Sen. Warren on Trump & Jeb taxing hedge fund managers: “Even when your ears are stuffed w/ money you get a little sound that comes through”
Today on CNN’s State of the Union, Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, joined anchor Jake Tapper. The interview was taped at The Washington Ideas Forum.
For more information, see http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/. Also, text highlights and a transcript of the discussion are below.
MANDATORY CREDIT: CNN’s “State of the Union”
Contacts: Lauren Pratapas — Lauren.Pratapas@turner.com; 202.465.6666; Liza Pluto – liza.pluto@turner.com
TEXT HIGHLIGHTS
Senator Warren on the 2013 letter she signed with women senators urging Hillary to run for president: [Tapper] “You were one of many female Democratic Senators to sign a letter a few years ago urging Secretary Clinton to run. Should that be seen as an endorsement in itself? [WARREN]: No, she’s running, along with other people and they’re getting their ideas out there and that’s what I think should happen during this part of the season.”
Who will Warren endorse, Clinton or Sanders?: “Look at this moment I don’t know because I’m just not there. What I do know is that people are out talking about these key ideas and I think that’s exactly the right thing to do. I think we should be talking about Glass-Stegall, I think we should be talking about the role that the major financial institutions play not just in this economy, but play in the major political sphere here in Washington.”
Sen. Warren on Trump and Jeb taxing hedge fund managers: [TAPPER]: What do you make of the fact that two leading Republican presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Jeb Bush, are now both endorsing closing the loophole when it comes to hedge fund managers, the carried interest loophole? [WARREN]: It means that even when your ears are stuffed with money you get a little sound that comes through and that’s what’s happening here. It’s like hello?! Uh yeah! Billionaires should not be paying taxes at a lower rate than teachers and firefighters, and that has even seeped through to a few of the rich guys on the other side. Stunner (laughter).
Sen. Warren enraged by GOP Planned Parenthood plan: “Let’s remember what we’re debating on the floor of the United States’ Senate. And that was defunding Planned Parenthood. 2.7 million people got their healthcare from Planned Parenthood every year. One in every 5 women in America, sometime in her life, will get her healthcare from Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood, what does it mostly do? 97% of what Planned Parenthood does is about cancer screenings, screenings for STDs, about birth control. Planned Parenthood is in – more than half of all the Planned Parenthood clinics are in places where there is limited access to healthcare. So for many people, many women, is there only healthcare provider, sometimes their principle healthcare provider—And the Republicans say the first issue that we’ve got to discuss, the number one thing, everything else can go forward on the budget or we can cut, everything else, the first thing we’ve to do is defund Planned Parenthood. That means defunding healthcare for women.”
Warren: GOP wants to make finding health care harder for women: “Let me tell you something. We are doing the straw poll. It’s called the 2016 elections. And Republicans want to get out there and they want to run on shutting down women’s access to cancer screenings, and shutting down women’s access to birth control, and shutting down women’s access to not-government-paid-for abortions, then they are going to have a real fight. Let them do it”
Warren explains her sharp disagreement with Vice President Joe Biden: [TAPPER]: You’ve been a long-time advocate for financial reform and in the past, you have, there has been words between you and then-Senator Joe Biden. You have disagreed very sharply. [WARREN]: Oh yes, we have. You bet. It was over bankruptcy laws that the credit card companies wanted to tighten those bankruptcy laws so they can squeeze more profits out of working families. And Sen. Biden was on one side of that fight and I was on the other. And you better believe that I didn’t hold back…He said he is so worried about this consumer agency that has forced the largest financial institutions in this country to return more than 10 billion dollars to families they’ve cheated. He is so worried about keeping that agency up and strong that he wants to make sure there is a five-person commission like there is over at the SEC because that is going to keep the CFPB strong
FULL TRANSCRIPT
THIS IS A RUSH FDCH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: You were one of many female Democratic Senators to sign a letter a few years ago urging Secretary Clinton to run. Should that be seen as an endorsement in itself?
WARREN: No, she’s running, along with other people and they’re getting their ideas out there and that’s what I think should happen during this part of the season.
TAPPER: So you just wanted her to run.
WARREN: Well I want everyone who wants to run for president to get out there, put their ideas out there, talk about their ideas with the American people. That’s how it should be, that’s how democracy is supposed to work.
TAPPER: I think that you and Bernie Sanders align fairly closely on all the major issues. When you decide who to endorse is it just going to be about who you agree with the most, or will you be taking other things into consideration such as who has a better chance of being the nominee or winning in November?
WARREN: Look at this moment I don’t know because I’m just not there. What I do know is that people are out talking about these key ideas and I think that’s exactly the right thing to do. I think we should be talking about Glass-Stegall, I think we should be talking about the role that the major financial institutions play not just in this economy, but play in the major political sphere here in Washington.
TAPPER: Do you disagree with the idea that you and Bernie Sanders seem to be more closely aligned on issues than you are with other Democrats running for president?
WARREN: Do you want to ask this six different ways?
TAPPER: That’s kind of my job.
WARREN: Well kind of my job is to get out there and to keep pushing these issues. You know I will say this. Bernie gets out and he fights for what he believes in. He fights from the heart on these issues. And I think he’s done an enormous service by pushing them forward into the agenda. I think that Secretary Clinton has also been pushing issues forward into the agenda that are really important.
TAPPER: What do you make of the fact that two leading Republican presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Jeb Bush, are now both endorsing closing the loophole when it comes to hedge fund managers, the carried interest loophole?
WARREN: It means that even when your ears are stuffed with money you get a little sound that comes through and that’s what’s happening here. It’s like hello?! Uh yeah! Billionaires should not be paying taxes at a lower rate than teachers and firefighters, and that has even seeped through to a few of the rich guys on the other side. Stunner (laughter).
TAPPER: Obviously, your position supporting Planned Parenthood is well established. The reason Planned Parenthood was reportedly, in front of the Congressional hearing, is because of these video tapes of Planned Parenthood officials saying and doing things that Planned Parenthood questioned in terms of the glibness. Is there nothing on the video tapes that you say that bothers you at all?
WARREN: Let’s remember what we’re debating on the floor of the United States’ Senate. And that was defunding Planned Parenthood. 2.7 million people got their healthcare from Planned Parenthood every year. One in every 5 women in America, sometime in her life, will get her healthcare from Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood, what does it mostly do? 97% of what Planned Parenthood does is about cancer screenings, screenings for STDs, about birth control. Planned Parenthood is in – more than half of all the Planned Parenthood clinics are in places where there is limited access to healthcare. So for many people, many women, is there only healthcare provider, sometimes their principle healthcare provider.
And the Republicans say the first issue that we’ve got to discuss, the number one thing, everything else can go forward on the budget or we can cut, everything else, the first thing we’ve to do is defund Planned Parenthood. That means defunding healthcare for women. And make no mistake, what this is really about is a about women’s access to abortion. And even though not one federal dollar goes to pay for abortions through Planned Parenthood, the Republicans want to find one more way to make it harder, to make it impossible, for a woman who is facing one of the most difficult decisions of her life, they want to find a way to make it harder on her to get the healthcare she needs. And all I can say is we have been in that world before. When I talk about 1955, I’m talking about a world when women died. I’m talking about a world when women committed suicide rather than go forward with a pregnancy they could not handle. And what the Republicans are saying is that they want to go back. And I want to make sure we are not going back. (applause)
TAPPER: Too bad they’re not doing a straw poll here.
WARREN: Let me tell you something. We are doing the straw poll. It’s called the 2016 elections. And Republicans want to get out there and they want to run on shutting down women’s access to cancer screenings, and shutting down women’s access to birth control, and shutting down women’s access to not-government-paid-for abortions, then they are going to have a real fight. Let them do it.
TAPPER: You’ve been a long-time advocate for financial reform and in the past, you have, there has been words between you and then-Senator Joe Biden. You have disagreed very sharply.
WARREN: Oh yes, we have. You bet. It was over bankruptcy laws that the credit card companies wanted to tighten those bankruptcy laws so they can squeeze more profits out of working families. And Sen. Biden was on one side of that fight and I was on the other. And you better believe that I didn’t hold back.
TAPPER: Are you still on opposite sides on that issue?
WARREN: On that issues, yeah.
TAPPER: there is a move in Congress right now to replace the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with a five-person bipartisan panel. Some of the Democrats in the House, that have expressed support for it, say it would be a protection for if there is a Republican in the White House.
WARREN: I’m sorry, not just what the Democrats say, but that’s what the president of the American Bankers Association came out and said yesterday. He said he is so worried about this consumer agency that has forced the largest financial institutions in this country to return more than 10 billion dollars to families they’ve cheated. He is so worried about keeping that agency up and strong that he wants to make sure there is a five-person commission like there is over at the SEC because that is going to keep the CFPB strong. (laughter)
TAPPER: You don’t buy it.
WARREN: Do I look dumb? (LAUGHTER)
###END INTERVIEW###