And joining us now Jared
Bernstein
of the president's Council
of Economic Advisors Jared
the biggest complaint about
the president's 1.9 trillion
COVID rescue package is that
it's just too big I want to put
some items up on the screen you
would give $1,400 $100 check
to someone who's making $75,000
a year and has kept his job
hundreds of billions of already
approved by Congress
haven't been spent yet
and there's money for things
that have nothing to do with
COVID like $20 billion for Manz
mass transit and raising
the minimum wage.
Now 10 Republican senators say
they've come up with
a compromise plan and have asked
for a meeting with President
Biden first of all your initial
reaction to what those
Republican senators are calling
for and secondly is President
Biden willing to come down from
that 1.9 billion price tag thank
you Chris great to be with you.
We just learned about this
letter from the Republicans
a few minutes ago
but the president has
consistently said three things.
One, he is absolutely willing
to negotiate too and this speaks
to your question this plan is
scaled to have the punch
to finally put these dual crises
behind us to meet the challenge
of vaccine distribution of virus
control and of meeting
the economic relief
that's so urgent in this moment
the cost of inaction is
extremely high part 3 is as I
mentioned are willing
to negotiate with Republicans
and glad to hear from this
letter that they're on board
but we need to learn a lot more
about it right now
we're in a position where delay
and inaction are the enemy
of moving forward but but just
to be clear,
when you say he's willing
to negotiate.
It's clear Bill Cassidy
we'll hear from him a little bit
more in the next segment
he's one of the 10 Republican
senators President Biden is
willing to come down from
the 1.9 billion President Biden
has consistently said he will
negotiate with with those
on the other side of the aisle
about getting this plan out
as quickly as possible
what's so urgent here is getting
relief to the American people.
And finally gaining control
of the virus I think the way
to think about this less than
the topline number is
the following delay in action
failure to negotiate wait
and see these have been
the enemies of virus control
of vaccine distribution
and the arrival of a robust
inclusive and racially equitable
recovery and the president is
willing to negotiate with
everyone who signs up
for the urgency of of that plan
let me follow up on that
because the president talks
a lot about bipartisanship
but at the same time Democrats
in the House and Senate are
already working on a budget
which if they pass it would
allow not saying it will happen
but would allow them
to pass a this COVID relief
package on a straight party line
vote just the 50 Democrats plus
y President Kamala Harris
in the Senate so which is more
important to the president
bipartisanship unity or getting
it passed now I don't think
it's an either/or kind
of a choice look the American
people really couldn't care less
about budget process, whether
it's regular order bipartisan
ship whether it's filibuster
whether it's reconciliation they
need relief.
And they need it now and I think
what's so key here
and the package is scaled
to meet the costs that I'm about
to articulate if we don't get
this package as designed out
the door quickly we risk having
four million fewer jobs
at the end of this year.
That's from Moody's dotcom we
risk taking a year longer to get
to full employment kids who are
out of school every year that
costs their lifetime earnings
North of 5% That's a permanent
ding on their ability to prosper
throughout their lives.
There are 11 million people
unemployed the African-American
unemployment rate is double
digits.
So the urgency here is the cost
of inaction and the plan is
scaled to finally meet
the challenge and the reason we
had a negative employment report
in December the reason consumer
spending 70% of this economy was
November was negative
in November and December is
because we allowed an economic
air pocket to deliver by not
getting ahead of the virus.
And this plan is the first plan
I've seen that will get ahead
of this virus and finally put it
in the rearview mirror Jared you
talk about a fairly dismal short
term economic picture
particularly if you don't get
the COVID relief plan,
which raises a question a lot
of critics are asking why would
President Biden be pushing
a climate change agenda now I
want to put up a couple
of the things that he did this
week he killed the Keystone
pipeline which backers say will
cost 11,000 jobs short term
and he announced a moratorium
on new oil and gas leases
on public lands does it make
sense to be killing jobs
at a time when 18 million
Americans are unemployed.
So I definitely completely
reject the framing
of the question you know let me
go back.
It was a campaign line but it
was one that had real economic
substance this was when
the President-elect at the time
I'm sorry the vice president was
was arguing that when when his
opponent,
former President Trump hears
climate change he thinks hoax
when Biden hears that he thinks
jobs not only are there many
more jobs in the climate agenda
and this will be more part
of the Recovery Act
that's coming later than
the rescue plan but this is
something where the market is
already moving in this direction
and our plans know think
of the announcement this week
from General Motors to move
towards towards battery powered
vehicles this is us really
picking up and trying to amplify
where the market is going anyway
and it's a walk and chew gum
moment I mean,
this president won a decisive
victory in part
because of pledging to take such
vital action on climate and I
firmly believe that this is
a pro-growth plan it also has
to occur as we take the steps
to finally get to a robust
recovery when we can start
building our clean energy
industries but Jared, I mean,
the fact is that the Keystone
pipeline is going to kill 11,000
jobs 1,000 right now already
10,000 that were planned
and that's the argument that
critics make they say
you're killing current good
paying jobs for the prospect
of jobs down the line here is
the governor of Montana this
week this Keystone XL pipeline
is a lifeline for rural Montana
it would have generated over
$100 million a year in taxes
to help us pay for schools law
enforcement infrastructure this
is devastating the governor says
that when the president signed
that executive order the workers
on the Keystone pipeline packed
up their lunch pails and went
home look we we haven't had
the Keystone pipeline in place
for a long time.
And we certainly had a very low
unemployment rate before
the crisis hit, the key
to getting back to robust job
opportunities is to cease any
delay any action any failure
to negotiate any wait and see
around this rescue plan
because this rescue plan is
of a magnitude
and that's so important
because you questioned the top
line number is of a magnitude
to get us to the other side
of this fiscal crisis.
So we can finally and reliably
launch a robust economic
recovery now you don't get there
without virus control and key
to the American rescue plan is
not just virus control
but it's vaccine distribution.
So if we take the steps that
the president has outlined we
will begin to see
the unemployment rate fall more
quickly as I said one estimate
gets us to full employment
a year earlier four million more
jobs if we pass this plan
against.
If we don't so so I think that
in terms of job availability
robust labor demand and economic
opportunity the American rescue
plan is precisely the right
medicine finally and I want
to switch subjects on you
we've got about a minute left
Jared there's been a lot of talk
this week as I'm sure
you've heard about game stock
GameStop and the big turbulence
in the stock market the White
House has really tried to stay
out of this and kept referring
things to the SEC but here is
Democratic Senator Elizabeth
Warren this week.
Take a listen have an honest
market a lot of folks get
cheated and a lot more folks
just say I'm not going
into a market like that I'm not
going to participate.
I'm not going to put my money
out there I'm really asking you
you talk a lot about the economy
is the present concern about
market manipulation whether
it's from hedge funds whether
it's from retail investors
and exactly what Elizabeth
Warren was talking about that it
hurts the economy because it
reduces public confidence
in the markets.
Well, first of all the president
recognized that the stock market
is not the real economy faced
by so many people on the bottom
leg of this K shaped recovery
they depend on the American
rescue plan to deliver both
virus control vaccine
distribution and economic relief
as far as GameStop I think
the president's main concern
there is that the regulator
in charge the Securities
and Exchange Commission has
to make sure not that there's no
volatility and speculation
in the market.
That's a constant but that
the underlying plumbing
of the financial markets remains
sound that's the job of the SEC
and if you read their statements
you'll find that they're very
much on that case I think that
from the perspective of Senator
Warren who I always listen very
carefully when she's talking
about that really her thematic
there is that
we're in a situation where
the stock market has been going
up and poverty has been rising
and food pantries are facing
massive demand families face
hunger about three about 30
million of them they face
evictions they're trying to keep
a House over their head
that's where the American rescue
plan comes in.
And that's where
the president's focus is 100%
on that issue Jared we're going
to have to leave it there.
Thank you Thanks for your time
this week.
And please come back My
pleasure.