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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Texas Reopens; Interview With Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA); COVID Relief Bill Passes Congress; President Biden Secures 100 Million More Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Doses. Aired 4-4:30p ET

Aired March 10, 2021 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[16:00:00]

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: And, sometimes, they won their seats or did well, based on the fact that they were critical of it, but then touting the benefits that came from it in their districts.

And it's very likely that we're going to see similar dynamics this time.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: All right.

I'm going to thank all of you ladies very much. We have got to go to Washington now. Thank you, thank you.

I'm Brooke Baldwin here in New York.

To Washington, we go. "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: And welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

We begin with this breaking news. The massive $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill is about to become law. Just moments ago, at an event where President Biden announced a plan for the U.S. government to buy 100 million more vaccine doses from Johnson & Johnson, in a partnership with Merck, President Biden called the bill, the legislation, critical to getting the U.S. economy back on track and a historic victory for the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Tomorrow night, I'm going on prime time to address the American people and talk about what we have been through as a nation this past year. But, more importantly, I'm going to talk about what comes next.

I'm going to launch the next phase of the COVID response and explain what we will do as a government and what we will ask of the American people.

There is light at the end of this dark tunnel in the past year. But we cannot let our guard down now. (END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: The COVID relief bill is part of the light at the end of the tunnel, Biden said.

And this afternoon, the House of Representatives passed that legislation 220 to 211 on an almost strictly party-line vote.

Minutes ago, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer heralded this achievement outside the Capitol. They called it a momentous day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): This is the most consequential legislation that many of us will ever be a party to. Who knows what the future may bring, but, nonetheless, on this day, we celebrate.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): So, what do we say to America? We say to America, help is on the way. Help is on the way. You will receive $1,400 checks by the end of March. Help is on the way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: In addition to those $1,400 checks for millions of lower- and middle-income Americans, the American Rescue Plan, as it's called, includes a boost to temporary federal unemployment benefits, funding for small businesses, billions of dollars to help get students back into classrooms, as well as money to expand coronavirus testing and vaccine programs.

And it is popular, at least as of now. According to a new CNN poll out today, 61 percent of the American people support the legislation.

CNN's Kaitlan Collins is at the White House force.

Kaitlan, when will the bill be signed by President Biden? They have been pushing this urgency, no time to spare.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it still has a few more procedural things to get through. And then it will be here at the White House. He's expected to sign it on Friday here at the White House. He says it's a people's law, so he wants to sign it at the people's house. That's what he said in a statement earlier.

So, you can expect that. But as far as that popularity goes that you just showed for the bill, the White House wants to not only keep that up, but also try to increase it. And so, after he does sign it on Friday, Jake, over the next two weeks, we expect President Biden to be out on the road really trying to sell this bill to voters, going through what's in here and what's going to benefit them.

So, expect to see that as well. But, of course, this is going to be something we're expecting him to talk about when he addresses the nation in prime-time tomorrow night. That's the first time in his presidency, that he's done so. But I thought it was notable there that he was saying tomorrow night is not just going to look at what's happened over the last year with all of the restrictions and lockdowns and half-a-million deaths, but also, he says, he's going to announce what the government is going to start doing next as they start to try to move toward the end of this pandemic.

TAPPER: And how is the Biden administration planning on implementing this massive legislation?

COLLINS: Well, it's huge. So that's going to be something to look out for, if there are delays in some of the implementation, because this is a lot of weight that's going to be put on the back of the IRS during tax season.

It's not just those $1,400 stimulus checks. It's the child tax credit as well. So, what the White House said today during the briefing is that he is going to appoint someone to really oversee the implementation of this massive $1.9 trillion bill to try to sort that out.

But they have not announced who that is going to be yet, Jake.

TAPPER: And Biden has said he knows he's going to be judged by the public on whether or not he gets the checks to people and also whether or not he gets shots into arms. All of this comes as we just saw President Biden speaking with CEOs from rival pharmaceutical companies, Johnson & Johnson and Merck.

Tell us about that meeting they just had.

COLLINS: Yes, they are rivals, but the administration has kind of brokered this agreement between them to try to get Merck to help Johnson & Johnson ramp up its production of vaccines, because it has fallen far behind what it was supposed to be, according to the government contract that they got a year ago and what they have been telling officials.

So, you saw them they're talking about ramping this up, Biden saying that he is instructing officials to purchase an additional 100 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

[16:05:03]

But we should urge a note of caution here, because what we're hearing from officials is, they don't think that's going to be ready until later this year. It's not something that you're going to see change what's happening right now with vaccinations, because, right now, Johnson & Johnson is really far behind in what those numbers should be.

Only about 400,000 doses of their vaccine is going to be going out to states next week. Of course, Jake, that makes a big difference, since they're just a one-shot vaccine. But that's what the administration is focusing on right now, not the delay in their production, but trying to ramp it up. TAPPER: All right, Kaitlan Collins at the White House, thanks so much.

Joining us now to discuss, Democratic Congresswoman Karen Bass of California. She's on the House Judiciary and Foreign Affairs Committee.

Congresswoman, thanks for joining us, as always.

This legislation comes on top of $3 trillion of relief passed during the Trump presidency. Should Americans feel confident that this massive new bill, almost $2 trillion, is the last step we need to get the economy back on track? Or will more relief be necessary down the road?

REP. KAREN BASS (D-CA): Well, I am certainly hoping that it won't be, because, again, the president has said that we will have enough vaccines for all Americans that want it by the end of May.

And, clearly, with national leadership, we can put our arms around and contain and reduce the COVID virus. And so I believe that that will help us get the economy back. But everybody needed the support. And I'm very excited that we passed it out of the House today.

TAPPER: The $3 trillion that were passed last year by Congress under President Trump, those were bipartisan efforts in the House and Senate and obviously Republican President Trump. This legislation passed without a single Republican vote in the House or the Senate.

What do you make of that fact?

BASS: Well, I think it's actually a shame, because, if you look at the different categories of funding, my Republican colleagues have already voted for this before. So there was no reason for them not to vote to extend it.

We all know that unemployment is going out in the next few days. And we certainly don't want people cut off. So, I think the only reason they didn't vote for it is because it's a different administration. And I think that sad.

TAPPER: Included in this bill is something not related to COVID relief, not related to the economy, writ large, $86 billion for union pension bailouts, pensions that, if this money wasn't provided, a bunch of people who had worked hard and deserve pensions wouldn't get them.

There was a bipartisan effort to have this happen. But it would have come with some reforms. Perhaps it would have been a loan, instead of just a direct bailout. Wouldn't that have been a better way to address this issue, so as to make sure it doesn't happen again, the mismanagement issues?

BASS: Well, I don't think so. I mean, I think it was important for us to look at the fact all of the different ways that the economy and working families can be impacted. And this was certainly one. One of the things that I'm the most excited about in the bill was done by Representative Barbara Lee, and that is targeted vaccine distribution to communities that are really suffering because the online registration has become a real barrier.

And so the idea that $7 billion would go for -- to community clinics, to mobile sites, to door-to-door outreach, and then another $7 billion for the Public Health Workforce, so that we can really distribute the vaccines on a ground level to the communities that are most impacted. A lot of good stuff in this bill.

TAPPER: It's interesting you say that, because you have an op-ed in which you suggest that whatever delay there is in members of minority communities getting vaccinated isn't because of hesitancy. It's because of access.

BASS: Right.

TAPPER: And it occurs to me, colleagues I know, when they have gotten vaccinated, they have signed up online, they have taken a day off of work.

BASS: Right.

TAPPER: They have driven down to the hospital or whatever in the middle of the day. They had time to wait, and maybe some communities, there are individuals who don't have those luxuries.

BASS: Absolutely.

You have laid out all of the barriers. And if you just imagine that the priority is given to people who are 65, or 75 and then 65, you were talking about communities where online access is very difficult. And so that's why you have people from other neighborhoods coming into the inner city areas.

And so a collaboration that we established with the Congressional Black Caucus, Hispanic Caucus, Asian and Native American caucuses with the Urban League and the National Psychological Association for Racial and Equity (sic), we just finished a poll. And that poll says, in the black population, 67 percent of African-Americans want the vaccine.

So, guess what? If we focus on the people that want the vaccine, they are related, are friends with people who are hesitant. And the more we focus on that, they can show their friends and their neighbors and their family members that they're OK. I think that's the better way to address hesitancy.

We also need trusted community voices. And that's also a part of this bill.

TAPPER: Yes.

And those mobile clinics, it sounds like, are a real possibility.

BASS: Yes. TAPPER: Stay in touch on this issue. It's very important.

[16:10:00]

We appreciate your being here today, Democratic Congresswoman Karen Bass in California.

BASS: Thank you.

TAPPER: Thanks so much.

So, more on our breaking news next. Will Republicans regret not supporting this massive bill? I will ask a former Republican congresswoman next.

Plus: 400,000 children at risk of dying in one country. As most of the world turns a blind eye, we're going to take you inside the hospitals for a heartbreaking CNN investigation that you have to see.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: We are back with the breaking news.

The Dow just soared to an all-time high, finishing above 32,000 points for the first time, stocks boosted by the passage of the massive $1.9 trillion COVID relief deal, which now heads to President Biden's desk.

Let's discuss with our panel.

Van Jones, let me start with you.

How big of a deal is this for Democrats and President Biden?

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, it's a huge deal for Democrats and President Biden.

But it's also just a huge deal for the American people. Unemployment was about to run out. You have got a bunch of people afraid to be evicted. You got people still in food lines. And we're not out of this mess.

[16:15:02]

And the idea that you have 100 percent of Republicans voting against it is not a good look for that party. But Joe Biden has come in office, and he's taking care of business. And I'm proud of the president. I'm proud of the Democrats, and I'm happy for a lot of Americans.

TAPPER: Congresswoman Love, last year, Republicans and Democrats worked together under President Trump and passed about $3 trillion in COVID relief.

MIA LOVE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. TAPPER: There are Democrats -- you just heard Congresswoman Karen Bass

say, this really isn't that different. The only difference is Republicans refusing to work with President Biden.

What's your take on this?

LOVE: Well, there's no doubt that President Biden is doing exactly what he said he was going to do. And this -- he sees this as a win for him.

I believe that it would have been a home run if he actually had -- just like the other stimulus packages, had Republican support. And you know what? I call it like it is. I have to tell you that there was opportunity.

I know for a fact -- and I have spoken to Senator Mitt Romney, who says: We're not that far apart. I have been asking to work with the president work ,with the Senate on -- I want to a vote for the stimulus package.

But there were so many areas, in terms of giving money to states, that really didn't need it, that saw a surplus, that he just could not do that, knowing that it was such a big package and knowing that this was going to affect, again, the massive debt that we have.

TAPPER: Yes.

And Van and I were just talking about this during the break. I think one of the reasons why that didn't happen is that, when Biden was vice president in 2009, President Obama and he worked so hard to get a bipartisan deal that they passed a smaller piece of legislation than they thought the economy needed.

And, Van, I mean, it's always said that generals are always fighting the last battle. Is that what happened here, you think?

JONES: Well, it's -- look, it's Lucy and the football.

I mean, if you're a Democrat, you can't not help remembering the last time we had an economic crisis and you had a Democratic president, and not just on this, on climate, on health care. It was waiting for Godot, trying to figure out, what can you do to get Republican support?

And they ran out the clock, and we went either weaker or not at all when it came to climate, and then they still beat us up. And so I do think that, on some of this stuff, it's no more Lucy and the football. Let's get some of this stuff done.

That doesn't mean there aren't other areas that you shouldn't wait for bipartisan cooperation. But when you're talking about the entire economy on the line, waiting around and playing tiddlywinks is not going to do it, and I'm proud that the president moved forward.

TAPPER: Congresswoman Love, I want to get both your reaction and, Van, yours, to something we heard from Republican Congressman Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin today. He was discussing the COVID relief bill.

And after his statement, you're going to hear a response from Democratic Delegate Stacey Plaskett. Let's roll the tape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. GLENN GROTHMAN (R-WI): One of the things that hasn't been mentioned here, the increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit for single people, has a marriage penalty in it.

I brought I bring it up, because I know the strength that Black Lives Matter had in this last election. I know it's a group that it doesn't like the old-fashioned family.

DEL. STACEY PLASKETT (D-VI): We have been able to keep our families alive for over 400 years and the assault on our families to not have black lives or not even have black families. How dare you say that we are not interested in families in the black community?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So, Congresswoman Love, I will start with you.

But Congressman Grothman saying that the Earned Income Tax Credit penalizes families, and then says Black Lives Matter is a group that doesn't like the old-fashioned family, what was your reaction to that?

LOVE: Well, first of all, I don't know why he brought up Black Lives Matter.

But I can tell you a little bit of inside information. She probably got frustrated because she has probably sat in meetings -- when I say she, I mean Representative Plaskett -- sat in meetings where Glenn Grothman, Representative Grothman, has actually said things that are worse.

I have actually sat in meetings listening to some of the language and felt incredibly offended by them. And so this was probably a reaction. And I think that also he's probably taking the statement of Black Lives Matter and changing it a little bit or interpreting it a little bit.

But I think that reaction came from things that have been previously said by Representative Grothman.

TAPPER: Van Jones?

JONES: Yes, listen, Black Lives Matter doesn't think that you don't have a family just because maybe you don't have heterosexual couple at the top.

That's what Black Lives Matter is saying. They're saying that all families matter, all families count.

To take that and twist it and then pretend that somehow Black Lives Matter has a Democratic Party wanting to hurt couples and ruin marriages and families, what are you talking about?

[16:20:05]

You have no relationship to this community. You are going off of the talking point from a talking point. And you're insulting people.

The African-American family structure has been under tremendous stress for 400 years and has survived and has prevailed. And people take offense when you twist a pretzel -- twist yourself into pretzels just trying to figure out some way to score political points against a political movement that's done a great deal of good in this country.

TAPPER: Van Jones, Congresswoman Mia Love, good to see both of you. Thanks so much for joining us. Looking forward to when we all have shots in our arms and we can meet in person.

Coming up: Call it the Texas test, the Lone Star State bucking the CDC's advice, lifting its mask mandate today, as the agency admits its guidance for vaccinated Americans is going to change soon.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:25:29]

TAPPER: Our health lead now.

The CDC director today said that we're at a critical point in this pandemic, on the verge of being able to vaccinate every adult in the United States, and yet with COVID still killing close to 2,000 people in the U.S. every day.

Now, the biggest state in the Lower 48 is risking it all at this point, all at once, Texas today lifting a statewide mask order and allowing businesses to open with no limit on capacity, as CNN's Ed Lavandera reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Feelings of frustration and dread, as businesses are allowed to fully reopen and the statewide mask mandate in Texas is lifted.

This Houston restaurant owner says he doesn't understand why Governor Greg Abbott is turning him into the mask police.

AL JARA, HOUSTON RESTAURANT OWNER: But we have been hurt the most. And requiring us now to take a side on the masks isn't right, in my opinion.

For some, it's triggered an emotional reminder of what's been lost in the last year; 38-year-old Jonathan Martinez died of COVID. His mother says the Texas reopening is a kick in the stomach.

CATHERINE RODRIGUEZ, MOTHER OF COVID-19 VICTIM: My son left six children behind. Two of the youngest are 6 and 4 years old. They don't understand why their daddy isn't coming home.

LAVANDERA: Other states are now pushing ahead to reopen as well. Utah will lift its mask mandate on April 10. The date was pushed back to get as many people as possible vaccinated.

In Maryland, starting this Friday, capacity limits will be lifted for restaurants, retail stores and other businesses, but masking and spacing protocols stay.

All in all, more than a dozen states are easing restrictions, with more in the coming days and weeks. The renewed fights over mask- wearing come as the race to vaccinate Americans continues to speed up, an average of 2.2 million people now getting the shots every day. Alaska is becoming the first state to open vaccinations to people 16 and older.

GOV. MIKE DUNLEAVY (R-AK): And we have a real new possibility of hitting herd immunity before any other state.

LAVANDERA: More guidelines will be released as more people are fully vaccinated. The CDC director says it comes down to a couple of things.

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: This is really just a baby step from the CDC. We intend to update these guidances as more people get vaccinated and as case rates, we hope, continue to come down.

LAVANDERA: But, even if they do, Dr. Anthony Fauci warns of another possible surge.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NIAID DIRECTOR: We're not out of the woods yet, even though we really want to be, and we're going in that direction.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: And, Jake, there's still more squabbling between state leaders here and local officials, as we have seen throughout most of the year.

The city of Austin wants to continue with the mask mandate, bucking the order from the governor here, but the attorney general, another Republican, is now threatening to sue the city if they don't lift that by 6:00 Central Time tonight -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Ed Lavandera, thanks so much.

Joining us now to discuss, Dr. Sherri Onyiego of the Harris County Public Health Authority. Harris County, Texas, is the third largest county in the U.S. It includes Houston.

Dr. Onyiego, thanks so much for joining us.

What do you think of the governor lifting the mask order, allowing businesses to operate at full capacity at this point in the pandemic?

DR. SHERRI ONYIEGO, HARRIS COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH AUTHORITY: Yes, thank you, Jake, for having us. Obviously, we're concerned. It's certainly one of the things that we

have to make note of, is that, even though the mask mandate is over, this pandemic is not over. It's not far from over at all.

Actually, we have had all of the variants that have been reported in our community. That gives us great concern, as we are now recognizing -- having this recommendation or having this order to lift the mask. And so we certainly think that it contributes to sending mixed messages to our community.

We want to -- we certainly don't want to push aside the public health prevention measures that have gotten us to where we are right now by saying that you don't need -- that you don't need to wear a mask.

TAPPER: Cases overall in Texas are down, but Texas still has some of the nation's hottest hot spots.

What do you make of the decision to end the mask mandate and open up at 100 percent all at the same time? Should it have been a more staggered approach? Do you think the governor's actions will mean more death?

ONYIEGO: Well, Jake, I mean, I think that's the big concern that a lot of us have.

We know that we have made great strides in reducing a number of the cases. Our positivity rate is still at 13 percent. We're not -- close to 13 percent.