MTP Transcript for Oct. 15

MR. RUSSERT: Let me turn to a domestic issue where there’s a big difference. Mr. Kennedy, Ms. Klobuchar said that we should roll back the Bush tax cut on those making over $200,000 a year, because the federal debt is now $8 trillion, and we have to get our finances in order, and this is a way of raising revenue.

REP. KENNEDY: She’s said a lot of things on taxes. Her own proposal says that she wanted to have a trillion and a half increase in taxes...

MR. RUSSERT: But, but specifically, what about rolling back the tax cut on those who make more than 200,000?

REP. KENNEDY: We have had six million new jobs. The economy was flat on its back after 9/11. We passed tax relief to reward, and people—to let them keep more of their hard-earned money. Families, small business, those that take risk and create jobs. Six million new jobs have been created. We cannot be raising taxes, putting this economy back on its back, and also not growing jobs. We have to keep the approach of keeping spending under control. I’m the author of the line-item veto. I don’t understand why we want to build a bridge to nowhere in Alaska, a rain forest in Iowa.

MR. RUSSERT: But you voted for both those proposals.

REP. KENNEDY: I voted for every single Jeff Flake amendment to take out these crazy...(unintelligible)...

MR. RUSSERT: But in final passage, those proposals were legislation you voted for.

REP. KENNEDY: They were, because I support roads, because I support making sure that we’re moving forward with key programs. But you ought not to hold a whole bill hostage because there’s silly stuff in it. We ought to have a line-item veto for the president, whether Republican or Democrat, to cut that junk out of there, hold Congress accountable, keep spending under control.

MR. RUSSERT: But you have a Republican—you have a Republican president.

REP. KENNEDY: So you can keep taxes low and keep building jobs.

MR. RUSSERT: A Republican House, a Republican Senate, you have a $250 billion deficit, an $8 trillion debt.

REP. KENNEDY: There’s no question that I would like the president to take a little bit more leadership on spending. There’s no question that we have had obstruction in the U.S. Senate that has bogged down not only our ability to take further steps on fiscal responsibility, but many other things as well. We do need to push forward and make sure that we have strong fiscal measures to keep spending under control.

MR. RUSSERT: Ms. Klobuchar, 57,000 households in Minnesota make over $200,000 a year. A lot of small businesses, people who create the jobs. And you want to come along and pound them with a new tax increase by taking away their tax cut. Why?

MS. KLOBUCHAR: Let me talk about why this is important to me and important to the people of our state. Right now we’re in a situation where our debt is approaching $9 trillion, where this administration and this Congress took a $200 billion surplus and turned it into $250 billion deficit. Why does this hurt the people in our state? It’s not just some chart on a wall. One out of 12 of the federal tax dollars that they’re paying goes to interest on this debt.

And this is my solution: I’m the only candidate in this race that has come out with a plan to balance the budget. First of all, let’s look at those $70 billion that’s being sheltered in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda for multi-millionaires. That report came out August 1. Get rid of those shelters. That takes in 70 billion. Next, look at capital gains. Not changing the rate, but having a third-party validator like brokerage houses post those because there’s underpayment. That brings in $17 billion. Roll back the tax cuts to the Clinton levels, to the top 1 percent, the Clinton levels when we had record jobs produced in this country. That brings another $56 billion in.

Then you go to the discretionary spending. I don’t agree with the congressman that this is silly stuff. Even if you reduce half of that discretionary spending, it’s $15 billion. Get rid of the no-bid contracts so we have competitive bidding, $10 billion. Go back to the pay-as-you-go rules that we had during the Clinton administration and then reduce these oil subsidies and these drug subsidies they give away.

MR. RUSSERT: Discretionary spending, what programs do you cut?

MS. KLOBUCHAR: Well, first of all, we have had a 50 percent increase in discretionary spending. The Cato Institute identified that.

MR. RUSSERT: What, what specifically?

MS. KLOBUCHAR: And you—well, let’s start with the one the congressman voted for, the bridges to nowhere, the rain forest in Iowa, the waterless urinals in Michigan.

MR. RUSSERT: But as you know, 60 percent of our federal revenues go...(network technical difficulties)...Medicare and pensions. Will you go after those?

MS. KLOBUCHAR: I believe that if we can shore up this deficit and balance the budget, that we can then start shoring up Social Security. This Congress has raided $925 billion from Social Security. And you go back to the Clinton administration.

MR. RUSSERT: Would you raise the retirement age?

MS. KLOBUCHAR: I don’t believe that is the solution.

MR. RUSSERT: Cost of living increase?

MS. KLOBUCHAR: I don’t believe that’s the solution. Just think back to the Clinton administration, 1995 balanced the budget. By the year 2000, the plan was to put $200 billion, sock it away for Social Security. We had 15 years on what we have now. Social Security was saved for 15 additional years, now it’s been moved back. If we can get that balanced budget in place and we can move on this, we’re going to be able to secure Social Security for the future. I believe Social Security is the fundamental way that we can protect people in this country.

MR. RUSSERT: With no changes in the system?

MS. KLOBUCHAR: Look, we can have a bipartisan commission look at those changes. They should be options to be looked at, but it would be a hard sell on me because I believe our priority should be to balance the budget. When you talk to an iron ore mine worker up in northern Minnesota, where my grandpa worked and my dad grew up, it’s easy for us to talk about adding age to the retirement. For them, it’s a lot harder. So if there is a better way to do this by being fiscally responsible instead of giving, you know, billions of dollars in oil giveaways, I don’t lose sleep at night about whether the CEO of Exxon, who’s retiring and just made $400 million, whether or not he’s doing OK. I’m thinking of those workers in Minnesota.

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