he has made lots of money on coal. I mean, these are just the past two years that we know of, in terms of his dividends from Enersystems. In 2019, he had made more than half a million dollars. In 2020, he made roughly half a million dollars. Isn't that a financial conflict of interest for him to be so involved in this?

SMITH: Well, listen, Senator Manchin is answerable to his constituents on all of that. But what I know is that the strong forward motion on climate change is going to help West Virginia. It's going to create more jobs. It's going to lower electricity rates in West Virginia. West Virginia relies heavily on coal for its electric power, and that means that rates are higher.

So that is, I think, the thing we have to really focus on. I want to just say one other thing about Senator Manchin. Because we're looking to find our areas of common agreement here, and one of them is that he cares a lot about innovation and bringing that innovation back to the United States, and that is very much what we're trying to accomplish with the climate parts of the Build Back Better bill.

CAMEROTA: Look, I have heard some people describe it as Joe Manchin's holding President Biden's climate program hostage. How do you see it?

SMITH: Well, I mean I would lie, and I said this to Joe myself, that it is certainly frustrating sometimes to find that common ground. But wait and see, we are working hard, and this is not just about one or two Senators. This is about all 50 of us plus the members of the House coming to agreement.

And I want to just also say I'm really grateful for the leadership of Pramila Jayapal and members of the House Progressive Caucus who have been saying, hey, wait a minute, this is something that a lot of people care about, and we have to make sure that all of these voices are heard in the negotiations.

And honestly, I think that that's happening. It's frustrating because it's happening behind the scenes, but I know that that's happening for a fact.

CAMEROTA: OK. Well, we appreciate you sharing some of this and the negotiations with us, Senator Tina Smith, thank you.

SMITH: Thank you.

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