MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

SCHULTZ: And in my Playbook tonight, Senator Debbie Stabenow broke news on this program last night when she announced the democratic bill to help the 99ers, it"s called the Americans want to work act. People who have exhausted their unemployment benefits could get them extended for another 20 weeks. But most importantly, the legislation addresses the real issue and that"s getting Americans back into the labor force. The Americans want to work act, "doubles the general business tax credit for businesses that hire and retain for 52 weeks someone who has exhausted all unemployment benefits."

Joining me now is another senator fighting and a cosponsor of the 99er bill, Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a cosponsor of the legislation as I said. Senator, good work.

SEN. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE (D), RHODE ISLAND: Thank you, Ed.

SCHULTZ: But this isn"t going to get down until September.

WHITEHOUSE: No.

SCHULTZ: And these folks need help now. Why not do it before you go home?

WHITEHOUSE: We"d like to, but we"re up against an absolute wall of republican opposition as you"ve seen in the last few weeks, we"ve been trying to get through the small business jobs bill which is supported by the National Federation of Independent Businesses, supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, supported by the community bankers who are the ones who are be able to get the funds out to their small business customers. Complete shutdown. So, it"s a very difficult situation.

SCHULTZ: You"ve got Nancy Pelosi bringing them back in the House to do something on the bill that passed in the Senate last night. I mean, the timing is right. It could be done. Why not take the stay-in, take the vote, get the republicans on record again and then go home? Doesn"t the Senate know where the American people stand on this?

WHITEHOUSE: Well, I think we know that the people of America are tired of this recession and we"re working as hard as we can to try to get this done. But, you know, there are some things that you just can"t get around and that"s the blockade in the procedures. If we tried to call this up, it would be a full week of time before you got through the filibusters and I think there are a number of us who would like to stay but there are also a lot of people who have races, and it"s part of the American process to get back and see your electorate and go to your home state and prepare for your races and you know, it"s a difficult situation.

SCHULTZ: Yes. Do you think that the provision in there that would give tax cuts, tax credits of several thousand dollars to business owners that get someone on the payroll and keep them for 52 weeks that have gone through and exhausted their benefits, do you think any republicans, that will swing them your way?

WHITEHOUSE: It"s hard to tell. I mean, if you look at the small business jobs bill, every single element of it except one was either a republican piece of legislation or a bipartisan piece of legislation.

SCHULTZ: Yes.

WHITEHOUSE: It"s about as bipartisan a piece of legislation as you can get, again, supported by all of the big business organizations of the country, the National Federation of Independent Businesses which really represent small business and they still won"t budge. So, I think they"re just in lockdown right now and they don"t want a single thing to pass and they"re just going to be that way until the elections are done.

SCHULTZ: Senator, good to have you with us tonight. Thanks so much.

WHITEHOUSE: Thank you.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source