MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript: ACA and Syria
Interview
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Got to bring in my friend. Democratic House Whip Steny Hoyer Congressman from Maryland, welcome, do you know I`m right? That you know I`m -- they are scared to death about this, aren`t they?
REP. STENY HOYER, (D) MARYLAND: Ed, you are on a tear tonight. You are on a tear tonight, but this crowd is obsessed. As you saw we have 40 - - the 41st vote on the repeal of Affordable Care Act, ObamaCare today. Notwithstanding that, we didn`t do anything else that bill won`t have any future and we did not do what we need to do and that is ensure the government doesn`t shutdown on October 1st. But all they`re focused on is repealing ObamaCare. I told the -- Mr. Cantor today, look we have an election in November of 2012, the issue was whether we needed more revenues to make sure we could balance our budget and we wanted to keep the Affordable Care Act. That`s was what the election about. We won.
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
HOYER: The American people said, "Yes". And notwithstanding that they`re ignoring the election returns, walking away from the American people and not exercising their responsibility to fund the government ...
SCHULTZ: Congressman is this.
HOYER: . they had the kind of corporations bills.
SCHULTZ: These constant votes on ObamaCare by the Republicans, do you think it`s helping Democrats with the case?
HOYER: I think it clearly shows that the Republican Party is a party out of touch. It`s in the control of the most radical elements. And they cannot focus on their responsibilities. So that and from that standpoint, sure I think it`s helping us.
SCHULTZ: What a waste of time, what else do we call the people`s House is a wasteland right now?
HOYER: It is a shame that we have been so unproductive in the last Congress and this Congress. And it`s hurting our economy. It`s hurting the growth of jobs. You know we`ve already cut, they talk about cutting, very substantial sums of trillion dollars over the next 10 years to reduce capita (ph) spending. They want to go further. And they`ve got in place this sequestration which is irrational common sense to find harmful. And the CBO says it`s going to cost us a million jobs if sequestration stays in place.
SCHULTZ: Yes.
HOYER: I had a (inaudible) with Cantor today and he said, "I think the sequestration does not makes sense, well fun (ph) then let`s repeal it." We have an alternative to the sequester that will help bring down the deficit, balance our budget and yes get some additional revenues. But they reject that and they won`t even allow us to consider it on the floor."
SCHULTZ: Yes.
HOYER: So, we`re going to be here next week, they`re going to try to figure out how they can get their Republicans to vote for anything that is not simply a repeal of Obama Care.
SCHULTZ: John Boehner, Speaker of the House knows that shutting down the government that is a death nail for the Republicans. There`s no good outcome for them politically. So when does he .
HOYER: He said that.
SCHULTZ: When does he -- yes he has, when does he turns to the tea partiers and say, "You know what, we can`t stop ObamaCare. We can vote all day long but this -- we`re making fools of ourselves." When -- Is that a rocket a hard spot or the reality of it all?
HOYER: Well, you know what, I think the Speaker needs to act in a way that shows leadership and responsibility. He knows that shutting down government is bad for the economy, bad for our national security and bad for his party. But the issue is whether or not he can get his party to come along. And my advice to him, "If you can`t get your party tell that faction of your party that won`t go along. And tell the moderates in your party, however small that may be." But I think there are a lot of conservatives in his party who understand that they need to be reasonable and rational.
SCHULTZ: Yes.
HOYER: Hal Rogers of Kentucky, conservative Republican, Chairman of the Appropriations Committee in the House of Representatives has said, "The sequester makes no sense. It cannot be implemented and it ought to be abandoned." Frankly, John Boehner the Speaker ought to take his chairman of the Appropriations Committee`s advice and pass the CR without the sequester and let us move on. He said immediately after the election that he believed this is just after the November 12 election.
SCHULTZ: Sure.
HOEYER: Well that resolves the health care issue.
SCHULTZ: Yes.
HOYER: Now, unfortunately it didn`t.
SCHULTZ: Congressman.
HOYER: And they continue to be obsessed by.
SCHULTZ: Congressman quickly, I want to switch gears on you.
HOYER: Yeah.
SCHULTZ: The Putin Op-Ed in the New York times, I want your reaction to that.
HOYER: Hypocrisy. Nobody in the world has been more involved in undermining the ability of the United Nations to involve itself in a positive way in resolving conflicts and carrying out the resolutions of the United Nations than Russia. And therefore, when Putin writes the letter to the American people essentially in Op-Ed and said, "Look you guys got to be for peace." If he would cooperate, in my view had Russia cooperated in a resolution and enforcement in Iraq, we would not have had the war in Iraq because we would have sent you and inspectors in, they would had full access because Russia would have been up behind it. Saddam was saying that though (ph) as long he have Russia covering for him he was OK.
SCHULTZ: Yes.
HOYER: The same things happened in Syria where Assad thought as long as he had Russia covering for him, he was OK. Russia has been the supporter of the terrorist of the world for a long period of time now. Now, I am hopeful that the offer they have now made there is true. I think it`s a positive alternative. I think that we want to get those chemical weapons out of the -- Syria, we want to have them stop being used. And if we can do so through this .
SCHULTZ: Sure.
HOYER: . negotiations with Russia and with Russia itself, that`s a positive step forward.
SCHULTZ: All right, Congressman Steny Hoyer, good to have you on the Ed Show tonight, thanks so much for joining us.
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