BRIAN, AINSLEY AND STEVE. BRIAN: THANKS SO MUCH, MERCY
WILL BE IN LOS ANGELES THIS
WEEKEND.
WEEKEND. LET’S BRING IN SENATOR TED CRUZ
FRESH OFF QUARANTINE.
TED, THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES YESTERDAY IN A LETTER TO
AMERICA’S GOVERNORS, HE WILL
BASICALLY GIVE THEM AN IDEA --
HE’S GOING TO CREATE SOME OF THE
COUNTIES ON HOW DANGEROUS THEY
ARE AND HOW OVERRUN THEY ARE AND
THE ONES UNTOUCHED, MAYBE
GRADUALLY PHASE IN ECONOMIC
PROGRESS AGAIN.
PROGRESS AGAIN. ARE YOU FOR A PHASE-IN STANDING
AMERICA UP AGAIN OR LOCK DOWN TO
HAVE IT MORE UNDER CONTROL?
>> WELL, LISTEN, ANY HEALTH
RESPONSE NEEDS TO LEARN FACTS
FROM THE GROUND AND THEY ARE
DIFFERENT FROM ONE LOCATION TO
ANOTHER.
ANOTHER. OUR APPROACH TO GLOBAL PANDEMIC.
WE NEED TO BE GUIDED BY THE
SCIENCE AND PHYSICIANS AND
MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS AND I
FULLY EXPECT THE CIRCUMSTANCES
ARE DIFFERENT IN MANHATTAN THAN
PERHAPS THEY ARE IN RURAL IDAHO
AND SO YOU WOULDN’T EXPECT THE
SAME RULES TO APPLY EVERYWHERE.
THAT RECOGNIZES THE DIVERSITY OF
THE COUNTRY AND WHERE THERE’S
DIRECT AND SERIOUS THREAT.
OF COURSE, STEPS NEED TO BE
TAKEN TO PROTECT LIVES BUT THOSE
CAN VARY IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF
THE COUNTRY.
THE COUNTRY. STEVE: EXACTLY RIGHT.
IN FACT, SENATOR CRUZ THE
PRESIDENT SAID THAT NEBRASKA,
TEXAS, YOUR STATE, IOWA, SOME
PARTS MIGHT BE ABLE TO OPEN UP
SOONER THAN OTHERS.
OF COURSE, THE ENTIRE COUNTRY IS
LOOKING TO CONGRESS AND I KNOW
THAT THE CORONA RESCUE BILL HAS
PASSED YOUR CHAMBER, THE SENATE.
IT’S QUESTIONABLE WHAT’S GOING
TO HAPPEN WITH THE BILL TODAY
BECAUSE AS WE HEARD THIS HOUR
THERE’S ONE CONGRESSMAN, HE’S A
REPUBLICAN FROM KENTUCKY, HIS
NAME IS THOMAS MASSIE, HE’S
OPPOSED TO THE BILL BECAUSE IT
WOULD ADD TO NATIONAL DEBT AND
CONCERNED THAT VOTING WITHOUT A
QUORUM PRESENT WOULD VIOLATE THE
CONSTITUTION.
CONSTITUTION. THE PROBLEM IS WHEN YOU HAVE
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS FLYING BACK
FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY,
THEY’RE IN AIRPORTS, BACK INTO
THE CHAMBERS, IT DOES SEEM AS IF
YOU ARE PUTTING MEMBERS OF
CONGRESS AT RISK TO DO THIS EVEN
THOUGH WE KNOW EVERYBODY KNOWS
THIS THING IS GOING TO PASS.
>> YEAH, YOU KNOW, I WOULD NOT
BE TERRIBLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE
PROCEDURAL QUESTION.
PROCEDURAL QUESTION. IT’S CLEAR THE HOUSE IS GOING TO
PASS IT.
PASS IT. IT’S CLEAR THE HOUSE WILL PASS
IT WITH AN OVERWHELMING
BIPARTISAN MAJORITY.
BIPARTISAN MAJORITY. IF IT SO HAPPENS THAT A MEMBER
OR TWO OR THREE DECIDE THEY WANT
TO VOTE NO, THEY CAN DO THAT.
THOMAS BELIEVES STRONGLY IN HIS
PRINCIPLES.
PRINCIPLES. I SAW ALSO ALEXANDRIA
OCASIO-CORTEZ TWEET OUT THAT
THAT HE WAS UNHAPPY THAT THE
CHECKS THAT ARE GOING OUT, THE
1200 RELIEF CHECKS, THAT THEY
ARE NOT GOING TO ILLEGAL
IMMIGRANTS AND SHE WAS UNHAPPY
ABOUT THIS.
ABOUT THIS. PEOPLE CAN HAVE DISAGREEMENTS.
THIS IS GOING TO PASS.
THIS IS GOING TO PASS AND PASS
OVERWHELMINGLY WHICH MEANS
RELIEF WILL BE IN THE HANDS OF
THE PEOPLE THAT ARE HURTING AND
IN THE SENATE THE DAY BEFORE
YESTERDAY WE PASSED IT
UNANIMOUSLY.
UNANIMOUSLY. 96 TO NOTHING, EVERY SINGLE
SENATOR, REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRAT
VOTED YES, BERNIE SANDERS VOTED
YES, SO DID I AND EVERYBODY IN
BETWEEN AND -- AND THE REASON,
LISTEN, THIS IS A
2 TRILLION-DOLLAR BILL.
THAT’S ABOUT A TENTH OF OUR
NATIONAL DEBT.
NATIONAL DEBT. THAT’S A BIG DEAL.
THAT’S NOT SOMETHING THAT WOULD
PASS IN ANY ORDINARY
CIRCUMSTANCES.
CIRCUMSTANCES. BUT THESE ARE EXTRAORDINARY
CIRCUMSTANCES, THE MAGNITUDE OF
THE HEALTH THREAT IS MASSIVE AND
THE MAGNITUDE OF THE ECONOMIC
THREAT, WE LOST 3 AND A HALF
MILLION JOBS LAST WEEK, SMALL
BUSINESSES ARE SHUTTERING ALL
ACROSS THIS COUNTRY AND SO THIS
EMERGENCY RELIEF PACKAGE IS
DESIGNED TO PUT REAL RELIEF IN
THE HANDS OF PEOPLE, THE TWO
MOST IMPORTANT PARTS OF IT ARE
THAT EVERY PERSON MAKING
$100,000 OR LESS, OR EVERY
COUPLE MAKING A HUNDRED THOUSAND
DOLLARS OR LESS WILL GET A CHECK
IN THE MAIL $1,200 PER ADULT AND
2500 FOR COUPLE AND 500 FOR
CHILD.
CHILD. ALL OF THE CHECKS WILL BE COMING
OUT.
OUT. THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT SAYS IN
THE NEXT 2 OR 3 WEEKS.
SECONDLY, FOR SMALL BUSINESSES,
THERE’S $377 BILLION IN LOANS
GUARANTYING LOAN, BUSINESSES 500
EMPLOYEES OR LESS.
SMALL BUSINESSES UP TO
$10 MILLION EACH ON THE LOANS
AND IF THEY USE THE LOANS TO PAY
FOR PAYROLL, TO KEEP THEIR
EMPLOYEES ON PAYROLL, IF THEY
USE THE LOANS FOR MORTGAGE OR
RENT OR UTILITY, THOSE LOANS
WILL BE FORGIVEN.
THAT’S DESIGNED TO BE IMMEDIATE
INFUSION OF CASH FOR THE
RESTAURANT, THE BAR, THE NAIL
SALON, THE MOVIE THEATER OR
HARDWARE STORE, ALL OF THE SMALL
BUSINESSES AND THE WAY YOU GET
IT IF YOU’RE A SMALL BUSINESS
OWNER, GROW TO LOCAL BANK OR
COMMUNITY FINANCIAL
COMMUNITY FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, ADMINISTERED
INSTITUTIONS, ADMINISTERED THROUGH THE LOCAL BANKING
SYSTEM.
SYSTEM. AINSLEY: OKAY, WE ONLY HAVE ONE
MINUTE.
MINUTE. I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS FOR YOU, IF
YOU FURLOUGH EMPLOYEES DO YOU
STILL GET BENEFITS AND SECONDLY
HOW ARE YOU DOING AFTER
SELF-QUARANTINING?
SELF-QUARANTINING? >> ON THE FIRST POINT YES, IF
YOU REHIRE THEM.
YOU CAN GET THE BENEFITS
REGARDLESS BUT THE LOAN IS ONLY
FORGIVEN IF YOU REHIRE THE
EMPLOYEES.
EMPLOYEES. IF YOU HAVE ALREADY FURLOUGHED
THE EMPLOYEES, GET THE LOAN AND
REHIRE THEM AND THEIR PAYROLL
WOULD BE FORGIVABLE.
AINSLEY: HOW ARE YOU DOING?
>> I’M DOING TERRIFIC.
I SPENT 11 DAYS SELF-QUARANTINE
AT HOME AND WENT TO DC AND WENT
TO THE SENATE AND ACTIVE IN --
IN PASSING THIS BILL AND NOW
BACK HOME WITH THE FAMILY.
FEELING HEALTHY AND TERRIFIC AND
WORKING ACTIVELY FROM HOME.
AINSLEY: EXCELLENT, THANK YOU SO
MUCH, SENATOR, FOR BEING WITH