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Rep. Steny Hoyer, (D-MD) Discusses Negotiations on Stimulus Package, Trump Threatening Executive Action if No Deal; College Football Players, Hunter Reynolds & Benjamin St.-Juste, Discuss Big 10 Football Players Demanding Better Safety Protocols from NCAA; Epic Devastation after Explosion Rocks Lebanon's Capitol. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired August 06, 2020 - 11:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:34:03]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: It now appears there's something of a countdown clock for another round of coronavirus relief funds. The Trump administration warning that if they don't reach agreement on a basic framework by tomorrow, hope for a new stimulus package for millions of Americans may be lost.

President Trump is also promising executive action if no deal is reached.

His chief of staff, Mark Meadows, says the two sides are trillions of dollars apart still.

So while there are a lot of politics involved here, of course, this is so much more than that. This is about surviving for people, their livelihoods, keeping their homes and putting food on the table, even resources for schools to help them navigate this new world and try to do so safely. This isn't just another Washington logjam or political game.

Let's figure out where things are. Joining me right now is the Democratic House majority leader, Steny Hoyer.

Thanks for coming in, sir.

Are you --

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: -- trillions of dollars apart, as Mark Meadows has described?

REP. STENY HOYER (D-MD): Well, of course. We passed a bill $3.4 trillion. The Senate hasn't passed a bill. But the majority leader in the Senate, McConnell, put a bill on the floor, which was $1 trillion. So, yes, one could say you're $2.4 trillion apart. I don't think we're that far apart.

[11:35:14] But I think, unfortunately, what the administration did today was make a pretense that action was not going to be necessary, that they would take some sort of executive action. That's -- that's not going to solve the problem.

You are absolutely correct. We have people who are desperate, not -- not needing something. They are desperate for themselves, their families and their children.

We passed a bill. Unfortunately, the Senate sat on its hands for two and a half-plus months. That's not a talking point. That's a reality.

And that's why it's so difficult because they did not come back with something. And in fact, we know right now that McConnell has said half of his members do not support any action.

So what he's going to have to do is get together with Chuck Schumer and say, look, I will need 40 of your votes and 20 of my votes to get something done. And that will require compromise.

Frankly, Mark Meadows, who is in the room negotiating, is not famous for compromises. As you know, he was the leader of the Freedom Caucus in the Congress, in the House of Representatives, and he could not agree with his own leadership, Paul Ryan and with John Boehner, before that, so.

But I've talked to Speaker Pelosi yesterday. I'm going to be talking to her later on this afternoon.

We need to get a deal. We need to get a deal which will not only handle unemployment insurance but you mentioned people are hungry. We have money in there for food, for SNAP, for programs that help people get food.

We have money in there for education. We have money in there for housing and renters who have faced the end of the last month without the ability to pay their rent or their mortgage.

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: I hear you. I mean, you say you need to get to a deal.

HOYER: Right.

BOLDUAN: What's interesting here is you've got Steve Mnuchin and Mark Meadows saying it's you that are being intransigent in this. It's them that have come up on some issues.

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: I don't want to go in the nitty-gritty.

HOYER: Kate --

BOLDUAN: But are you letting the perfect be the enemy of the good, as I often have to ask when it comes to negotiations in Congress? HOYER: No, we're -- we're letting the absolutely essential be the

goal. Not the good, not the great, not the best, the absolutely essential in terms of confronting the virus, in terms of having state and local governments have the resources to help respond to the virus and prop up the economy and to individuals.

Not only with respect to unemployment insurance but to those personal payments that we were making, corporations who were going to lay people off that we need to help keep those people employed.

No, no, no. It's not the perfect that's the enemy. It is the essential.

And very frankly, if this administration had acted in the last two and a half months and come up with an alternative, we would have reached an agreement before we left in July for --

BOLDUAN: Do you think --

HOYER: -- these negotiations.

BOLDUAN: Do you think it's Friday or bust, as Mnuchin seemed to lay out?

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: If you don't agree on major issues on Friday, there's going to be no deal?

HOYER: I don't know what he means by Friday or bust. Let's say --

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: That's my take on it, but, yes.

HOYER: But I -- I totally reject that. And I hope Mnuchin reflects upon that.

There's no walking away from the American people. There's no walking away from these folks who are confronting a crisis and their families are confronting a crisis.

If we don't get the deal Friday, we need to get it Saturday. We need to get it done as soon as we possibly can. And I hope it -- I hope that means Friday. I hope it means Saturday. And I will --

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: The threat -- I'm sorry, Majority Leader.

The threat from the president that you just -- that you noted, that he says he's going to take executive action if you don't come to a deal, is that a threat you take seriously?

HOYER: Well, it's hard to take anything the president says seriously because he's all over the ballpark every day. One minute, he says this and this and, the next minute, he says the opposite.

So, you know, whether or not he has the power to do that -- I just heard that statement, so I don't know what he has in mind.

But we ought not to have to rely on an executive order that may be questionable because that will leave so many people in deep, deep distress and in danger because he'll only be able to deal with one part of the problem.

Are we prepared to make a deal on the money? We're not going to get $3.4 trillion. We understand that.

But the fact of the matter is, what Speaker Pelosi has said and what Mr. -- what Leader Schumer has said, is you are not dealing with the problem. You're not dealing with the states and locals. You're not dealing with the health care workers. You're not dealing with testing and tracing, which everybody says is essential if we're going to get a handle on this virus.

This president said this was a hoax.

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: Can I ask one thing. Can I ask you --

(CROSSTALK)

HOYER: Certainly.

BOLDUAN: I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

HOYER: They sat on things for two and a half months.

Go ahead, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Sorry. I hate these audio delays.

There's one other thing that I want to ask you about. You have members coming in from all over the country from the capitol at all times. You're indoors. You're in close quarters.

[11:40:08]

HOYER: Right.

BOLDUAN: Why aren't you requiring and providing testing for all members and staff, especially when you consider that you have people in that building that are in the line of succession to the presidency?

HOYER: We are having discussions with the medical community on that. And the problem -- they have a number of problems with that.

First of all, the testing, unless you test every day, as you know, is not good from day to day. You can find out you're negative one day and, the next day or two days later, you're positive. That's one problem. But I had a discussion with our -- the House, the capitol physician yesterday about this very issue. He is providing a paper that gives us the options to do. The speaker and I discussed it yesterday as well. A very serious matter.

However, we do not want to, in any way, take away from the testing regime that people, who absolutely have to have it, who have -- who are symptomatic. Now if a member is symptomatic, they are getting a test.

But, Kate, we want to make sure that we're not taking away from others. And we want to make sure it's the efficient effective thing to do for health reasons and take medical advice from that. But we're looking at it very, very closely.

Because you're right. People come from all over the country, some hot spots, some not. They go back to those places. And it's -- and it's very difficult for them to manage their lives, and to quarantine, not quarantine. So we're looking at the testing regime.

BOLDUAN: I mean, it's like one giant super spreader waiting to happen.

Regardless, back to it.

Thank you for coming in. I really appreciate it, Majority Leader. Really looking forward to what comes in the next 24 hours to 48 hours, whatever it is, with this much-needed money --

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: -- for millions of Americans.

I appreciate it.

HOYER: We're all praying that we get an agreement forthwith that the Senate can pass. That's the key. McConnell, right now, can't pass anything.

BOLDUAN: Get to it!

Thank you.

HOYER: You're right.

BOLDUAN: Coming up, elite college athletes banding together and demanding more from the NCAA. Why they say it's not doing enough to protect players from COVID. Two , who are spearheading this movement, join me.

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[11:46:47]

BOLDUAN: Elite college athletes are saying "not so fast" as their schools and conferences get ready to start the football season amid the pandemic. Within hours of the Big 10 announcing its 10-game conference-only

schedule, more than 1,000 players released a letter saying, what about us.

Let me read you just part of what they put together: "We're deeply disappointed for the lack of leadership demonstrated by the NCAA with respect to players' safety during the COVID-19 pandemic."

It goes on to say, "The NCAA, which is nope for its zeal for regulations and enforcement, has had ample time to prepare for the safe return of its athletes to competition, yet it has done nothing."

The letter goes on to outline five areas where the athletes would like to see more regulations and enforcement for their protection, ranging from more testing and contact tracing to reimbursement for medical expenses.

Joining me right now are two of the student athletes spearheading this effort, Hunter Reynolds, defensive back at Michigan, and Benjamin St.- Juste, defensive back at Minnesota.

Great to see you. Thank you.

Hunter, over a thousand athletes signing on to this. What are you seeing and hearing from other athletes that has you so concerned about the season?

HUNTER REYNOLDS, DEFENSIVE BACK, MICHIGAN WOLVERINES: So, you know, we've just been hearing a lot of players comparing their experiences in the time they have been back on campus throughout this summer.

And we've heard, while there have been some similarities, there's been numerous differences across the board, which we just feel like, for a season where there's so many unknowns, having the unknown of playing against a different team where they could have different protocols and different regulations and a different way of handling the situation could just lead to, you know, unsafe conditions for us to play in.

BOLDUAN: Benjamin, the head of the NCAA, he was asked about your letter this morning. And he said that he disagrees with you. He says that they are not taking a laissez-faire attitude towards this, that everything that has been decided has been done on the advice of medical experts.

What do you say to that?

BENJAMIN ST.-JUSTE, DEFENSIVE BACK, MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS: Well, first, there's two things. I'd say the time that it took to come up with actually something that can be put into a plan, took about five to six months.

For the longest, athletes, coaches, you know, thought that the university was hiding some information. But they were just kept in the dark just like us.

There were times of uncertainty, which creates a super stressful environment for every student athlete. And we're about to start camp and we still don't know really what's going to happen, what's the clear protocol.

And the second thing to that, to say that he disagrees with -- is just the fact that we are the ones experimenting all those plans and protocols.

So there should be some kind of communication with the student athlete or some sort of leader to have an opinion or at least consult us about what's the best for us so they have our best interests so our well- being can be protected also.

So I think -- I still think we have some work to be done.

BOLDUAN: We definitely heard that same concern coming from professional athletes before they started leaving for camp.

[11:50:01]

Hunter, without concrete steps, without more, the concrete steps you lay out, what should happen? Do you think the season should be canceled?

REYNOLDS: I don't think the season should be canceled. I think if we really have a well-thought-out plan in place, that we can move forward as safely as possible.

Obviously, in a time like this, there's no knowing exactly what will happen on a day-to-day basis. But if we have a plan and we have a thorough line of communication, I think that we can go through with the season as it's currently scheduled.

BOLDUAN: Benjamin, have you heard anything back after putting this letter out there?

ST.-JUSTE: So far, from the ed guys, I know we have been in communication with, or the commissioner, who is very helpful trying to communicate with the student athletes, the directors from the respective schools and coaches and all that stuff.

I think what we're missing right now is a real formal meeting with the head guys at the NCAA and the conference and the leaders to see where we can find a common goal and come together and maybe change some things for the better.

But we are still waiting on that. So we'll be in contact with them soon.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely.

No matter what happens with the season, good on both of you for taking your health into your own hands and being concerned and wanting to be part of that conversation. Honestly, it's awesome to see you speaking up.

I said it in the break, Benjamin, good luck with the season.

But, Hunter, go blue. That's me through and through.

Thank you, both of you, very much.

REYNOLDS: Thank you.

ST.-JUSTE: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Coming up for us, utter devastation in Beirut after Tuesday's massive explosion. Could it have been prevented? Why there were warnings about explosive materials that were allegedly ignored.

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[11:56:37]

BOLDUAN: Shock is now turning to anger in Beirut after a massive explosion left at least 137 people dead, so far. The Lebanese government says that it was caused by explosives left in an unsupervised warehouse for six years. How's that possible when there were warnings about it?

CNN's Arwa Damon has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nothing prepared them for this.

(EXPLOSION)

DAMON: Three thousand tons of ammonium nitrate exploding, sending a shock wave so strong, so vast, many who survived say they thought doomsday had arrived.

(SINGING)

DAMON: Prayers were lost to fear and chaos.

(EXPLOSION)

DAMON: Life's iconic moments swept away in an instant.

(EXPLOSION)

DAMON: And its aftermath, an apocalyptic wasteland. The destruction on such a scale, many here cannot even find the words to express the depth of their emotions.

(SIREN)

DAMON: With more than 135 dead, 5,000 wounded, and dozens of others still missing, there is shock, horror, and deep sorrow, coupled with anger and demands for answers. How is it that such a massive amount of dangerous explosive material,

confiscated in 2014, was stored in an unsecured warehouse, despite multiple warnings from the head of customs.

The Lebanese government said that many port officials will be put under house arrest. And --

MICHEL AOUN, PRESIDENT OF LEBANON (through translation): And to hold accountable those responsible and inflict on them the most severe punishment.

DAMON: But there is little faith in this country's rulers, in a nation where corruption dominates and the people suffer at the hands of the political elite.

U.S. President Trump offered his condolences, floating the idea this may not have been an accident but offering no proof.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It looks like a terrible attack.

DAMON: And then, his own secretary of defense refuted that claim.

MARK ESPER, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Most believe it was an accident as reported. Beyond that, I have nothing further to report on that. It's obviously a tragedy.

DAMON: It is a tragedy, the largest in a chain of many, a failing economy, the spread of COVID-19 that have crippled this nation. Three hundred thousand people have been displaced. Damages are estimated to range from $10 billion to $15 billion dollars.

How do you recover from something like this, physically, emotionally or as a nation?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DAMON: What we are seeing now, Kate, is an army of volunteers from Beirut and all over the country coming in and helping with the cleanup effort, helping especially the elderly try to clean up their homes, as well, not just the streets.

You have a medical field tent that has been set up for basic bandage changes or basic first aid to try to ease some of the burden on the hospital. You have people who are distributing food.

And there's really this realization among the Lebanese population that if they want to get through this, they can't rely on the government. They're going to have to continue to lean on each other.

BOLDUAN: I still honestly, Arwa, I cannot get over the images that you just brought to us. It is hard to wrap your mind how that did happen, how that did happen in an instant.

Thank you, Arwa, so much, for your great reporting as always.

Thank you all so much for joining us this afternoon.

[12:00:00]