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Biden Strikes Optimistic Tone; Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA) Is Interviewed about Social Safety Net Plan; CDC Vaccine Advisers Meet Today; Laundrie's Parents Involved in Discovery. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired October 21, 2021 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And she's been nominated homecoming queen.

Martin Savidge, CNN, Waleska, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: What would Debbie Blount do? That's what I'm going to ask myself from now on.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: She's telling her story in her own time. I love it.

CNN's coverage continues right now.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: A very good Thursday morning to you. I'm Jim Sciutto.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Erica Hill.

It is crunch time for President Joe Biden's agenda. Hours from now he's set to take questions from voters at a CNN town hall hosted by Anderson Cooper. Now, the president sure to be pressed on his ambitious yet unfinished agenda as he works to bridge the divide within his own party and secure a deal on his sweeping economic package.

SCIUTTO: Right now, progressives and moderates still debating that multitrillion dollar spending plan. Those negotiations also critical to the fate of the bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. There does appear to be progress. The president is working closely with moderate senators, Manchin and Sinema. Their votes key. Both of whom, though, have wildly different sticking points.

Despite all this, Biden struck an optimistic tone as he pitched his plan to his hometown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Somewhere along the way we stopped investing in ourselves. America is still the largest economy in the world. We still have the most productive workers in the world, the most innovative minds, but we risk losing our edge as a nation.

SCIUTTO: CNN White House correspondent Jeremy Diamond joins us now live from Baltimore. That, of course, the site of tonight's town hall. CNN reporter Melanie Zanona on Capitol Hill.

Jeremy, begin with you.

Listen, in public comments here, it does appear that progress is being made. I wonder, does the White House believe they're close to getting a deal here, granted one much smaller than the president initially saw, and how does he plan to frame that tonight?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, look, they certainly believe that they are nearing that point. That is one of the reasons why what we're seeing this week is President Biden ramping up his public salesmanship of his domestic legislative agenda, even as those negotiations with Congress are still ongoing.

They see this town hall tonight as an opportunity for the president to reframe some of the debate about this legislative agenda, not focusing so much on the tug of war within the Democratic Party, but more about what is at stake here for the president to get his agenda across the finish line. And also talking about giving middle class and working class people a little bit more breathing room, as he did yesterday in Scranton, for example.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: These bills are not about left versus right, or about moderate versus progressive, or anything that pits one American against another. These bills are about competitiveness versus complacency. They're about expanding opportunity, not having opportunity denied.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: And the White House also believes that this town hall format really does play to President Biden's strengths as a politician. Having those one on one conversations, being able to bring in some personal anecdotes as we've seen him do during previous town halls.

And a senior official told me that this is really about having a conversation directly with the American people and also for the president to take some of those tough questions. But make no mistake, this is not the be all, end all. A lot of the work to actually get this deal across the finish line is happening in Washington, where we've seen President Biden this week deeply engaged in conversations with lawmakers. And that's going to continue right up until a week from today when President Biden leaves abroad for his second foreign trip as president.

HILL: Well, speaking of that work that is continuing in Washington, look, it's sort of a full court press, let's be honest, when it comes to Senators Manchin and Sinema. But the reality, as Jim pointed out, is they have wildly different sticking points here.

So I'm wondering this morning, Melanie, is this a full court press where you're going after -- where lawmakers are going after both of these senators to try to drill down, or is the focus starting to shift?

MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Well, Manchin and Sinema obviously hold the keys in a 50/50 Senate. But as you mentioned, Erica, they are not always aligned on policy issues. And so it makes unlocking a deal that much trickier.

For Manchin, climate change has emerged as a chief sticking point. He is firmly opposed to a clean energy program. But the White House is determined to meet its goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by the year 2030.

And for Sinema, she is really opposed to drug pricing provisions which are widely popular in both the party and the country, and they also would be a source of revenue for the bill. Sinema is also opposed to raising taxes on corporations and high-income earners. I mean that could be a huge problem for Democrats because that is a chief source of revenue for the bill. And taxing the rich and making people pay their fair share is also a rallying cry on the left.

So there is some frustration building among Democrats, but they're also trying to be careful in the way they message this.

[09:05:02]

Take a listen to what Barbara Lee had to say on our air earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. BARBARA LEE (D-CA): When you talk about reducing the invest -- in terms of the pay fors, you're talking about cutting back on some of these investments that people desperately need. And so this has got to be a tough negotiation. No one said it was going to be easy. But I think we'll get there. But at least there's some issues now on the table that we know that she's willing to negotiate around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZANONA: So the question now is whether negotiators can come up with an alternative or work around for these provisions that would appease Sinema and Manchin without losing support on the left. And that is the tricky seesaw that negotiators are navigating behind the scenes.

Erica. Jim.

SCIUTTO: Yes. So we're still on that tricky seesaw. We'll see if they can get off it successfully.

Jeremy Diamond, Melanie Zanona, thanks very much.

HILL: Joining me now is Democratic Congresswoman Suzan DelBene of Washington state. She's also the chair of the New Democrat Coalition and was in one of the meetings with the president on Tuesday.

Congresswoman, it's good to have you with us.

I know that you have three top priorities. One of those is the expanded child tax credit. So this is now expected to be capped at a year. Will be means tested. There could be significant income requirements. You have pointed out -- you've expressed concern that this could shut out millions of families, especially those where the parents are full-time students.

You were in the room with President Biden on Tuesday. Is there any wiggle room there?

REP. SUZAN DELBENE (D-WA): Well, I talked to the president about how important it is that we are focused on the needs of families and workers as we build back better. And the president is a big believer in the child tax credit. We know it's already lifted 3 million children out of poverty, helped over 3 million families put food on the table. So I believe we should expand this for -- I believe we should expand this permanently because kids don't grow up in a year.

But I told the president, we need to make sure this program's in place for as long as possible. I think through 2025. We need to make sure that it continues to be refundable so that people who don't make enough money to have their taxes offset still get the value -- the full value of the credit.

So those conversations continue. I'm going to continue to push. We have broad support throughout the caucus and in the Senate for the child tax credit.

HILL: Do you think there is enough broad support, though, to your point, to extend this, whether it's to 2025, but certainly to more than a year? Did you get a positive sense there?

DELBENE: Well, we're -- he understands how important this is. And we are going to continue to push to 2025. But we know that we've got to get 50 votes in the Senate and 218 votes in the House. In the end, we have to pass strong legislation to help our communities. And that's -- that's the goal is to work with everyone to get that across the finish line. We don't help anyone if we don't get policy across the finish line.

HILL: One of your goals, one of your top three, is to go big on climate. The details are a bit murky. You know, we have some of the details on the child tax credit. When it comes to climate, it's a little bit fuzzier, as Melanie Zanona just pointed out. You know, Joe Manchin has made it very clear where he stands on clean energy. This is really important to you, though.

Where do we stand right now in terms of specifics when it comes to climate? Are we just looking at tax incentives? And if so, is that enough for you?

DELBENE: Well, this has got to be a huge priority for all of us. We've seen the impact of wildfires, floods, droughts, a heat dome up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit out in the Pacific Northwest, where I am from. So everyone is feeling the impact of climate, not only across our country, but around the world.

We have strong legislation that came out of the Ways and Means Committee that I sit on. The Green Act, strong financial incentives to move towards clean, renewable energy. We continue to look at every form of decarbonization that we can use. So all of this has got to be part of strong policy. And the president is working hard again to get those 50 votes. So we need to meet our climate goals. That's a key priority. We're trying to be creative in how we get there so we get those 50 votes and the 218 in the House.

HILL: So I've been hearing this language of the trying to be creative. Can you give us a specific, though, something that you are look at that could make it into that final bill that you think would appease the broadest swath of your caucus?

DELBENE: Well, I think we have different opportunities on decarbonization. We have different work again in terms of financial incentives to help move towards clean, renewable energy. So those are the ideas.

There's many pieces of the legislation that members of Congress have introduced that new Dems have introduced to address climate from a variety of different angles. So we're looking at all of those and how we can pull those together as part of the package.

HILL: As I'm sure you know, there's been a lot of talk about the messaging of this bill from the beginning and that it was -- it was rough. It was -- it was lacking.

[09:10:05]

And I found this take interesting yesterday on CNN from "New York Times" opinion columnist Tom Friedman.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN, OPINION COLUMNIST, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": This is so exciting what they're trying to sell. And they've so poorly sold it. And that is what really Democrats should be asking themselves, how the hell could we be losing when we have a big plan and all they have is a big lie?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: There was a noticeable shift, I think, yesterday after these meetings with the president in tone from Democrats. It was far more optimistic. You know, we weren't hearing about infighting in public. There was more talk of compromise.

But what has been missing for a lot of folks are the specifics in this bill. Was that a focus in your meeting with the president, that there would be more specifics that are offered? DELBENE: Absolutely. In fact, one of the very, very positive signs of

our meeting was that we were talking specifics. And I think that's always been critical to getting to the place where we land the plane on this policy.

I have pushed --

HILL: Do you think that was missing initially?

DELBENE: Well, I actually think folks were very focused on a number and I think the number was a distraction. A number doesn't help people. What helps people is policy. And that's why, as new Dems, we put out specific policy priorities on the child tax credit, on climate, on healthcare and the ACA premiums and expansion of Medicaid because that's what resonates with people, not a number. And so I think it's very, very important that everyone follow that lead and make sure we talk about the transformative policy that we've been working on because it really is about what we can do that has an immediate impact for families, for workers, for our communities.

HILL: Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, appreciate your time this morning. Thank you.

DELBENE: Thank you.

HILL: And be sure to join us tonight right here on CNN. President Biden will discuss his ambitious legislative agenda. He's taking questions from you, the American people. It all happens right here on CNN tonight. That town hall moderated by Anderson Cooper, 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

SCIUTTO: Up next, big new for the vaccinated. The FDA gives the green light for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson to offer booster shots for their vaccines. We're going to speak to a doctor who just got her own, what's known as mix and match shot.

Plus, Vice President Harris is headed to Virginia today to lend support to Terry McAuliffe, who is locked in a dead even race for governor with his Republican opponent. Why this race is getting, like so many, national attention.

HILL: We are live also in Florida this hour after Brian Laundrie's parents helped lead law enforcement back to a nature preserve that officials have been searching for a month now. This time, human remains were found.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:17:09]

HILL: Pfizer has just announced booster doses of its vaccine show a 95.6 percent efficacy against COVID-19. The company says that number was consistent regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity or pre- existing conditions, co-morbidities.

Now, this also comes as the FDA has authorized booster shots of both Moderna and Johnson & Johnson's vaccines and is also saying that mix and match approach for boosters is fine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JANET WOODCOCK, ACTING U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION COMMISSIONER: To date, the currently available data suggests waning immunity in some populations of fully vaccinated people. And the availability of these authorized boosters is important for continued protection against COVID-19 disease.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: The CDC's independent panel of vaccine advisers is set to vote on the FDA's recommendations today.

Joining us now to discuss, Dr. Leana Wen, CNN medical analyst, also emergency physician and former Baltimore City health commissioner.

Dr. Wen, good to have you back.

It seems to me when you look at the data across the board here, you have Pfizer today showing remarkable efficacy, 95.6 percent. You already have approval for boosters for Moderna and J&J shots. And you even have the ability to mix and match, as it's called, to take one vaccination and then boost with another brand of vaccine.

Big picture, is that good news, right, because it gives all of us options going forward.

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: I think it's great news. I think that there is growing recognition that the vaccines that we have are excellent. But they'll provide you with even better protection and longer lasting protection if you were to get a booster dose.

Now, the FDA advisers met last week. The FDA officially came out with their recommendations last night. And now I hope that the CDC will fully endorse the FDA recommendation as well because otherwise we have a disconnect here because individuals who got the Pfizer vaccine can already get their booster doses six months after, most of them in any case, and we need to have the Moderna -- the recommendations for Moderna sync up with that.

The Johnson & Johnson recommendation is actually different because there is now this recognition that the J&J vaccine is inferior. The one dose of the J&J vaccine is inferior to two doses of Pfizer and Moderna. So what the FDA has said and what I hope the CDC will say too is that everyone who got the J&J vaccine really needs to get a second dose because probably this should have been a two-dose vaccine from the start.

HILL: And picking up on that, two things I want to pick up on. I just want to remind our viewers, you were actually part of the J&J trial. You did get that Johnson & Johnson shot initially. When you say that it's less effective, it doesn't mean for people who have only had one dose of J&J that that does not work, correct?

WEN: Absolutely. Thank you for clarifying, Erica. So the one dose of the J&J vaccine does protect you pretty well

against hospitalization and death. However, it does not protect you as well as two doses of Pfizer and Moderna.

[09:20:04]

And it also looks like there is an additional very protective effect if you end up getting a second dose of the J&J vaccine or if you get a second dose that's an mRNA vaccine. And so it's not saying that it doesn't work, but rather that you get additional protection with an additional dose of the vaccine.

HILL: And that's what you chose to do. You chose to get a dose of a mRNA vaccine of Pfizer.

WEN: That's right. And so I knew that I would need to get a second dose because, again, the J&J vaccine probably should have been a two- dose vaccine. We didn't know that at the time when it was first being studied. But now we know that, again, probably need a second dose.

Now, I chose to get an mRNA vaccine, not because it's necessarily more effective, using this mix and match approach, but rather because the J&J vaccine is associated with a very rare but very serious side effect of a blood clotting disorder that is predominantly seen in women under the age of 50. So as a person in this category, I decided that the mRNA vaccines do not have this potential side effect and that I would rather do that.

Now, I realize that the CDC has not yet weighed in on this. They're weighing in on their meeting today. But I would expect that they will also be allowing for this level of patient preference when it comes to a mix and match approach following the FDA already saying that this mix and match approach is allowed.

SCIUTTO: All right, next step will be the likely, it seems, approval of the vaccine for children five to 11. Tell us, we don't have much time here, I know that the surgeon general is commenting on this earlier and the plans are already out from the administration for how they're going to do this, but for parents listening at home, what's the most likely timing for emergency use authorization?

WEN: October 26th, which is next Tuesday, the FDA is going to be meeting on the question of safety and efficacy of these vaccines. November 2nd and 3rd, the following Tuesday and Wednesday, the CDC is going to be meeting. And so that week, the first week of November, we might actually be able to see shots going into arms for kids five to 11.

I think it's great that the Biden administration is already working on plans for distribution because we're talking about a different dosage. This is a third of the dose of the -- of -- for adults. And also children, giving little kids shots is different. They need different size needles, for example. Pharmacies may not be used to administering vaccines to little kids.

And so I would say to parents who -- especially there are so many parents who are really eager to get their kids vaccinated, call your pediatrician's office. Ask about the distribution plan. A lot of pediatricians may already have a signup sheet anticipating that the vaccine is going to be authorized. And so I would talk to your pediatrician. Also give specific questions. Your pediatrician is the one that we trust for other advice about our children's health. So they are a great -- a really great resource for asking about the pediatric vaccines too.

HILL: Dr. Leana Wen, always appreciate it, thank you.

Still ahead, a new, revealing interview with a lawyer for Brian Laundrie's parents. What the attorney is saying about human remains that were found.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:27:26]

HILL: Some major new developments in the manhunt for Gabby Petito's fiance, Brian Laundrie. Authorities say they found items belonging to Laundrie in a Florida nature reserve. This is the reserve they've been searching for more than a month now. Also found, human remains. Not yet identified, but human remains found.

SCIUTTO: The attorney for the family tells CNN those remains most likely belong to Brian Laundrie. His parents were on scene when investigators made that discovery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE BERTOLINO, LAUNDRIE FAMILY ATTORNEY: It is my understanding that they were followed closely by the two law enforcement personnel. And when I say closely, certainly within eye shot. At some point Chris locates what's called a dry bag. They looked at the contents of the bag. At that time, law enforcement officers showed him a picture on the phone of a backpack that law enforcement had located also nearby and also some distance off the trail. At that point, the Laundries were notified that there was also remains near the backpack and they were asked to leave the preserve.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: CNN correspondent Nick Valencia is live from North Port, Florida. Search crews back at the site this morning.

Nick, I wonder, based on the developments, comments from the lawyer there, if they believe they're close to some answers here.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this exhaustive investigation is far from over, Jim. And that is really evident this morning. We've seen several local law enforcement vehicles come into and out of the reserve, as well as an FBI response unit and what we believe to be a canine unit as well.

We're standing about two to three miles from where that grim discovery was made yesterday, those partial human remains on a trail that Brian Laundrie, according to his parents, is said to have frequented. Those remains found are, in all probability, according to family attorney, in all probability they belong to Brian Laundrie. There was also a notebook found, as well as a backpack.

The family attorney addressing questions and suspicions about Laundrie's parents, saying that it was happenstance that they were with local law enforcement and the FBI when that discovery was made, indicating to law enforcement sometime Tuesday night that when this park reopened after weeks of being closed for that search effort that they wanted to go back in. But their refusal to speak about this publicly has raised a lot of suspicions about what they knew about their son's whereabouts and when they knew it. Specifically for Gabby Petito's parents who say that they want answers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICOLE SCHMIDT, GABBY PETITO'S MOTHER: I believe they know probably, if not everything, they know most of the information.

[09:30:03]

I would love to just face to face ask, why are you doing this, and just tell me