Transcripts For CSPAN Sen. 20240706

Leader Chuck Schumer who is holding a press conference on capitol hill regarding the debt ceiling . Sen. Schumer democrats are giving very good tonight. We have saved the country from the scourge of default even though there was some of the other side who went to default, wanted to lead us to default. You may be a little tired, but we did it, so we are very happy. Default was a giant sword hanging over americas head, but because of the good work of President Biden as well as democrats in the house and democrats in the senate, we are not defaulting. Democrats said from the start we must take default off the table. For a long time, republicans, many republicans in the house resisted. House republicans were ready to take default hostage in order to pass a radical, hard right agenda that never could have passed with the American People. So tonights outcome is very welcome news for our economy and american families. I think my colleagues thank my colleagues for the good work tonight. I commend President Biden and his team for producing a sensible copper mines under the most difficult of circumstances. So many of the disruptive provisions in the republican bill are gone. Because we persisted, and we kept insisting that default is off the table, we will not be defaulting, and we will not be passing the hard rights extreme agenda, virtually no part of it, and that is thanks to the senate and House Democrats and to President Biden. But do not just listen to me. The proof is in the pudding. House democrats swept the boat 34117. Higher percentage democrats voted for this in the house that republicans did, it was just repeated in the senate. Overwhelming majority of Senate Democrats voted for the bill, a majority of republicans voted against it, and it is not just out democrats carried the bill to the finish line, but why. Why did we get more votes . We got more votes because the bill be passed beat back the worst of the republican agenda. This was an exercise in where the American People were at, and they are much closer to where we are than where they are. Of course, nobody got everything they wanted. There was given both sides, but this agreement was a very good outcome, because it accomplished three extremely important goa ls. First and foremost, we prevented a catastrophic default that wouldve inflicted immense and unnecessary pain on tens and tens and tens of millions of american families. Second, though preserved the lion share of the historic advancements we have made to grow our economy, thanks are our input structure, make the world stage, which the Republican Caucus in the house seemed intent on tearing down. They did not get to do that. And third it a very importantly we did a very good job of taking the worst parts of the republican plan that we have heard so many families, and we took those worst parts off the table. Let me say it again. Tonights vote is a good outcome , because democrats did a very good job taking the worst parts of the republican plan of the table, and that is why dems voted overwhelmingly for this bill while republicans in the senate did not. Remember what House Republicans are wanted what they showed us their plan and compare it to the bill we are now sending to the president s desk. The difference is as dark as night and day. Republicans wanted a gutting of investments we made in the ira, the Inflation Reduction Act that are driving a new generation of american manufacturing, billions and billions of investments and thousands upon thousands of jobs. We fought and fought. That aint happening. The hard right maga republicans wanted to cut critical investments by 30 , all of these vital programs by 30 . As we say in brooklyn, nfw, that aint happening. Republicans wanted to put default back on the table in a few months. That aint happening. Republicans want to draw back medicaid expansion. That aint happening. Republicans even play down default and wanted to risk going over that cliff, and to date we democrats are proud to declare that aint happening. So tonight, i am proud to say thanks to democrats all of these things aint happening. And now we pass this bill. All along i have said the most important thing is that all parties involved must take default of the table, no default, end of story, full stop. It was clear to me that if republicans would continue their refusal to raise the debt ceiling interest a straightforward way, then they needed to show the American People their plan. But we knew there were two choices when we said show us their plan. Either they could not, which meant we could pass a plane clean debt ceiling, but we also knew if they did it would be such a partisan wish list, that once it was exposed to light it could never pass, and it could never really gained the kind of support that was needed. I called the plan the name d. O. A. Default on america and it was dead on arrival. Republicans who supported the deal ran away in droves from the harsh cuts they just voted for. It was a disaster for them, a disaster for the American People. Now we know that that your piece of legislation was a blessing in disguise. The republican default on america act amended with a thud across the country, and that failed bill laid bare at the partisan extremism which seems to dominate so much of the Republican Party that it would never be the way out of a crisis. So as i said from day one, this demanded a bipartisan solution. We knew we would need to come together for a solution like the one that passed tonight, so i am happy to stand here passing this critical legislation to support our families, preserve vital programs, it most importantly avoid catastrophic default. I look forward to the president , who again i salute for his steadfastness in his work on this signing it without delay. Questions . [indiscernible]is there anything you would have done differently . Sen. Schumer i talked to the president just about every day. I talked to the group working on it five or six times a day, so we had tremendous input there, and second, approving the pudding is there. This bill was a total rejection of what were publicans wanted, and look at the vote. That proves our strategy was the right strategy. Yes. [indiscernible] sen. Schumer the republicans came to us. The republican senators were not happy with the caps the Republican House members had agreed to, so they came to us and said what about if we need money for ukraine, these things. The caps may be too low. We felt the caps were too low on nondefense discretionary, so mcconnell and i put out a joint statement that we would look at finding ways to fund things that were really needed through emergency end other ways, but also through the regular appropriations process, which was always going to go forward, so that is what it basically said, and when it came to me and asked me to do this, i said, yeah, that is a good idea. [indiscernible] well sen. Schumer well, the bottom line is the Mountain Valley pipeline was part of the whole deal that i had originally struck with manchin for the ira. You take the whole plan and it does a huge amount of good for the environment there it i stick by my word. Yes. [indiscernible] sen. Schumer there has always been the ability whatever the budget agreements have been, when there are emergencies whether they be on the Foreign Policy military front or the domestic front, we have always funded them, and we reiterated the fact that is available to us today. Yes. [indiscernible] sen. Schumer not at all. No, look at the vote. Underestimating kevin mccarthy, look at the vote in the house and the senate that says it all. We do not underestimate them. Second, we knew that they had two choices when they were dithering. One, they could not put out a plan and then we would have passed the bill on its own, or two, we knew the planet would be so bad that it would give us the upper hand in any negotiations, so it worked out very, very well, and that is the bottom line. Yes. [indiscernible] sen. Schumer the statement mcconnell and i put out talked about needs on both sides with defense and nondefense. They did not say we would do it. They said it is a possibility to do it. That is what we said, and it is certainly on the table. Yes. [indiscernible] sen. Schumer well, i hope the maga republicans have learned that this strategy of trying to be hostagetaking and do threats and hurt the American People unless they get their way just does not work, and i hope they have learned their lesson. Last one. [indiscernible] sen. Schumer when we saw his original proposal, we found that very unreasonable, but we knew we would never stand. [indiscernible] sen. Schumer as i said, you know, what we want you to do is avoid what happened in 2010 or 2011, when there was no plan, and they kept pulling just quiet whispers behind curtains, and the right wing kept pulling the republican leader further and further and further to the right, and this is a much better, than 2011, much, even though it was the same basic scenario. Thank you, everybody