Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell explained to Fox News on Tuesday that a remark he made a few days ago about letting states go bankrupt has nothing to do with the current pandemic but was referring to their past financial decisions.
“We’re certainly open to considering additional assistance to state and local governments, on top of what we have already done in the CARES Act,” McConnell said. “It is important, however, to understand that many states have systemic, longstanding challenges, many of them their pension funds, many of them from overspending. So, what we’re saying here is, we’re not interested in rescuing badly run states from the mistakes they have made completely unrelated to the coronavirus.”
“So, let me make it perfectly clear. We are open to considering another bill. But my red line in going forward on this bill is, we need to provide protection, litigation protection, for those who’ve been on the front line, hospitals, doctors, nurses,” McConnell continued. “And imagine you’re a businessman thinking about reopening, and you have heard that the trial lawyers all over the country are sharpening their pencils, getting ready to sue you, claiming that you didn’t engage in proper distancing or other issues related to health and safety.”
“Look, we can’t pass another bill unless we have liability protections. And that’s the only way we’re going to ultimately begin to get past this. And that is to begin to open up the economy again,” McConnell concluded. “We have to have businesses brave enough to open up again, employees brave enough to go back to work. And I’m glad to see that some of the states are beginning to move in the direction of reopening.”
WATCH:
TRANSCRIPT:
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D-NY): The aid is not going to — quote — “governments.”
It’s going to police officers, firefighters, bus drivers, food health safety inspectors. These are the people who need help. There’s going to be massive layoffs at the state and local level unless we get some money to them quickly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEIL CAVUTO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: All right, that was Chuck Schumer responding to comments made by Mitch McConnell in a radio interview a few days ago, where he entertained the possibility that states in real duress could always file for bankruptcy.
The senator joins us right now on the phone.
Mitch McConnell, very good to have you.
What did you think of what Chuck Schumer said? This isn’t being wasted; this is going to those directly impacted by the coronavirus?
What do you say?
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): Well, we’re certainly open to considering additional assistance to state and local governments, on top of what we have already done in the CARES Act.
It is important, however, to understand that many states have systemic, longstanding challenges, many of them their pension funds, many of them from overspending. So, what we’re saying here is, we’re not interested in rescuing badly run states from the mistakes they have made completely unrelated to the coronavirus.
So, let me make it perfectly clear. We are open to considering another bill. But my red line in going forward on this bill is, we need to provide protection, litigation protection, for those who’ve been on the front line, hospitals, doctors, nurses.
And imagine you’re a businessman thinking about reopening, and you have heard that the trial lawyers all over the country are sharpening their pencils, getting ready to sue you, claiming that you didn’t engage in proper distancing or other issues related to health and safety.
Look, we can’t pass another bill unless we have liability protections. And that’s the only way we’re going to ultimately begin to get past this. And that is to begin to open up the economy again.
We have to have businesses brave enough to open up again, employees brave enough to go back to work. And I’m glad to see that some of the states are beginning to move in the direction of reopening.
CAVUTO: All right, but you’re — already, your idea — maybe it was just something you threw out there, that tort reform could be part of more aid to the states.
Nancy Pelosi responded that Democrats are not interested in COVID-19 tort reform. The House has no interest in diminishing protections for employees and customers.
What do you say to that?
MCCONNELL: Well, let me make it perfectly clear.
The Senate is not interested in passing a bill that does not have liability protections. So, that’s an integral part of our economy getting back to normal.
So, we’re going back to work. The Senate’s coming back next Monday. We’re perfectly willing to discuss the way forward, but the way you make a law, it has to pass the House and the Senate.
What I’m saying is, we have a red line on liability. It won’t pass the Senate without it.
CAVUTO: So, what would happen, though, Senator, if a business, feeling that it is emboldened by liability protection, that it doesn’t do some basic things, like masks and other protections for workers, because it might feel that it’s legally bulletproof and doesn’t have to?
MCCONNELL: Well, it’s a good question.
I mean, you have to carefully craft a liability protection to deal with the money that would be supplied to state and local governments, conditioned upon them enacting at the state level the kind of legislation that would provide liability protection for those who are seeking to go forward and to get the economy back up to work.
Look, Neil, I have been talking to businesspeople all over the country. There’s a good deal of fear about getting back to normal, knowing full well the losses that are awaiting unless we address this issue.
So, this is an integral part of getting the economy back up and running, getting the country back up and running. And that will be a condition for providing additional assistance to state and local government.
CAVUTO: Let me ask you, Senator.
You made some news in this Axios report, I’m sure you have heard about where you said, we need to keep the White House, Democrats in a box. Both need to get the message.
You were referring to infrastructure. The president intimated today at his small business conference that he was still open to that, pooh-poohed the notion that maybe you two are in disagreement.
So, maybe I can get some clarity from you. Are you open and would you agree to infrastructure spending as part of a future stimulus relief plan?
MCCONNELL: Well, we have an equal interest in doing an infrastructure bill.
We don’t have an equal interest in borrowing money for future generations to pay for it. In other words, it’s unrelated to the coronavirus pandemic, which is the reason we have run up the national debt $2.8 trillion.
So, I agree with the president. Infrastructure is important. I just don’t believe that we should be borrowing, adding to the national debt. We have added $2.8 trillion to the national debt in the last month. I just don’t think that’s the path to getting an infrastructure bill.
I do agree with him that we need to do that. We’re going to pass a more modest infrastructure bill in the Senate in the near future, since we’re coming back to work next Monday.
CAVUTO: But, just to be clear, as far as the next round of stimulus, you do not want it to be infrastructure? Am I getting that right?
MCCONNELL: Yes, I’ll be clearer, that infrastructure is unrelated to the coronavirus pandemic that we’re all experiencing and trying to figure out how to go forward.
We have borrowed an incredible amount of money here over the last month. And we need to make sure that whatever additional legislation we do is directly related to this pandemic, and to try to get it in the rear-view mirror and get the country back up and running again.
CAVUTO: Senator, while I have you here, you made an interesting comment when you were talking to our Guy Benson on FOX News Radio, in which you were describing maybe some of the problems around the president and the health care task force briefings, in which you said, American people are most interested in the advice from the health professionals about how to conduct their lives safely.
Were you saying that the president shouldn’t talk as much?
MCCONNELL: No, I wasn’t saying that.
But I think the American people are interested in what our health experts have to say about this pandemic. We have never had this particular disease before. They’re anxious to get information about how to conduct their lives consistently with the recommendations, so we can safely go about our business.
One of the reasons we put $25 billion in the additional bill, over and above the CARES bill that we passed last week, for testing is that we’re not there yet on testing, not only the — what kind of tests, but how many of them actually will tell you something other than you don’t have it at the moment.
And we don’t get have a treatment, and we don’t yet have a vaccine. So, we allocated $25 billion at that whole area of testing and treatment and the vaccine in the bill that we just passed last week.
CAVUTO: Right.
MCCONNELL: That’s all part of reassuring everyone that they can safely go back to work.
CAVUTO: So, I guess what I’m asking you, without belaboring the point, sir, is that whether you wanted to restructure the briefings as they are now, you said, to the extent that the White House decides to recraft these briefings to reflect that goal, referring to the medical information you want to hear from the experts, that is probably a good idea.
Did that mean that either the briefings should be shorter, the health care task force members only, Dr. Fauci, Dr. Birx, that sort of thing, or what specifically would be most beneficial, do you think, to the American people?
MCCONNELL: Yes, I don’t — I don’t have any advice to give the White House about how to handle the briefings. I don’t have any advice to give them at all.
CAVUTO: So, you were not meaning to imply that these — any comments, apart from the medical experts, were — were not necessary?
MCCONNELL: No, I wasn’t.
CAVUTO: OK.
MCCONNELL: I did think that the medical experts are the ones the public is the most interested in, for obvious reasons, because they’re interested in how they can go about their business safely.
CAVUTO: Finally, Senator, the president talks about a V-shaped recovery out of this.
It’s going to be tough, especially given the staggered nature of opening up.
Are you worried that that’s going to be tough? There will be an economic pickup as people get back, but it might not last — it might take a while to get going. Are you in the camp that it’s going to be a sharp increase or a slow one?
MCCONNELL: Honestly, Neil, I don’t know.
I think we have — we’re in a place we have never been before. We’re all hoping for a more rapid recovery. I think we get a more rapid recovery if we have liability reform, if we have testing that reassures people, because the economy won’t truly be open unless everybody’s willing to participate in the economy once again.
So, I’m not an expert on these things. And we have — this is an experience we haven’t had before.
CAVUTO: Yes.
MCCONNELL: So, it’s hard to figure out what may happen as we move ahead.
But we do know we need to move ahead. And I’m pleased that a number of states are beginning to move in the direction of opening up the economy–
CAVUTO: All right.
MCCONNELL: — consistent with the phase one recommendations of the White House Coronavirus Task Force.
CAVUTO: Very good. We shall see.
All right, Mitch McConnell, thank you very much.