MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript: High Speed Rail
Interview
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SCHULTZ: Joining me tonight, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Senator good to have you with tonight. Why are Republicans opposing infrastructure,
modernization projects like high-speed rail. This is cost-effective, it`s
environmentally safe, it`s travel safe, it`s winners all the across the
board and it creates jobs. Why can`t they get on board?
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (I) VERMONT: Hey Ed, I wish I knew the answer to
that. That sounds pretty crazy to me. Everybody in this country
apparently except Republican members of Congress understands that our
infrastructure that once was the -- led the world was once the pride of the
world is now crumbling.
We have 600,000 bridges in disrepair. In every state of this country there
are people in cars going over path holes. Clearly, we need a major effort
to rebuild this crumbling infrastructure. I`m going to introduce
legislation to do that. And part of infrastructure repair is creating a
strong rail system that begins to catch up with Europe, Japan and even
China.
So, high-speed rail is part of the overall effort that we need to make in
rebuilding our infrastructure.
And Ed I will tell you this, that if we invest a trillion dollars in
infrastructure and the American Society of Civil Engineers tell us we need
to invest $3 trillion, but $1 trillion will create 13 million decent paying
jobs and maintain other jobs as well, 13 million jobs.
SCHULTZ: Senator, how restrictive do you think that the Republican
leadership is going to be in this session of Congress? You`re going to
come up with a bill that is going to deal with infrastructure. Do you
think Republicans are going to be ordered not to get onboard with stuff
like this? Do you think...
SANDERS: Well, they`re going...
SCHULTZ: ... what do you think?
SANDERS: They`re going to have a problem Ed, because you got Republicans
all over this country whose constituents are telling them we need to
rebuild our infrastructure. Now, here`s some good news, the chairman of
the Environmental and Public Works Committee here in the Senate will be Jim
Inhofe, one of the most conservative members of the Senate.
When you talk to Senator Inhofe he understands that we need to rebuild our
roads and our bridges. So, I think there are Republicans who understand
that and I look forward to working with them.
SCHULTZ: And you think it will put 13 million people to work?
SANDERS: It will maintain and create 13 million jobs. That`s a trillion
dollar investment.
SCHULTZ: I want to switch to the TPP, the Trans-Pacific Partnership. You
have recently written a letter to Ambassador Froman demanding a copy of the
full text of the Trans-Pacific Trade agreement.
How dangerous is this secrecy about the TPP as you see it? You say that in
your letter to the trade representative that members of Congress haven`t
seen it but corporations have. And we seem to be in the 11th hour of fast
track. What about it?
SANDERS: I`m just hearing a buzz.
SCHULTZ: OK. Apparently, Senator Sanders is having a hard time hearing
us. We had some kind of technical difficulty on that. I want to commend
the Senator there. He wrote a letter to the Obama Administration saying
that there are members of Congress who have not seen the full text, the
full draft of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Yet they keep telling the
American people that this is what we have to have for jobs.
It`s been written by corporations. It`s been written by people on Wall
Street. They know what it`s all about but there are elected officials who
don`t. The lack of transparency has been unbelievable. We`ll see where
that request goes.
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