House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) appeared agitated Sunday when CNN’s “State of the Union” host Jake Tapper asked her if allowing additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program to pass without including funds for state and local governments was a “tactical mistake.”
Tapper’s question came during a discussion of the funding bill, which passed last week. Tapper first stated as fact that not including state and local funding was a “major concession.”
“It wasn’t a concession,” Pelosi responded.
When Tapper brought up Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D-NY) comments about the lack of state and local funding, Pelosi said she respects “his perspective as governor,” but that a second major spending bill would be focused on helping state and local governments.
Tapper then told Pelosi that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) suggested pushing “the pause button,” and asked if Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) made “a tactical mistake” by letting the state and local funding wait.
Pelosi scolded Tapper: “Just calm down. We will have state and local, and we will have it in a very significant way. It’s no use going on to what might have been.”
She then proceeded to “recap this” for Tapper:
The administration never even wanted to do — let me recap this for you. When we said we’re not doing 250 unless you open the door for these lower — unbanked — we call them unbanked businesses who don’t have a fancy banking relationship or this or that, the — Senator McConnell said, absolutely no, we’re not doing one penny more than 250.
And then, unanimously, he passed on Tuesday $480 billion with many of these increases, including hospitals.
She then suggested that governors are impatient – and should be. “Their impatience will help us get an even bigger number,” she said, praising the governors around the country, including Maryland’s Republican Governor Larry Hogan.
“I’m sorry that we had to have an intervention, because we were going from CARES 1 to CARES 2. The intervention came. We made the most of it,” Pelosi said. “And so, as I say to members, judge it for what it does. Don’t criticize it for what it doesn’t, because we have a plan for that. And that will happen.”
Full transcript:
JAKE TAPPER, CNN: You and Senator Schumer made this major concession on the most recent legislation, because you made it OK…
HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI: It wasn’t a concession.
TAPPER: … in this one for the — no?
PELOSI: It was…
TAPPER: Well, I mean, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo — let me…
PELOSI: I understand what Andrew Cuomo said, and I respect his perspective as the governor, but the fact is this.
They wanted 250 for the PPP. We support the PPP. We were part of developing it. Small business is entrepreneurial, part of the optimism of America, so we’re for that, but we wanted to include more people and more money for the program and for the hospitals. So, it was always an interim bill. It was always an interim bill.
We always said that CARES 2 would be the bill where we would go for state and local. And we will in a big way.
TAPPER: I — I get that, but I just want to play for you the sound from New York Governor Cuomo, because he said he needs money for his state to save New York from an economic tsunami.
Take a listen to what he had to say.
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): We have been talking about funding for state and local governments. And it was not in the bill that the House is going to pass today. They said, don’t worry, don’t worry, don’t worry, the next bill.
I said to my colleagues in Washington, I would have insisted that state and local funding was in this current bill, because I don’t believe they want to fund state and local governments.
TAPPER: So, Cuomo says he would have insisted on state funding in the last bill.
You — and now Senator McConnell is saying he wants to push the pause button. Was this a tactical mistake by you and Senator Schumer?
PELOSI: Just calm down. We will have state and local, and we will have it in a very significant way. It’s no use going on to what might have been.
The administration never even wanted to do — let me recap this for you. When we said we’re not doing 250 unless you open the door for these lower — unbanked — we call them unbanked businesses who don’t have a fancy banking relationship or this or that, the — Senator McConnell said, absolutely no, we’re not doing one penny more than 250.
And then, unanimously, he passed on Tuesday $480 billion with many of these increases, including hospitals.
And what we have said for the working on — we have been working on CARES 2, and on that, we are including not only the outlays that they have for the coronavirus, but also the loss of revenue that they have.
The governors are impatient. I’m a big fan of Governor Cuomo. My own governor, Gavin Newsom, has been spectacular, my mayor, Mayor Breed. The state and local have done their jobs magnificently. They should be impatient. Their impatience will help us get an even bigger number.
And that goes for Republican governors too. Governor Hogan of Maryland has been spectacular in all of this.
So, it’s many governors, many mayors, bipartisan, for us to get the largest amount.
I’m sorry that we had to have an intervention, because we were going from CARES 1 to CARES 2. The intervention came. We made the most of it.
And so, as I say to members, judge it for what it does. Don’t criticize it for what it doesn’t, because we have a plan for that. And that will happen.
I think you see the response, even from Republican senators, that Mitch McConnell is getting.
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