MSNBC - Transcript

Interview

MSNBC INTERVIEW WITH SENATOR SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME)
SUBJECT: TIM GEITHNER AND GUANTANAMO BAY INTERVIEWER: ANDREA MITCHELL

MS. MITCHELL: And Republican Senator Susan Collins says that she will vote against Geithner's confirmation. The senator is the newest member of the Appropriations Committee, also a ranking member on the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and also on Armed Services.

Senator, welcome. Thanks very much. Now, Tim Geithner explained that he -- what he said was a mistake, an honest mistake. He said it was not an attempt to be dishonest. A number of his colleagues accepted that argument. The president certainly accepted that argument.

You are not persuaded to vote for him. Why?

SEN. COLLINS: I'm not. I think that his explanations are very troubling. It seems to me that our tax system depends on honesty, depends on individuals voluntarily assessing themselves. And to put in charge of the Treasury Department an individual who failed to comply fully with our tax laws and who demonstrated a cavalier attitude even after he was audited is simply not acceptable to me.

MS. MITCHELL: Senator, he said it was an honest mistake. And the president has argued that the economy is in such dire straits that he needs the advice and the counsel and the operational ability of Tim Geithner, who is uniquely qualified, having been the president of the New York Fed, having been involved in the TARP and in how things should be operational from here on in.

So doesn't that outweigh the concerns you have over his failure to pay payroll taxes even though he paid his income taxes; I'm playing devil's advocate here to try to draw out, you know, the level of your concerns.

SEN. COLLINS: He certainly has a great deal of expertise and experience. But in my judgement, his failure to follow our tax laws, even after he was notified of his obligations repeatedly, overshadows the competence that he clearly has.

I think this is important because our current economic crisis is in part a crisis of confidence. We have to have confidence in the top economic leaders that this new administration is bringing in.

And I have had so many of my constituents say, "How can I have confidence in the policies that are going to be put forward when the very individual who is charge of overseeing the IRS failed to comply with our tax laws?"

And I would note that what's most troubling to me is, even after Mr. Geithner was audited, he failed to make good on previous years' tax obligations.

MS. MITCHELL: You know, Senator, if I could sort of define the role that you've played -- you have very often played a centrist role, a moderate role among Republicans not only in your ideology but in terms of your willingness to go across party lines. And you're the kind of Republican that this president is relying on for support for perhaps the stimulus package, for other major initiatives.

So your opposition -- this is not the same as Senator Cornyn taking a stand against Hillary Clinton, who represents a more conservative Republican; this is a very important signal you're sending, one of your first votes against this president.

SEN. COLLINS: Well, I don't look forward to voting against the president's nominee. When one of my colleagues put a hold on Senator Clinton's nomination, I went to the Senate floor and spoke very forcefully in favor of her confirmation.

But in this case, I just cannot get past the idea of putting in charge of the IRS, in charge of the Treasury, a person who demonstrated inexcusable negligence when he applied the tax laws to his own situation. I just think that's unacceptable. There are many other competent economists who could be put in charge of the Treasury Department. So much as I am reluctant to vote against the president's nominee, I simply can't in good conscience vote for Mr. Geithner.

MS. MITCHELL: Are you similarly troubled by Deputy Secretary of Defense nominee William Lynn, the president having chosen to go for a waiver to permit someone who was a lobbyist for defense contractor Raytheon to be deputy Defense secretary? Are you also against his nomination? You're a member of the Armed Services Committee --

SEN. COLLINS: Right.

MS. MITCHELL: -- so your -- your say is very important on this one as well.

SEN. COLLINS: I want to take a close look at how that waiver is going to work and whether it would result in Mr. Lynn having to recuse himself too often.

Now, I have seen waivers in similar situations work well in the Defense Department in the previous administration when there's an independent assessment by the general counsel and when there's strict adherence to the waiver. So, to me, the devil's in the details. It's going to depend on the specificity and what kind of system. And I need to look at that in more detail at this point.

MS. MITCHELL: I wanted to ask you about the stimulus package. There are a number of Republicans -- certainly on the House side, John Boehner -- who are arguing that it's got the wrong mix of tax cuts and spending. What is your take on the stimulus package as it has been presented so far?

SEN. COLLINS: Well, first of all, we need a stimulus package. There's no doubt about that. Every day brings more reports of massive job losses and of a decrease in demand that really threatens our economy. So I agree with our new president that we need a vigorous, aggressive stimulus package, and we need to get it on his desk soon.

However, there are real questions about what should be in that stimulus package. It's very tempting to make it a Christmas tree for every worthwhile spending program, but we have to ask the question, "Will this help turn our economy around?"

I've had constituents raise with me questions about why is there money in there for pandemic flu preparation for example. That doesn't seem like economic stimulus. A worthy expenditure, and one with -- that we need. But is it really something that stimulates the economy?

So those are the questions that I'm going to be asking as we try to achieve the right balance, the right size and the right mixture of tax incentives and direct spending programs. But I firmly believe we must get a package to the president's desk.

MS. MITCHELL: Are you among those who think that the overall size of the package should be bigger, as some have argued? Or do you think it's the right size; it's just the list of ingredients that you have some questions about?

SEN. COLLINS: It's very difficult to say with any certainty exactly what the size of the package should be. But the president's advisors have predicted that demand will drop by as much as $1 trillion. And I think that's why they've come up with an $825 billion package for the next two years. I don't know whether that's exactly the right size, but to me what's important is what's in that package, the mixture of -- we need some tax incentives for small business since they are creating the vast majority of jobs. And we also need some of the infrastructure spending, which I strongly support.

The aid to states, I think that the president's on the right track in that area. But there's some area expenditures that, while they're for worthwhile programs, I'm not sure that they meet the test. And that's something I'm going to be looking at very carefully.

MS. MITCHELL: You know, as a key player on the Homeland Security, I also want to ask you about Guantanamo and the closing of Guantanamo. Was the president correct to announce the closing before he has worked out how to make it happen?

SEN. COLLINS: The president is correct that Guantanamo has become an international symbol of mistreatment of detainees. And that is harmful to our country. And Secretary Gates has long said that he'd like to see Guantanamo closed also.

I am concerned about whether the president's put the cart before the horse in announcing that he wants to close Gitmo within a year's time before he has a plan for what to do with the detainees who are housed there. Some of them are extremely dangerous. They -- it's going to be difficult to try them. They can't really be released to their home countries. So there are a lot of issues to be worked out. I would've preferred that the president had worked out those issues and then announced the closure rather than the other way around, but he is correct that our ultimate goal should be the closure of that facility.

MS. MITCHELL: All right. Susan Collins who will be voting nay at 6 o'clock tonight when Tim Geithner's nomination comes up for final vote on the Senate floor. Thank you very much, Senator.

SEN. COLLINS: Thank you.

MS. MITCHELL: Good to see you.

END.

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