Small business owners concerned over impact of child tax credits
Fox News correspondent Hillary Vaughn joined 'Your World' with the latest reaction on child tax credits
This is a rush transcript of "Your World with Neil Cavuto" on July 15, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
NEIL CAVUTO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: All right, minutes away at the White House
of Joe Biden and Angela Merkel of Germany having their final session
together, if you will.
This is the fourth U.S. president with whom the German leader has had to
deal. She's had some acrimonious relationships in the past. They are
divided on a key issue that just might come up that this presser today.
But the fact of the matter is, she has been one of the longest-serving
Western leaders, certainly in recent history, 16 years as chancellor of
Germany. She had her contentious back-and-forths with Donald Trump. Wonder
if that will come up today in discussions, but a joint presser between the
two of them moments away.
We're on it when they get to the microphone.
In the meantime, we are following another big story today also from
Washington, the Federal Reserve chairman, Jerome Powell, on the hot seat,
this time speaking before the Senate Banking Committee to say, yes, I see
inflation, but I don't see it around very long, once again echoing his
views that all of this is transitory and so far not an issue to change
policy right away, or to start hiking interest rates right away, or to do
any of the other things that the markets generally fear when you have to
respond to inflation.
But the price threats are real. And the inflation is real too, CEOs almost
universally sounding the alarm on the issue and, according to an Axios
report, acknowledging that this president right now doesn't see it the same
way. That's the problem.
You see it in the grocery store. You see it at the gas pump, but what can
be done if it sticks around even a little while?
We're going to explore that first with Edward Lawrence at the White House
with more.
Hey, Edward.
EDWARD LAWRENCE, FOX BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Neil.
That's the big word of the day here in Washington, inflation, especially in
the Senate Banking Committee. Now, the Democrats and the White House
downplaying the inflation that we're all seeing here. But the Federal
Reserve chairman acknowledging that the inflation is more than he expected,
but he does say that it's going to settle back down.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEROME POWELL, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: We're experiencing a bit big
uptick in inflation bigger than many expected, bigger than -- certainly
than I expected.
And we're trying to understand whether it's something that will pass
through fairly quickly, or whether, in fact, we need to act one way or the
other.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: And he does say the Federal Reserve will raise rates if they
have to do make sure that inflation stays in check, regardless of the
federal deficit, if it comes to that.
Senator Pat Toomey roasted the Federal Reserve chairman, saying that the
Fed has miserably missed the inflation target for years to the underside.
So why should anyone have faith in the forecast now? And he's wondering --
he's worried, though, inflation will force a big rate increase that will
halt this economic progress.
The White House deflecting on all of this. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We understand the threat that
inflation poses. We will be vigilant as responses are needed -- are needed.
As it relates to legislation we're continuing to advocate for, the way to
keep prices in our economy down is to increase the supply of goods that
consumers want to buy and keep the costs of producing and getting them to
market lower.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: But perception also matters, and that perception possibly
starting to turn. If you think inflation will be higher, then it will be
higher.
The CEO of one of the largest banks in America right there, J.P. Morgan
Chase, says inflation is more than people think. It's more than the Federal
Reserve thinks. But it will settle back down, he thinks. That might be the
wishful thinking; 47 percent, Neil, of small business owners have already
said that they're passing on those costs to you and I -- back to you.
CAVUTO: Edward Lawrence, thank you very much.
In the meantime, if the Federal Reserve is criticized for dropping the ball
when it comes to inflation pressures that could be building, then is
Congress going a step further by spiking it, adding more spend it? Better
than 35 million Americans are starting to receive child tax credit payments
that could total up to $900 a month for many, and the president wants to
see this, well, continuing, not only this year and into next year, but in
future years.
That's a total cost of about $100 billion a year if it goes beyond.
Hillary Vaughn with more right now on all of this -- Hillary.
HILLARY VAUGHN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Neil.
Well, Democrats are taking full credit for this extra cash going to over 35
million families, but also reminding people that Republicans did not vote
for this bigger tax credit that was included in the American Rescue Plan.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer today said that this extra money --
quote -- "is a big F'ing deal."
And he's right. This is not just a couple of bucks going to families, but a
lot of families are getting a couple 100 bucks hitting their bank accounts
every single month.
Here's one example. For an eligible family of five with three kids under 6
years old, they're getting $900 a month from the IRS. This is only
temporary through December. But Democrats have already made it clear they
want to make it permanent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): We're going to fight to make sure that this is
permanent. But, again, the strongest weapon in that fight is that it works,
and that people truly avail themselves of it, and not stay home from work
because they have this advantage, but, in fact, see themselves freed up to
go to work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUGHN: Republicans say Democrats are trying to turn this into universal
basic income and worry it could encourage people to stay home and take the
cash, especially because this money is being paid to people even if they
don't owe income taxes or didn't make any income in the last year.
Businesses are already struggling to find workers and having to pay a lot
more to woo them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX TAYLOR, COURTHAUS GENERAL MANAGER: Given the demand for employees, we
have increased our average kitchen hourly rates by as much as 20 to 40
percent in order to keep the staff that we have and draw in new people.
We had staff leave because they found as much as $18, $20 an hour
elsewhere. And we are a single business. So we don't exactly have the
freedom to do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUGHN: And, Neil, a lot of businesses paying a lot more. They worry that
this extra money coming in will just make it even harder for them to find
workers -- Neil.
CAVUTO: Hillary Vaughn, all right.
You might have noticed that, as Hillary was speaking there, at the bottom
right corner of the screen, you were probably asking, then, Neil, why the
heck were stocks up? The reason why they have been up throughout all this
inflationary talk and fears, spiraling costs at the grocery store.
They see that as a reflection of a strong economy, that the demand is
building, and that's all net good. And a lot of them believe, as Jerome
Powell has been saying, that this might not last very long. But it is a
little weird, because if this does accelerate to the degree it could, it
could bring back the 1970s. That's the big fear.
A lot of people are too young to remember that. I could tell you, it was
not pleasant to inflationary spirals then.
Charlie Gasparino was way too young to remember.
But that is the fear. But, Charlie, you wouldn't see it, right, in the
markets. Stimulus is stimulus An uptick in inflation is an uptick in
economic activity. So they're looking at the half-full glass, I guess,
right?
CHARLIE GASPARINO, FOX NEWS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Hamburger Helper
1970s, remember that very well.
I will say this, Neil. I don't think the markets are going to react to
inflation until Jerome Powell throws in the towel and says we're going to
raise rates. And I think that's the whole -- that's the bet here on the
markets. If he doesn't raise rates, and still a lot of people betting he's
not, the markets are going to be where they are or higher.
I will say this, though, he sounded a lot -- he sounded like he was setting
the groundwork for raising rates. He was much more adamant that inflation
has caught him by surprise. And if it did catch him by surprise, I think
there's a good chance he might not last into a second term.
I think, particularly if Republicans take over the Senate, they're going to
want his scalp for really missing the boat on inflation, because he's -- I
mean, Fed policy is one of the main drivers here of inflation. It's one of
the main drivers of the various bubbles in the stock market. If you want to
talk about meme stocks that have no rationale for going up, the only
rationale is that it's very -- people are going out on the risk spectrum
because interest rates are so low.
So he's under -- he's going to be under a lot of pressure, if he really --
if this thing isn't transitory. And I will tell you this.
What was striking to me, I know Edward mentioned Jamie Dimon of J.P. Morgan
Chase talking about inflation and that it's probably transitory. But Larry
Fink of BlackRock, the biggest money management firm, $9 trillion under
management, is talking about it.
And the interesting thing about BlackRock, Larry Fink is that many of his
deputies are in the Biden administration. I mean, they're -- Brian Deese
runs the NEC. And there's a bunch of others.
CAVUTO: True.
GASPARINO: That is very fascinating, that their old boss is now talking
counter to what their new boss is saying. And that should tell them
something, because their old boss has to know the markets.
CAVUTO: Real quickly, then, Charlie, you talk about the possibility that
Powell can raise rates. That's the final straw here to counter this.
He can do other things. Like, the Federal Reserve has been buying Treasury
bonds and corporate bonds and municipal bonds, all sorts of bonds, scarfing
them all up, to keep rates as low as they have been.
GASPARINO: Right.
CAVUTO: He can dial that back a little bit, taper, if you will.
GASPARINO: Right. There's just two -- there's two ways they...
CAVUTO: How would that go?
GASPARINO: I mean, there's two ways the Fed raises rates, right?
It controls the short term rates, the Fed funds rate. It also buys bonds.
And when you buy a bond or sell a bond -- the Fed can do that, use its
balance sheet -- it'll raise and lower interest rates.
CAVUTO: Right.
GASPARINO: When you buy a bond, rates go rates go down. When you sell a
bond, it goes up.
So that would be a much more direct intervention by the Fed, really
tapering off the bond purchases. Again, you don't see it too much in the
numbers. The markets are discounting that he's going to do that.
So, I think we need a few more quarters.
CAVUTO: Yes. Clearly -- they're clearly buying that this is short-lived,
we will get over this.
GASPARINO: Yes. Yes.
CAVUTO: But it doesn't always work out that way.
GASPARINO: Most traders are young people.
CAVUTO: Finish the thought. Yes.
GASPARINO: Yes, I was just going to say, most traders don't remember the
'70s.
(LAUGHTER)
CAVUTO: That's right. That's right.
And let me tell you sometime about when my wife and I got our first
mortgage. It was 13 -- oh, I told you that 1,000 times.
All right, Charlie Gasparino.
GASPARINO: Yes.
But, also, your C.D. was -- your C.D. was at 18 percent, probably, right?
You could buy a...
(CROSSTALK)
GASPARINO: ... at 18.
CAVUTO: Forget it. Forget it. That was then. This is now.
All right, Charlie, thank you very, very much.
All right, we have got Senator Bill Hagerty here of the beautiful state of
Tennessee.
Had a chance to question the Fed chairman.
Senator, you believe what he's saying, it's temporary, this won't drag on
forever?
SEN. BILL HAGERTY (R-TN): Well, Neil, I'm very concerned.
He's talking about this as though a pig is moving through the python, and
that it's going to be past us, it's temporary, it's transitory.
But a lot of the policies that are being put in place by the Biden
administration are long-term policies that are inherently inflationary. I
mean, think about the Biden administration's first move to kick us out of
the Keystone XL pipeline, to stop drilling on federal lands.
All of this increases the price of energy. Every good that we buy has to be
moved. Those goods are now inherently more expensive. You look at what's
happening to the housing market. Housing prices are up dramatically.
You look at people here in my home state of Tennessee, people are feeling
this in a very real sense. The goods and the services that they're
purchasing have all become incredibly more expensive. And if you look at
the move, month over month, from last month to this, and annualize it,
we're talking about a 12 percent increase.
The Fed has been talking about long term 2 percent goal of inflation, and
that they're willing to overshoot slightly, but we're way beyond slight in
this most recent number. I think there's very -- big reason for concern.
CAVUTO: So let me ask you this, then, Senator.
In a few months, Joe Biden has to decide whether to reappoint Jerome Powell
as chairman of the Fed. We have already heard a number of Republicans like
you are concerned about what's happening right now. Even Elizabeth Warren,
for other reasons, say that he's kowtowed too much to the bank.
So his reappointment, even if pushed by the president, isn't a sure thing.
Do you support him for another four years at the Fed?
HAGERTY: I think that Chairman Powell understands the markets.
He did a -- he encountered an incredibly challenging time in 2020. And he
kept a steady hand and he moved through that. What we're seeing right now,
though, I think, is unprecedented territory.
What I hope Chairman Powell will do is pay very close attention to the
comments and the discussions that we had today, the concerns that we --
that we Republicans expressed on inflation. I hope that that will register
with him. He's got the tools to deal with this, he said, and my hope is
that he will look very, very strongly at the balance sheet.
CAVUTO: Well, his tools are raising rates. That's -- whether you do it in
a backhanded way by selling a lot of the Treasury notes and bonds he's been
scarfing up or you do it outright and raise interest rates.
Would you welcome that? Would you and some of your Republican colleagues,
recognizing that that's what you do to deal with inflation, would you
support that move?
HAGERTY: Well, the most important thing to do to deal with inflation is to
stop this incredibly rampant and reckless stimulus spending, and, again,
the policies that the Biden administration are putting into place that have
I think, long-term effects.
And what the Fed does, particularly with their balance sheet expansion, is
accommodate this.
CAVUTO: What did he say about that, Senator? He dodged that. He dodged
that issue, whether that spending was causing this.
HAGERTY: Well, I think he knows the answer to that.
CAVUTO: But he didn't address it. What do you think?
HAGERTY: I think Jay knows the answer to that. Certainly, I do. And you
do, Neil.
This is -- stimulus -- the stimulative spending, the level of this that we
have never seen before, we're talking another $6 trillion. This has got to
have a massively inflationary effect. This is laid right at President
Biden's doorstep. And they need to own it.
And we need to stop accommodating this at the Fed and allowing this balance
sheet expansion to go on that I think facilitates it significantly.
CAVUTO: Well, you know, Republicans are hardly strangers to a lot of
spending, right?
I mean, this might be on steroids levels, but even prior to the pandemic,
under President Trump, we were seeing a lot of spending, and we were seeing
piled-on deficits and debt. It just seems to be a bipartisan binge, don't
you think?
HAGERTY: Well, certainly in 2020. That was before I got to the Senate.
There were multiple packages that moved through. I think they saw a crisis
in place. And, in fact, Chairman Powell was more vocal at that point about
the need for stimulus spending.
Did they overshoot? Did they spend too much? It's hard to say. But I can
tell you this.
CAVUTO: Well, this was even before the pandemic, Senator,
HAGERTY: Ah.
CAVUTO: I guess what I'm saying is, Democrats listen to you now and say,
well, he's a fine one to talk about spending, not you personally, sir, but
sort of like me giving dietary advice. I probably shouldn't go there.
HAGERTY: I understand what you're saying, Neil.
CAVUTO: So, do you think Republicans have a leg to stand on, do you think,
a leg to stand on when it comes to just spending more money than you're
taking in?
HAGERTY: Well, from a personal standpoint, one of the big reasons I came
to this position half-a-year ago now was to stand up and push back.
We're at a point where we're deficit spending at an unsustainable level.
Chairman Powell acknowledged that today. We have got to turn the corner. We
have got to be pushing back on this deficit, because we're leaving this to
our children and our grandchildren.
That's inherently unfair. I think it's immoral to do.
CAVUTO: Senator Hagerty, thank you. We will see how this goes.
HAGERTY: Thank you, Neil.
CAVUTO: Of course, as you say, these are tense times.
HAGERTY: Indeed.
CAVUTO: We will see how it sorts out.
Again, the read on this, the bottom line from the Federal Reserve chairman:
I see this inflation. I know what you're talking about. I'm not oblivious
to it. But I think this too shall pass.
Others have pointed to a collapse in lumber prices after they soared double
digits, that that's going to happen to a whole bunch of other stuff.
History generally says otherwise. But we shall see. Hope springs eternal.
That's why stocks were springing to advances today.
We will keep an eye on that.
Also keeping an eye on the White House, the president of the United States
with the chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, 16 years in power. In a
couple of months, she will be out of power, but one final meeting with a
fourth U.S. president with whom she's dealt -- after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: We are keeping an eye on the White House.
But we want to alert you to a Reuters story that a senior U.S.
administration official, not detailing who that is, says that there are
contingency plans being made, a more robust presence in the Florida Straits
to manage any possibility of a migration.
As you know, there's been concern raised by the administration that a lot
of people will try to flee Cuba, and that they're not welcoming you, that
it's a dangerous trip, and they highly recommend against it. They have
advised the same for Cuban exiles in Florida, not to send boats, either
with supplies or anything else to Cuba.
Cuba was open to the idea -- that is, the government that's cracking down
on these protesters -- to such aid. But, again, the question is whether
that would be received peacefully or potentially violently. This senior
administration official is just saying that there are contingency plans to
deal with that type of migration, I guess, going both ways, if you think
about it.
We will keep an eye on that.
Also keeping an eye on this upcoming presser involving President Biden and
Angela Merkel, the 16-year-long, one of the longest-serving Western power
leaders, Angela Merkel, moments from now.
Mike Emanuel on what could come up when they speak to the press.
Hey, Mike.
MIKE EMANUEL, FOX NEWS SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Neil, good
afternoon.
This is likely to be the final visit of this German chancellor to the White
House. An election in Germany is set for September, and she is not seeking
a fifth term. Angela Merkel has worked with now four American presidents
since taking office in 2005.
Merkel has been a helpful ally, with German troops serving alongside
American troops in Afghanistan over the past 20 years. So it's expected
President Biden and Chancellor Merkel are discussing global security
challenges, climate change also likely on the agenda, and shared
commitments to democracy, human rights and more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a great pleasure to
welcome Chancellor Merkel back into the White House.
She's been into the Oval Office many times. She's been a great friend. I
consider her a personal friend, as well as a great friend to the United
States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
EMANUEL: Merkel met with Vice President Kamala Harris at her official
residence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to thank you
for your years of leadership. I'm very proud that I believe I am the first
vice president to host you at the official residence of the vice president.
ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
EMANUEL: Merkel had a bumpier relationship with former President Trump.
A new book, "I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year,
" alleges the former president called her expletives. The former president
was known for pushing American allies to pay their fair share to NATO. A
more relaxed vibe today.
Reporter questions could deal with U.S.-German relations, but also could go
to other news-of-day-topics like perhaps Cuba -- Neil.
CAVUTO: Got it.
All right, thank you, my friend, Mike Emanuel.
I want to go to Christian Whiton right now.
And Mike ended it with us on what to do about Cuba.
The former State Department official here.
Christian, if you don't mind, I'd like to begin then with Cuba.
You have heard these the latest developments that a senior U.S.
administration official looking at contingency plans to deal with any
possible migrations, presumably those in Cuba seeking shelter and asylum
here.
It's a sticky situation, to put it mildly, isn't it?
CHRISTIAN WHITON, FORMER U.S. DEPUTY SPECIAL ENVOY: Well, yes, but I think
you could have something like a better message than what we're putting out.
If you're just having a defensive measure, don't come here, we're going to
stop you if you come, I mean, this is a real opportunity to change, to
alter politically one of the biggest sort of malevolent factors in the
Western Hemisphere, which is the Cuban government, if you were to, for
example, really strongly say we are with the Cuban people, say at multiple
levels, say it repeatedly.
don't do what President Obama did when Iranians took to the street in 2009,
and he basically sat on his hands. There's a real risk that Biden is
repeating this there. And our powers are not infinite to help the Cuban
people. But we can talk about how we will provide aid if they have a
transition from their current government.
We can try and cut through Cuban censorship using electronic means. There's
an Air Force plane, the C-130, that's brimming with antennas. It's called
Commando Solo. In the Bush administration, there was a plan to put that in
international airspace off the coast of Cuba to transmit in and get past
the censorship if there was a crisis.
Taking steps like that are things we could do.
CAVUTO: But the government there could also play us for fools, right?
I mean, what if they said, all right, we're going to send a lot of refugees
to you, much as they did with the boat people back in 1980 under Jimmy
Carter, and they were all prison inmates and murderers and you name it,
right? I mean, it was a huge embarrassment. And we had to resettle them, I
think initially in parts of Arkansas.
And so who's to say that they don't play that card?
WHITON: Right, a repeat of "Scarface."
No, it's always a possibility. But, even then, rather than talking about
purely in a defensive nature, we don't want you to come, sending the U.S.
military, sending the Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy, that would also
incidentally give the Cuban military a second thing to worry about.
Now they're only worried about their own population and how to suppress it.
And even though it's extremely unlikely the United States would ever invade
Cuba, nor do I think we should, if you put an aircraft carrier, if you put
several destroyers off the coast, it concentrates people's attention.
And it might give a little bit of extra encouragement to the people of
Cuba. And it would actually have the real effect of deterring a mass
migration, one instigated by the Cuban government, rather than just sort of
words from an administration that is already awfully long on words and
short on sort of accomplishments.
CAVUTO: What about instigation on the part of Russia or even China, using
this as a way to leverage and fill the void?
WHITON: Well, I don't think -- yes, I think they're looking to see how we
will react.
And if they see further signs of weakness, then that will itself be
provocative and encouraging to Russia and China in their own malevolent
activities. Several times, we have threatened cyber-retaliation against
Russia for cyberattacks against us. It started in January with Jake
Sullivan, the national security adviser.
And then, two times, President Biden had said to Russian President Putin,
once in person in Geneva, and the other time on the phone, that we're going
to attack if you're the ones who are doing it, and two or three -- we
haven't really done that, at least not in any way that's apparent to the
outside.
CAVUTO: No.
WHITON: So they will be watching.
Thank you very much, Christian. I'm sorry. I just wanted to concentrate on
Cuba, with all these latest developments. And you handled it like a pro, as
you usually do.
(LAUGHTER)
CAVUTO: Christian Whiton, the former State Department official.
Again, we're trying to discern more details from the administration on a
response to this and handling a potential migration and how we would handle
those trying to seek asylum for Cuba. We're just not getting any clear
signals, because, of course, it works both ways, this 90-mile gap between
our two countries.
There are a lot of Cuban exiles and others in Florida who want to help the
Cubans get here, at the very least send food and supplies. Cuba seemed open
to the food and supply thing, but we don't know how open and we don't know
how dangerous that could be for those controlling those boats to come in
and actually make good on that.
It is, in a word, mess.
All right, in the meantime here, more on these Texas representatives who
are still in Washington and conceivably could be for days, if not weeks.
One of them who had a big meeting with Senator Joe Manchin next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: All right, those 47 Texas Democrats who bolted Texas for
Washington are still in Washington.
A lot of had a chance today to meet with Senator Joe Manchin, who could
play a crucial role in any federal effort to look at our voting laws and
exactly ensure voting rights. That's the Democrats' push and why they're
here in Washington in the first place.
Let's get the read from Chad Pergram on how everything went down today.
Hey, Chad.
CHAD PERGRAM, FOX NEWS SENIOR CAPITOL HILL PRODUCER: Good afternoon, Neil.
We will call it the Texas two-step. Democratic Texas legislators used the
rules of the Texas Statehouse to flee the Lone Star State. That blocked
passage of a GOP voting bill there. But they found safe haven in
Washington.
Some want Senate Democrats to change filibuster procedures to pass a
federal voting bill. They met today with Democratic Senator Joe Manchin. He
is opposed to changing the filibuster.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): We're not talking about anything about
filibuster. We're talking about getting a truly good piece of legislation
around the John Lewis Voting Rights Act that protects people's rights.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PERGRAM: Some Democrats view voting legislation as an elite bill which
should be exempt from filibusters. They demand a carve-out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY MADONNA, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA: What we mean by a carve-out is, we're
going to basically get rid of the filibuster, but we're only going to do it
on certain types of legislation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PERGRAM: That could be Pandora's box. Every lawmaker would then push for a
filibuster carve-out for their pet project -- Neil.
CAVUTO: Chad, thank you.
Well, Richard Pena Raymond, a Texas House representative, was in that
meeting with Senator Joe Manchin.
He joins us on the phone right now.
Representative, very good to have you.
How did that meeting go? What did Senator Manchin tell you?
STATE REP. RICHARD RAYMOND (D-TX): Well, first of all, thank you for
inviting me to be on here. And I'm sorry about the technical difficulties.
You have my permission, though, to put up a picture of President Kennedy
and see if people notice the difference.
But we had a very good meeting. I mean, he was very generous with his time.
As you know, he's a very, very sharp guy, a very substantive guy, and a
very even guy, I think, in the way he approaches his public service.
So we had a very -- again, a very detailed discussion. He believes, as I
do, that everybody should be in favor of protecting voting rights that were
established really in the -- with the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
And I think his interest has, I think, and hope -- everyone's is -- is that
we don't go back to having the types of discrimination that required that
kind of legislation a president from my state, Lyndon Baines Johnson, had
to push through Congress.
So that's what we focused on.
CAVUTO: I'm sorry you didn't hear what I was saying.
But did he say he was open to blowing up the filibuster to make this
happen?
RAYMOND: Well, again, could you hear -- can you hear me OK?
CAVUTO: I can.
RAYMOND: OK, good.
Again, what we focused on was that our interest in coming up here is to get
Congress engaged in passing legislation that would protect the voting
rights, not only of Texans, but of all Americans, of every citizen who can
vote. That's what we focused on in that discussion. He clearly wants to do
that.
He believes that the Congress wants to pass that kind of legislation. He's
committed to making that happen, Neil. And so I think it was a very good
meeting.
This whole issue won't end today. It's going to take some time. But I agree
with Senator Manchin that we should want to protect the voting rights of
people in this country, yours, Neil, and anyone else, regardless of what
color their skin is, whether they're senior citizens...
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: But it sounds like -- it sounds like, Representative, that he did
not tip his hand. He did not tip his hand, right? He didn't say about the
filibuster, because all of this might be for naught for you.
You and your other colleagues, you left Texas, when this could have been
done and argued in Texas. You're fighting a Republican majority, I get
that. But do you fear that some of you look like babies, and you're huffing
and puffing, leaving with your marbles and getting out of town, but you
have an obligation to do your job back in Texas?
If the Republicans, in a reverse situation, did that to you, you would be
pretty pissed off, right?
RAYMOND: Well, as you know, Republicans have done it in other states. I'm
sure you did your research on that.
But let me tell you something. I worked in the United States Senate for
four years, Neil, before I got elected. I have been a state representative
for 27 years. I represent the most Hispanic state legislative district in
the country.
I take this very seriously. I have seen people be discriminated against in
terms of their voting rights. And so we knew that what was going on in
Washington is that they're contemplating passing legislation that would
reinforce what the 1965 Voting Rights Act sought to do.
And we support that. And we know that, if that passed, that legislation
like that being contemplated in Texas would be null and void. And so our
interest was to come up here and do what we could do to fight not just for
our constituents, but for every citizen.
I don't care if you're black, brown, white, Asian, disabled. You should not
be discriminated against. And, unfortunately, the proposals that were on
the table, as they have been in many states, Neil, seek to do that.
It's where we are. And the only way you can stop that from happening is to
pass legislation similar to the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
So, I understand your show and that kind of stuff that you do, huff and
puff and all that.
Look, this is serious stuff for me. I'm committed to this.
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: No, you know, I -- Representative, I don't do a lot of huffing and
puffing here. I give both sides the chance to share their view.
I am telling you that the read from many on this is that, maybe for all the
best intentions, you're coming across as bitter and angry, and that, if you
don't get something you want -- it could be voting rights now, it could be
other legislation tomorrow -- take your marbles and go home if you don't
get your way.
It is one way to force maybe a federal issue. And that might happen. But
how can voters back in Texas, Democrat or Republican, trust you to do your
job if you leave your job?
RAYMOND: I think you mention a good point, voters.
We want people, Neil, to be able to vote. We want people to have the right
to vote, to be able to vote.
And if you think that following the Constitution, which is what we have
done here, is something we shouldn't have done, and if you're telling me
that under no circumstances would you ever for any reason, were you would
ever be elected, contemplate using what the Constitution allows you to, in
the way that Abraham Lincoln at one -- did at one time, in the way that
John Adams did at one time, and if you think that you would never do that,
maybe you just don't believe strongly enough in something to do what the
framers of the Constitution laid out.
They established a quorum for a reason, Neil. It was for moments like this.
CAVUTO: So, when you talk about this being about respecting the vote,
voters respected you and chose you and your colleagues, Democrat and
Republican, enough to sort this out, to handle these type of issues.
You got a Republican majority. You don't like that. I get that. But it is
what it is, just like Republicans are dealing with it with Washington, with
Democrats controlling the full run of the table.
But you can't just leave when it doesn't suit your interests, right? I
mean, aren't you then going to be in question by a lot of people who might
like what you stand for, but they don't know if you will stand by in Texas
to deal directly with the issues that matter to them?
RAYMOND: Neil, Neil, if you can imagine -- if you would just engage me
here for a minute, if you could imagine that you were actually an elected
in a legislature, and you knew, for example, there was legislation that
would allow abuse of children -- in your view, the way they were laying it
out, it would allow children to be abused, and you knew the votes were
there to pass.
Now, if you're telling me you would stand there and take it, when you know
you could stop it, well, that's a difference between you and me. And that's
why I signed up. That's why I ran. That's why I got elected, because I will
stand up. When it's something that goes too far, Neil, I will do it, just
like Abraham Lincoln did.
CAVUTO: All right. Well, I knew Abraham Lincoln. I studied Abraham
Lincoln. I'm not quite sure, Representative, you're Abraham Lincoln.
But you are comparing child abuse, an issue like that, to a voting measure
that is hardly as sweeping as you proclaim.
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: I guess what I'm asking you, if this never comes to the federal
level, Representative, do you then go back to Texas, and then do you then
acknowledge, under the full possibility of arrest when you get home, that
this mission failed, that it was a waste of time?
RAYMOND: It is never a failure to try to save democracy. And that's what
we're trying to do. Neil.
You may not agree with it. That's OK. But you don't have any problem. They
probably don't harass you. They probably don't make it difficult for you to
go vote.
But, you know, Neil, if you live long enough, and you get old enough, or,
heaven forbid, if you face some disability at some point in your life or
someone that you love faces some disability in your life, and they move to
the state of Texas, the legislation that's being complicated --
contemplated, rather, will affect their ability to vote.
We heard from so many people, Neil -- and you may -- maybe what you what
just belittled, and if you heard their testimony, people who are disabled,
a lady with cerebral palsy -- cerebral palsy talking about how this would
affect her.
And if you think that that is just partisan, or I don't know what you
think, respectfully, I'm going to disagree with you.
CAVUTO: All right.
RAYMOND: You know, we represent real people. We work for real people.
We're not doing this for show. We're not doing -- we're doing this for a
very simple reason. Let people vote. Don't make it harder for people to
vote.
CAVUTO: All right.
RAYMOND: Don't try to prevent certain people from voting. That's not what
this country was founded on, Neil, at all.
CAVUTO: All right.
Well, that's debatable whether that's all in this legislation.
By the way, I -- when it comes to disabilities, I think I know a little bit
about it.
But, Representative, thank you very much for joining us. Keep us posted.
Richard Pena Raymond, the Texas House representative, among those 47 here
waiting to see if maybe they could force this issue on voting rights,
federal legislation, that would make all the state efforts, including
Texas, a moot point.
Stay with us. You're watching "Your World."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: Messy in Paris.
These are people responding right now to new imposed restrictions and
mandates because of a spike in COVID cases, not only in places like France,
but we have seen it happening in Greece as well, parts of Italy. And
they're cracking down. They're reimposing the very restrictions that some
fear happening here if we see a spike in cases, very, very unlikely,
because our overall vaccination rate is much higher than all of those
countries.
Dr. Amesh Adalja joins us right now, the Johns Hopkins University
infectious disease specialist.
Doctor, these countries are forcing that issue. Should they?
DR. AMESH ADALJA, INFECTIOUS DISEASES SOCIETY OF AMERICA: I don't think
that we are in a position where we should be having the government mandate
vaccines.
I think that it's one thing for organizations and schools and businesses to
mandate vaccines. But it's very different when government does it. That
really only happens in extraordinary circumstances. And I don't think they
have met that threshold.
I think that these countries have done fairly well in vaccinating their
high-risk populations. But they still have their eyes a lot on cases of the
Delta variant. And those cases are going to go up.
But you have to really tie your public health measures to, are your
hospitals in crisis? And I don't think that, in those countries, their
hospitals are feeling the stress of COVID-19, because you have to remember
that this isn't going anywhere. COVID-19 is going to be with us from years.
And we have got to start -- stop looking at cases and really focus on
hospital capacity.
CAVUTO: And in this country, that's not an issue. That's not a problem,
right?
ADALJA: Right. We haven't seen much of hospital capacity concerns for some
time.
There are some exceptions. Springfield, Missouri, does seem to be getting
hit hard because they don't have enough high-risk people vaccinated. But in
the United States, we're seeing it more as a regional problem. That
systemic risk that COVID-19 posed has largely dissipated because we have
decoupled cases from hospitalizations, because our high-risk populations
have largely been fully vaccinated; 77 percent-plus of people above the age
of 65 are fully vaccinated.
CAVUTO: So these mask requirements, particularly for kids going back to
school in the fall, if they have not been vaccinated, what do you think of
that?
ADALJA: It's going to be very difficult.
And it probably will vary from school district to school district. We know
that there are going to be cases and probably exposures in that
unvaccinated population. And the CDC guidance does say that people have to
quarantine.
And many schools may say, instead of having a whole classroom quarantine,
let's just minimize the exposures by using masks. So that may be something
that each school district is going to have to look at. But we know that we
can actually use other mitigation measures, separating desks, trying to
cohort students, and really being much more meticulous when it comes to
extracurricular activities, which is where spread occurred usually with
schools, not actually the pedagogical portion of it, sitting in the
classroom.
So I think this is something you're going to see variations, depending upon
what's going on locally. What are the level of cases? What are the level of
vaccination? What's the vaccination level at the school? And I think that
you need flexibility for these schools to be able to operate.
CAVUTO: Doctor, an interesting development.
I just don't like to throw things at you broadside. But you can always
handle this stuff. We're just learning that the Red Sox-Yankees game, a
kickoff to a four-game series this weekend, was postponed after multiple
positive COVID-19 tests within the Yankees organization.
What do you think of that?
ADALJA: Well, first, you want to know a little bit more about this.
Were these people who are fully vaccinated? And many of these Major League
professional sports teams are still testing people who are fully
vaccinated, even when they don't have symptoms, which goes against the CDC
criteria.
And we saw, for example, those breakthrough infections that occurred with
the New York Yankees earlier on, because they were testing asymptomatic
individuals. We shouldn't really be doing that. We should be looking at
people if they're fully vaccinated as really not at risk for COVID and only
testing them if they become symptomatic.
So I suspect that this might be an artifact of overtesting that's going on
with these professional sports teams. And we got to -- have to move away
from that.
CAVUTO: All right, Dr. Adalja, again, we don't know much more than that.
We don't know how many players this affected or within the organization
itself. We will keep you posted on that.
But the game, the series kicking off tonight will not. We will see how it
affects the other games scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
We will have a lot more after this, including the spike in New York crime
and the group now saying, Mayor Bill de Blasio, you're still in charge of
things for the next few months at least. Can you do something, like now?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: All right, New York just had its mayoral primary here.
And Eric Adams, the Democratic winner, who is highly favored to be the
ultimate winner -- you never know, though, but in this dominant New York
City, that could be the case -- he is really concerned about the spike in
crime.
In fact, a lot of people say he won the Democratic contest because, as a
20-year police veteran, he faulted the defund the police moving and other
crime issues that became near and dear to voters.
But it's gotten so bad now that the Times Square Alliance, which looks
after businesses and individuals working in that neck of the woods in
Midtown, so concerned about repeated violence that the present mayor should
do something about it and not wait for his successor to pick up the baton
and try to deal with it. The time is now.
Darrin Porcher, the retired New York Police Department lieutenant, likely
agrees.
Lieutenant, always good to have you.
The message from the alliance was clear. You're the mayor now. Do
something. It's out of control.
What did you think?
DARRIN PORCHER, FORMER NEW YORK POLICE LIEUTENANT: I think that's actually
true.
Just this morning, we had a shooting in Times Square. So it begs the
question of, what is the effectiveness of the public safety mechanism for
not just Times Square, but the city of New York as a whole? The pedestrian
leadership under Mayor de Blasio has failed the citizens of New York from
the perspective of protection.
The police are the subject matter experts. Therefore, they, meaning the
City Hall, needs to lend deference to the police, because no one knows how
to get it done better than the police. And, unfortunately, Mayor de Blasio
has turned a blind eye as a result, and we have experienced an extreme
increase in crime as a result.
CAVUTO: Yes, he doesn't see the same data or numbers.
In fact, he did respond to this attack line from the Times Square Alliance.
I want you to react to this, Darrin. This is from Mayor de Blasio earlier
today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL DE BLASIO (D), MAYOR OF NEW YORK: If someone has an opinion, that's
great. Someone wants to stand up for their particular area or their
constituency -- and I understand those politics -- that's great.
But let's talk about what we see happening in New York City. We see
businesses opening constantly. We see jobs coming back. We see outdoor
dining booming. We see tourism coming back. It's all happening. It's
happening because New Yorkers are fighting back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAVUTO: That's not the issue, right, Darrin? I mean, of course New York is
opening. But crime is alive and well and spiking, right?
PORCHER: Well, in Mayor de Blasio's defense, public safety has never been
his skill set. So, as a result, he's turned a blind eye to the violence
that's ravaged the city of New York.
So when you hear him speak from a defense mechanism, and that's all this
is, a deflection, it's a clear representation of his inability or
unwillingness to provide the necessary protections for the city of New
York.
This has been an ongoing saga throughout his incumbency, and it's just
manifesting at the end. But we need something done now in the wake of the
protection of the 8.5 million residents that reside in the city of New
York, because this is troubling. And I see no insight in the wake -- no end
in sight in the wake of him being in office.
CAVUTO: And tens of thousands of them will be descending on the city
throughout the summer and into the fall, when the city officially opens up,
and a lot of businesses reopen their corporate offices.
And all of them, as far as I can understand, Lieutenant, are very concerned
about crime. They're not worried about COVID. They don't flip over the
commute and the trains and all that, but they're really worried about
crime. That was their number one issue.
PORCHER: Right.
When we look at the recent mayoral election, crime tended to be at the
epicenter of what people were voting for. So, as a result, Eric Adams, who
was a former NYPD captain, won the Democratic primary.
This clearly equates to what the population is experiencing and what their
expectation is moving forward. The de Blasio had the ability to impose on a
watershed moment in connection with how crime can be reduced. And he could
have come out of this as a star.
But he chose to hide in his bunker and just let the carnage occur. And, as
a result, it manifested to a point where it's uncontrollable at this stage.
We need the practitioners, meaning police, to be at the forefront, because,
if it doesn't happen, the socioeconomics of a place like New York, more so
specific to what we see in the crossroads of the world, that being Times
Square, have been denigrated, based on Mayor de Blasio's inability to act.
CAVUTO: Very quickly -- I mean, we did reach out to Mayor de Blasio.
Haven't heard back.
PORCHER: I'm shocked.
CAVUTO: But I'm curious, do you think he will take any action in these
waning months?
PORCHER: Absolutely not.
I believe Mayor de Blasio checked out after he ran for president. And this
is just merely a reflection of his inability to maintain a skill set to
reduce crime. And that's what we're seeing full front moving forward.
CAVUTO: Got it.
Darrin Porcher, very good seeing you, the retired NYPD lieutenant.
And, as I said here -- and we do this all the time -- we have reached out
to the mayor's office. We have yet to hear back. But hope springs eternal.
Contrary to what the prior guest said. We don't huff and puff here. We just
want to get to the bottom of what's going on. Don't carry water for
anybody. That's the way it is. You're always welcome.
That will do it here.
Waiting for the president of the United States and the German chancellor.
Here comes "The Five."
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