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The following is a transcript of an interview with independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont that aired on “Face the Nation” on September 3, 2023.
ROBERT COSTA: And we now go to Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who is joining us from Burlington. Good morning, Senator Sanders, we appreciate you being here.
SEN BERNIE SANDERS: Morning, Bob.
ROBERT COSTA: Senator, President Biden has been touting the latest jobs data, but your recent speech in New Hampshire painted a bleak picture of the nation’s economic reality. When you met with President Biden at the White House in recent days, what exactly did you say to him, Senator? And did you warn him, as you warned in New Hampshire, that, quote, ‘Democrats must reject the corporate wing of the party?’
SEN. SANDERS: Well, Bob, what I’ve said publicly over and over again is that President Biden and his administration have made some real progress in addressing issues that haven’t been dealt with for decades. After all we’ve got a hold on the pharmaceutical industry, and we’ve started to make some progress toward lowering the cost of prescription drugs, there’s still a lot more to be done. After years of negotiations, we finally invested in rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, roads, bridges, water systems. Manufacturing is coming back to America. So, I think we’re making some progress, but everybody knows that for decades now, not only under Biden, not only under Trump, but for decades, what we’ve seen in America is an economy that Where the very, very wealthy are doing phenomenally well where working families are struggling. Today, Bob, we don’t talk about it much, our income and wealth inequality is greater than it has ever been in the history of the United States. This was long before Biden. But what we’re seeing now is that 60 percent of our people are living paycheck to paycheck, we have a health care system that’s completely broken, we pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. Are. We have 18 million homes where people are spending 50 per cent of their income on paying rent or paying mortgages. So, we have some structural problems in America. The Biden administration has made some progress, we have a long way to go. And what the Democratic Party needs to do is have the courage to take on corporate greed, which is unprecedented across the economy. The people who own the big corporations have made record profits, we have to create an economy that works for everyone, not just the few.
ROBERT COSTA: Senator, you met with the President, you discussed these issues. You just heard from Ambassador Haley, she was attacking Vice President Harris. Are the Democrats doing enough to support Vice President Harris and are they facing these kinds of attacks?
SEN. SANDERS: Well, I guess the issue is, are the Democrats doing enough to bring back the working class that’s leaving the Democratic Party? And what the Democrats have to do, in my view, is to say, “Really? Do you really want to vote for a Republican Party that wants to cut Social Security, we’ve got to expand Social Security. In Medicare If we want to make cuts, we have to expand Medicare to include dental, hearing and vision. We’ve got a Republican Party out there that doesn’t even recognize the reality of climate change.’ So I guess, Bob, this campaign should be about a difference between the ideas of what works for the working families of this country and the Republicans’ ideas of paying more tax breaks for billionaires and paying allegiance to them. The needs of Corporate America, not ordinary Americans.
Robert Costa: But is the administration doing enough? I listened carefully to your speech in New Hampshire. For example, the administration has recently cracked down on marijuana. But should it do more with the executive power? It has handled prescription drug negotiations with Medicare. But should it do more? I mean, you– you’re saying out there that they should be stricter–
SEN. SANDERS: And the answer is yes. Bob, the answer is yes, it should. Some of this can be done through executive orders, a lot can be done through legislation. And I think what has to happen, this is my own view, is I think, what the President has to say, give me 50, at least 50 Democrats in the Senate. Give me control of the House of Representatives and 50 Democrats, I mean real Democrats, not corporate Democrats like Manchin and Cine. And if you do that, within two or three months, we’ll reform health care toward a system that guarantees health care to all people, not just huge profits for insurance companies . We’re going to bring down the cost of prescription drugs so we’re not paying more than the rest of the world. We’re going to rebuild our economy, we’re going to work for the common man, and I think that should be the message. In contrast, the Republican agenda versus the progressive agenda for working people.
ROBERT COSTA: Senator, I know you don’t like to talk politics, but you were the one who went to New Hampshire, an early primary state where you’ve done a great job over the years. You support President Biden 100 percent, you’ve made that clear, but for whatever reason, if President Biden decides not to seek the Democratic nomination, will Senator Sanders run for the nomination next year?
SEN. SANDERS: Bob, I think we spend too much time speculating. I think President Biden is going to be the nominee of the Democratic Party and I think if he runs a strong, progressive agenda, he’s not only going to win, he’s going to win with a strong vote and I’ll tell you that why Because when you look at the Republican Party, it’s not just that you have a president, a former president, who’s been impeached twice, convicted four times. These are the people who deny women the right to have control over their own bodies in this country, really? Are we there in 2023? Not recognizing the reality of climate change, wanting more tax breaks for billionaires, that’s their agenda. So I think that in any kind of serious campaign, President Biden and the Democrats would do pretty well against that reactionary agenda.
ROBERT COSTA: What do you say— Senator, though, what do you say to some of your longtime supporters who are frustrated because they don’t believe that the Biden administration has done enough? They may not share your view of how things turned out. And they’re thinking of Cornel West, or they’re thinking of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. What’s your message to them as they move on to those other people?
SEN. SANDERS: Well, my message to them is that we live in an unprecedented moment in American history. Donald Trump is not only a perverse liar, he has not only helped to foment an insurrection, if you will, to prevent President Biden from taking office. This is not only a denial of American democracy, it is a move against American democracy. So I think at this point, Bob, we have to bring the progressive community together to say, you know, we’re going to fight for a progressive agenda. But we can’t afford four more years of Donald Trump in the White House.
ROBERT COSTA: Are you worried about the stay-at-home progressive vote?
SEN SANDERS: I think if the Democrats come up with a strong agenda that talks about the needs of senior citizens in this country, and that means increasing Social Security benefits, expanding Medicare, if we can take care of young people Let’s talk about the needs that are so much related to student loans, if we demand that the wealthiest people in this country stop paying their fair share of taxes, if we come up with a progressive agenda, I Looks like we will win and win big. And when we win big, we have to make it clear that we stand with the working class of this country against the kind of corporate greed that we see now.
ROBERT COSTA: Senator, quickly, you’re also the chairman of the Senate Health and Labor Committee. Progressive voters are also looking to you for action. You’re checking out Amazon warehouses right now. Are you committed to subpoenaing Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to testify or not?
SEN. SANDERS: Well, we’ll take it one step at a time. Right now, what we’re working on, Bob, is major reform in primary health care. We don’t have enough doctors, nurses, dentists, mental health providers in this country. We are working hard on legislation to do this. We brought Mr. Schultz from Starbucks in front of the committee, we’re looking at Amazon and we’ll take it one step at a time, but certainly no fear. You know, at the right time they can do that.
Robert Costa: Thank you very much. Senator Sanders. We appreciate you taking the time for Face the Nation on a Sunday morning. We’ll be back in a minute. stay with us.
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