MSNBC - Transcript

Interview

MSNBC - Transcript

MS. MITCHELL: Senator Jack Reed, Democrat from Rhode Island and a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee and a member of the Armed Services Committee as well, joins us live now from Capitol Hill.

Senator, it's good to see you.

SEN. REED: Thank you.

MS. MITCHELL: First of all, where do we stand now with the Fed and the suggestion from the president-elect, as he's just been meeting with his economic advisers, that as some point there isn't that much more that the Fed can do. So where do we turn now for stimulus and for some way out of this recession?

SEN. REED: Well, I think there's two major initiatives that have to be undertaken. First, through a big stimulus package in January, early in January, that will emphasize jobs, infrastructure, investing and putting people back to work. And the second, I think we have to get more traction on home foreclosures, provide more resources to homeowners so that we can begin to give people a sense that their -- that the value of their homes are stabilizing. And that I think will help immensely to restore confidence.

And the other factor is just the issue of confidence, with people feeling confident in financial institutions and feeling confident about the future. And that's the first order of business for the next president.

MS. MITCHELL: When you have something like this Madoff disaster and the fact that the SEC had plenty of warning and overlooked it -- we had Charlie Gasparino on a little while ago -- it does erode, further erode peoples' confidence in financial institutions. Even though this is an outlier, it affected a lot of people and a lot of innocent people are hurt.

SEN. REED: Oh, you're absolutely right. The strongest aspect of our market is the fact that for years people have been very confident investing, believing it was well policed. Frankly, I don't think the SEC has been given the resources or the direction to be as aggressive as they have in the past. I've been calling for months for an increase in their budget so that they could target some of these institutions for systematic review.

I believe what we should do and what the president-elect should do is call forth a blue ribbon commission that will report quickly next year with specific ways in which consumer protections can be enhanced by the SEC, changes in their organization, change in enforcement, resources, more examiners. I think we have to send a message, not just the techniques of enforcement but a message to the American public that the markets will be well policed by the SEC.

MS. MITCHELL: Let me ask you something about your institution, the Senate, because there's a lot of talk, confirmed by NBC News, that Ken Salazar, your colleague from Colorado, may in fact be the Interior secretary. And that would mean that -- you've got a number of vacancies already -- Barack Obama's seat, Hillary Clinton's seat prospectively, Joe Biden's seat that's going to be filled, from Delaware, Ken Salazar.

You're beginning to see what some are calling a brain drain from the Senate. Do you have any concern about the politics of that, especially Ken Salazar, who, you know, when you talk about someone from that part, from that region, a seat that could easily go to a Republican.

SEN. REED: Well, Ken is a remarkably talented senator and an extraordinarily decent gentleman. He'll be a great success in the Department of the Interior if he's nominated, as he is in the United States Senate. I -- my sense, though, is President Obama's success will be the key indication of our success as Democrats in the next election and the following election.

And anything that can strengthen the president's ability to function, to reinvigorate the economy, to once again lead with purpose and determination in the United States and around the world, is going to be helpful for all Democrats. So, if he's confident in Senator Salazar, he's chosen a very good man. And I would second that confidence.

MS. MITCHELL: Senator, one of the things that I know that you were very supportive of was the Pentagon chief, having Bob Gates continue as Defense secretary, you a key member of the Armed Services Committee.

What is taking so long in filling the intelligence post? We're hearing a lot of dissension along the way. And when do you think we might get some word on who's going to be running these 16 intelligence agencies; the two key jobs is the director of national intelligence and, of course, the director of the CIA?

SEN. REED: I don't have a specific time. It has to be soon because the need to put a team in place is significant. I think we were extraordinarily fortunate that President-elect Obama chose Bob Gates. We've got continuity in the Department of Defense. Now we need it in the intelligence services.

I think part of this has been a complicated set of issues. One is there are still repercussions from the interrogation techniques that were used. There are still repercussions from some of the decisions that were made previously. I think that is slowing it down. But I am confident that once again the president-elect will select someone who has the ability to lead and lead with distinction.

MS. MITCHELL: Do you think it's fair that someone like Jack Brennan, who headed the counterterrorist center but says that he was against the interrogation and was against a lot of the most criticized practices, that he had to take himself out of consideration because of all the criticism?

SEN. REED: Well, I'm not entirely conversant with all that went back and forth with Mr. Brennan. From my perspective, he was a talented intelligence professional. And I would have hoped that that would have been a strong part of the argument for his nomination if the president so decided -- president-elect, rather. But the case now is, we've got to get on and get a qualified director of National Intelligence. There are some very strong candidates. We will move on. I believe the president-elect will make that decision shortly.

MS. MITCHELL: Denny Blair?

SEN. REED: Denny Blair, Admiral Blair, is very talented. I had the chance to work with him when he was commander of the Pacific. He's also experienced in intelligence matters. So he's someone that I think would be eminently qualified for the job.

MS. MITCHELL: Okay. Jack Reed, thank you very much. Good to see you.

SEN. REED: Thank you, Andrea.

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