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New Day
Interview with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL); Dems Embrace Green New Deal; Ways to Prevent Headaches; Parkland Dads Removed from Hearing; Interview with Manuel Oliver. Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired February 07, 2019 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:30:00] SEN. DICK DURBIN (D), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: For a living, I might add, have sat down and started the bargaining. I think the bargaining's underway. We understand the parameters of what we have to decide. The briefing yesterday, I think, made it clear that there are things much more important than this president's almighty wall. Stopping -- slowing down the flow of narcotics into America during the worst drug epidemic in our history to me is the highest priority. That requires technology, not some God-awful concrete wall.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the president now has moved off the concrete wall. And, in fact, in the State of the Union talked about steel slats, or as he calls them, beautiful steel slats that you can see through. That's what he's asking for.
You did hear from experts yesterday on the wall, border patrol security experts and the like, and I do understand they did talk about technology. But I also understand they said that in some cases new barriers would help, correct?
DURBIN: Yes. And, of course, we have 650 miles of barriers on our border now. We gave to the president, since he was elected, 124 miles of replacement and new barriers. There are times when it is appropriate.
But when it comes to the priorities for border security, it was clear to me that technology is critical. Eighty-five percent of the trucks -- the trucks coming into the United States are not being scanned and x-rayed. Eighty-five percent of them. And so two weeks ago we confiscate the largest fentanyl shipment recently across the Mexican border at a port of entry in cucumbers. It was in a package of cucumbers in the truck.
BERMAN: Right.
DURBIN: So, for goodness sakes, let's focus on the things that are important. This opioid, heroin epidemic is killing Americans every day.
BERMAN: Right.
DURBIN: That should be the focus of border security.
This conference committee, and this agreement that you think you might reach as soon as tomorrow, will it include new money for new barriers?
DURBIN: Well, I'm going to just hold back from making these public statement on that. Let me say that the issues of border security are being discussed honestly and openly. That there is an effort in this conference committee to reach a bipartisan agreement. I think people of good will can do that.
BERMAN: We're grateful for your efforts inside that committee, all 17 of you, from both sides of the aisle trying to figure out a way to reach a solution.
Senator Dick Durbin, thanks for being with us.
DURBIN: Thank you.
BERMAN: Poppy.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: All right, progressives are pushing what they're calling -- you've probably heard this in the last few weeks -- a green new deal in Congress that could reach beyond climate change. It would be really significant. We're going to talk about what it would include and who's behind it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:36:20] HARLOW: Welcome back to NEW DAY.
More Democrats, including 2020 hopefuls, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren, now say they support a green new deal. The movement is gaining some steam on Capitol Hill. Scientists and activists say more needs to be done right now.
Bill Weir is here with us to explain.
BILL WEIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Poppy, John, good to see you.
You remember your civics class, the original new deal was the biggest public works project in history. And the proponents say, hey, it created the greatest, strongest middle class in human civilization. And some would say it also created a modern welfare state that we can't pay for.
So the green new deal is sort of that one 2.0. An industrial revolution that wants to completely remake the way we power our lives and, oh, social justice for all. Here are the people behind it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WEIR (voice over): The problem is so big it's hard to imagine, but America and the world's top scientists widely agree that we are running out of time. That mankind has as little as a dozen years to stop burning so much carbon and save life on earth as we know it. But you'd never know it listening to the State of the Union.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States is now the number one producer of oil and natural gas anywhere in the world. STACEY ABRAMS (ph): We can do so much more, take action on climate
change.
WEIR: And while Stacey Abrams' rebuttal only mentioned the end of the world in passing, a new generation of activists are now forcing the issue in the halls of Congress.
VARSHINI PRAKASH, CO-FOUNDER, SUNRISE MOVEMENT: We brought 200 young people to tell Nancy Pelosi and Democratic leadership, we need you to step up. We need you to back something like a green new deal.
WEIR: They call themselves the Sunrise Movement. And after dozens were arrested for occupying the offices of top Democrats, dozens of top Democrats are now singing their song.
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I support a green new deal.
WEIR: And when one of the Sunrise founders came back to Capitol Hill, instead of calling police, Senator Ed Markey gave her a ticket to the State of the Union. And he is drafting a green new deal resolution with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
WEIR (on camera): And how specific are we getting? Is there a moratorium on oil and gas? Is there a conservation corps that you're going to pay to plant trees? What are you talking about?
SEN. EDWARD MARKEY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: We haven't announced the specifics of it yet, but it does set a high goal of 100 percent deployment of non-greenhouse gas-emitting sources into our atmosphere.
WEIR: By 2030?
MARKEY: Again, we're going to announce at the right time what it is.
WEIR: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This nation is asking for action and action now.
WEIR (voice over): The original new deal helped pull America out of the Great Depression with massive public works projects -- dams and grids and a civilian conservation corps over 2 million strong. But it also set up the modern welfare state. And so the Sunrisers are demanding not just clean power, but Medicare for all, resettlement funds and climate-related jobs for the neediest population.
PRAKASH: And so more than anything I'm actually feeling heartened in this moment.
WEIR (on camera): Yes. You do?
PRAKASH: Yes.
WEIR: You know you're going to look out on that floor of lawmakers and think, oh, no? If we have to wait for them to agree on something, we're doomed? PRAKASH: Probably, but we're not waiting on them. And we are actually
building a movement that is going to be powerful enough to make something like a green new deal a political inevitability in this country.
WEIR (voice over): But in an age of bitter division, they are calling for trillions in new spending and the kind of national unity not seen since the Apollo project. Ironic since Cape Canaveral's moon shot launch pads are currently being fortified against sea level rise caused by climate change.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[08:40:15] WEIR: So overnight the Markey AOC resolution. It would be a non-binding resolution, but just to kind of set the agenda. And, boy, is it aspirational. In addition to going 100 percent carbon-free in the next 12 years, guaranteeing a job with a family sustaining wage, adequate family and disability leave, paid vacations, retirement security to all members of society. And it's got adequate housing for everybody, food access. And it's just sort of amorphous enough to get everybody into the -- into the tent. Labor unions, and greens and everybody else.
HARLOW: Yes. Yes. Of course.
WEIR: But, it is creating some intermural (ph) fighting and money.
BERMAN: Right.
HARLOW: But, is there a price tag on that resolution?
WEIR: No, not at all. And they not even going to get close to how to pay for it because that would set up a fight between people who want a carbon tax, and those who want to pay-go (ph), you know, and do it in ten-year increments as well. So right now it's just more of a -- of a progressives call to action. Like this problem is so big we need to start thinking about it in terms of new deal scale.
BERMAN: One of the things we'll be asking over the course of the campaign season is what it means. What does it mean? How do you fill in those blanks because those blanks matter.
HARLOW: Yes.
WEIR: Absolutely.
HARLOW: Yes.
WEIR: And something to keep in mind is, just last year, $100 billion was spent on the storms, that -- those big storm events.
HARLOW: Wow.
BERMAN: Yes.
WEIR: And if that's going to be annually now and a new normal -- HARLOW: What a number. Yes.
WEIR: A couple trillion dollars of preventative medicine can makes sense.
HARLOW: Yes.
BERMAN: Bill, it's great.
HARLOW: Yes.
BERMAN: Thank you so much for taking that look for us.
HARLOW: Thank you.
BERMAN: A Republican member of Congress tries to remove the parents of students killed in the Parkland massacre from a hearing on gun violence. One of those fathers joins us live, next.
HARLOW: All right, but before that, learn how to stop headaches before they start. Lisa Drayer has today's "Food as Fuel."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA DRAYER, CNN HEALTH CONTRIBUTOR: A common cause for headaches is dehydration. But one way to combat that is to consume more fluids. You should aim to drink eight glasses of water a day and be sure to add water-rich fruits and vegetables to your diet, like watermelon, radishes and cucumbers.
Another way to fight headaches is with magnesium. Research shows some people who experience migraine headaches have lower magnesium levels that those who don't. Foods that boost your magnesium levels include spinach, pumpkin seeds, almonds, tuna fish, beans and whole grains.
To help reduce the frequency of migraines, you may consider adding a vitamin B-2 supplement, also known as riboflavin, to your diet. You can also eat more riboflavin rich foods, like yogurt, milk, fortified breakfast cereals, lean meats, eggs and portabella mushrooms.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:47:07] BERMAN: Tempers boiled over at a House hearing on gun violence. Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz tried to get the parents of a murdered Parkland High School student -- two of them -- removed from the room.
CNN's Lauren Fox explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A congressional hearing on gun violence boiling over after Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz suggested that illegal immigration poses a greater threat to the public than guns.
REP. MATT GAETZ (R), FLORIDA: I hope we do not forget the pain and anguish and sense of loss felt by those all over the country who have been the victims of violence at the hands of illegal aliens. HR-8 would not have stopped many of the circumstances I raised, but a wall, a barrier on the southern border may have. And that's what we're fighting for.
(INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Chairman.
(INAUDIBLE)
REP. JERRY NADLER (D), CHAIRMAN, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Well, the gentleman will suspend.
FOX: The Florida congressman's claim prompting outrage from the fathers of two victims of last year's massacre at a Parkland, Florida, high school. Manuel Oliver and Fred Guttenberg repeatedly interrupting Gaetz as he argued against a bill that would require background checks for all gun sales, and actively campaigned for a border wall.
GAETZ: The greatest driver of violence in the circumstances that I indicated was not the firearm. It was the fact that we have an immigration system that allows people to come here violently. We engage in --
NADLER: There will be no comments or demonstrations, please.
FOX: Committee Chairman Democrat Jerry Nadler issuing several warnings for the men to stop interrupting before Democrat David Cicilline posted this question to committee leaders.
REP. DAVID CICILLINE (D), RHODE ISLAND: Is there any committee rule that prevents a member of Congress from reciting false statements in a committee hearing?
FOX: Cicilline's remarks prompting applause from some and a rebuke from Ranking Member Republican Doug Collins.
REP. DOUG COLLINS (R), RANKING MEMBER, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Mr. Chairman, may I make a point of order against the gentleman from Florida. I make a point of order that the gentleman's words were unparliamentary because they implied the lying or the falsehood of a member.
FOX: The episode concluding with Gaetz calling for the Parkland fathers to be removed from the hearing.
GAETZ: Is there a process in the committee whereby if the very same people are repeatedly interrupting the time of the members, that those people will be asked to depart the committee, or is there --
FOX: Chairman Nadler denying Gaetz's request and later criticizing the congressman on CNN. NADLER: He was beyond terrible in what he was saying. We were sitting
in a room full of parents of children murdered at Parkland High School.
FOX: Gaetz telling "The Sun Sentinel" that he did not know that Oliver had lost a child in the Parkland shooting but would react the same way if he did, noting, quote, I don't think anybody, regardless of tragic circumstances, can expect to come to a congressional hearing and take it over with a series of interruptions.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[08:50:14] HARLOW: All right, so, straight ahead, stay with us, because the father of a 17-year-old boy murdered at Parkland, Joaquin Oliver. His father, the man who interrupted that hearing, wanted his voice heard. He's with us, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: All right, welcome back.
Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida clashed with the parents of murdered students, students murdered in the Parkland massacre, at a House hearing yesterday on gun violence.
Joining me now is one of those fathers, Manuel Oliver. His son, 17- year-old Joaquin, was one of those people murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School nearly one year ago.
Manuel, thank you for being with me.
And we all just watched what happened yesterday to you. And you stood up in protest and you made your voice heard when Representative Gaetz made the assertion that we should be talking about a wall on the border instead at this gun violence hearing.
MANUEL OLIVER, FATHER OF MURDERED PARKLAND STUDENT: Correct.
HARLOW: What did you feel in that moment?
OLIVER: Well, I -- my first feeling is that this guy's in the wrong room. I mean he should be discussing these matters in another place. That's another discussion. So don't bring the wall as a solution for everything.
[08:55:05] It's pretty offensive that you are -- number one, I don't think you're qualified for this. And, number two, you're asking us to waste time. You're wasting time from us who really go ahead and solve the problem.
So I just tried to listen. If this is how this is going to work, I've got to stop this guy. I have to -- I've got to let the whole nation know that this is wrong. He has the wrong point.
HARLOW: And what were you -- what were you saying? It was hard for me to hear. I think a lot of people saw you stand up and heard your voice, but they don't know what you said. What were you saying?
OLIVER: Well, he was making a point of -- by the way, I had no idea who this guy was before, all right. I -- maybe I'm missing something, but I just, for me, it's just another comedian that I have to deal with. And he started saying that we should never forget those victims of gun violence that were attacked by illegal aliens. And how that is a big issue that we need to solve. And the solution is the wall. That's when I -- I was able to stand up and said, what about us? Don't forget about us and our kids. Other Parkland fathers were there and a bunch of kids behind us and -- what do you mean? You're bringing the whole -- you're a salesperson that pretends to sell the wall product in the wrong room, dude. And then you point at me? No. That's not how it works.
HARLOW: What -- before I move on, because I am interested in if you've heard from him since, but just tell everyone about your son. I mean Joaquin, 17 years old, he moved to this country from Venezuela, right, for a better life.
OLIVER: Correct.
HARLOW: He became a citizen the year before he was murdered.
OLIVER: Correct.
HARLOW: What do you want everyone to know about him?
OLIVER: A beautiful person. A great dude. An amazing friend. My best friend, I will say. We -- he was a very happy kid. He loved it here. He loved the way his life was moving forward. He was always surrounded by music, and art, and poetry. He used to write a lot. An amazing guy. An amazing guy. I miss him a lot. And his mother misses him a lot. And his sisters, too, of course.
HARLOW: And your nickname for him?
OLIVER: I used to call him anano (ph), which means short guy. He was, believe it or not, short when he was a kid. And then they called him guac (ph).
HARLOW: Yes.
OLIVER: So -- and these days everybody knows him as guac (ph).
HARLOW: So, have you heard from Representative Gaetz?
OLIVER: No.
HARLOW: OK.
OLIVER: No. I don't think I'm going to hear from him.
But let me tell you something. I can't wait for this name to be out of my story because the real name that I'm concerned about is Joaquin Oliver. So I never heard before about him. And I haven't heard from him. And I don't need to hear from him. I mean the whole nation listened to him, and that's more than enough.
HARLOW: You were -- you were a guest at the State of the Union Address and the president did bring up gun violence at the State of the Union twice, once talking about illegal immigrants utilizing guns and also about the horrific massacre we saw at the Tree of Life Synagogue.
OLIVER: Correct.
HARLOW: We did not hear about the Parkland students and I wonder what your message is for the president and for the nation on gun violence.
OLIVER: Well, it's not that we didn't hear about the Parkland shooting because mentioning each shooting will be -- he wouldn't have time enough to do that on the one night. But he didn't mention the word "guns." He didn't mention the common element in all of these shootings, which is the gun itself and why this is happening. Why are we OK with this? Why -- why is it fine when -- when the gun lobby and the NRA are behind this and we're not fine and we're not OK when an illegal alien, according to some people, is the person that is shooting your kid? So I guess that the only option that you have as a father is make sure that the shooter of your son, it's an illegal alien, so they can mention him.
And I don't -- I don't -- I'm not going to stop saying what I said yesterday, or what I've been saying for the last year. I am a father. Before an activist, I am a father. And I have a duty as a father. My son will be represented by his mom and his dad forever. And you have to deal with it, my friend, everybody. There's kids out there that need to stay alive. And I'm worried and concerned about them.
HARLOW: Let's -- let's end on this, and that is how you are honoring your son's life. You're an artist and you have painted a beautiful full mural after his death. How will you continue to honor him?
[09:00:00]
END
