‘We needed to change the equation,’ Sen. Kaine says on his vote to end shutdown

Geoff Bennett:

And, as Lisa mentioned, the vote to end the shutdown has divided Senate Democrats. Tonight, we will get two views.

I spoke earlier this afternoon with Virginia Senator Tim Kaine. He's among those voting in favor of the deal to end the stalemate.

Senator Tim Kaine, welcome back to the "News Hour."

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA):

Great to be with you.

Geoff Bennett:

So why deliver your vote to end the shutdown at the very moment many Democrats believe they're winning the politics of this fight? Even President Trump acknowledged the other day that Republicans, as he put it, were getting politically killed over this shutdown.

Why give up what many Democrats believe to be the moral and strategic advantage and make a deal now?

Sen. Tim Kaine:

Well, Geoff, politics is one thing, but I represent 8.5 million Virginians, and the vote that I cast was very good for them.

When we got into this shutdown, it was because President Trump ordered the Republicans to write a bill without us, and then refused to engage. And when presidents don't engage, you get into a shutdown. During October, I was very focused on the Virginia elections, and I was talking to the negotiators about my particular issue.

I wanted protection for federal employees. After we delivered a big win in Virginia last Tuesday night, President Trump had a breakfast the next morning and realized this shutdown was hurting him, and they were blaming him, and at that point he engaged.

I looked at the lay of the land that day, and it was obvious there was no path forward on health care unless we opened the government. The Republicans that said no discussions on health care unless you opened government, and we had tested them 12 or 13 times with my support, and they hadn't backed off on that.

And I also knew that SNAP recipients, America's most vulnerable people, 45 million, one in eight Americans, were losing benefits, with the money in the contingency account scheduled to run out before Thanksgiving. So no path forward on health care, SNAP recipients suffering, we needed to change the equation.

And what we ended up getting is full-year funding, robust funding for SNAP recipients, repairing some of the reconciliation bill damage, a path forward on health care, and then what I negotiated into the bill, dramatic protection for two million people who are federal employees who are tired of getting kicked around.

Geoff Bennett:

On the issue of the Obamacare subsidies, the very issue that triggered the shutdown, there isn't much in this deal that delivers tangible relief.

Of course, Senate Republicans promising a vote in the future isn't the same as Senate Republicans promising a result. So how do you explain your support?

Sen. Tim Kaine:

Would there have been a tangible relief in a week? Would there have been tangible relief in a month? Would there have been tangible relief in two months? There was zero evidence to suggest — this was my assessment. Some assessed it differently.

There was zero evidence to suggest that Republicans would even talk about health care until the government was open, while there was complete certainty that there was pain every day of a shutdown, people losing paychecks and their credit being impaired, people losing SNAP benefits, air traffic control in chaos.

So what we had, Geoff, look, what we had, last Wednesday, I got involved in the negotiations Friday, was no path forward on health care unless we open government and the absence of an open government punishing America's most vulnerable. That's why I negotiated for provisions to protect federal workers and then embraced the path of full funding for SNAP and other safety net programs and a path forward to a health care vote, which I think we can win.

Geoff Bennett:

In supporting this deal, you're breaking ranks with most Senate Democrats, to include the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer. Should that be read as a message about your view of his leadership?

Sen. Tim Kaine:

No, look, I love leaders, but I'm not a good follower. I voted for Chuck to be leader and I want him to be leader and he will be leader.

But I don't need a permission slip from anybody to do what's best for Virginians because Virginians gave me that permission slip when they reelected me for a third term last year.

Geoff Bennett:

This agreement sets up a new funding deadline, January 30, if this passes both houses. What's the plan, is there a plan to ensure that we're not back here again in January?

Sen. Tim Kaine:

Here's — so ensure — if you want — if you want guarantees, the United States Congress ain't the place, but here's the plan.

The good news is, we have gotten three of the full-year appropriations bills done and included in this bill. So that means about a third of the work is already done. And in the remaining bills, much of those bills are already done too. So the appropriators go back to the table to find the deals on that remaining work.

Meanwhile, in December we will have a high-stakes debate on this health care tax credit issue. And, Geoff, the debate will take place without the background noise of the shutdown, SNAP benefits going away, people losing checks, air traffic disasters. The background noise of shutdown won't drown out the very important battle about people's health care.

We will put a good proposal on the table that will protect people's health care and make it affordable and be appealing to the Republicans who are hearing the same thing from their constituents I'm hearing from mine. Then we will have a debate and vote. There's not a guaranteed outcome.

But I will tell you this. If the Republicans don't fix this problem of their own creation, the midterm election next November will be a lot worse even than the November 25 elections in Virginia and New Jersey.

Geoff Bennett:

Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, thanks again for joining us this evening.

Sen. Tim Kaine:

You bet.