Transcript: Pete Buttigieg on "Face the Nation," Oct. 16, 2022

The following is a transcript of an interview with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg that aired Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022, on "Face the Nation."

MARGARET BRENNAN: We want to now turn to the Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg. Good morning, and thank you for being here in person.

TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY PETE BUTTIGIEG: Good to be with you.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to pick up where we just left off on the polling, because it looks like Democrats have a problem here. As you heard, more than two-thirds of registered voters, 68%, think your administration, the Biden administration, could be doing more to combat inflation. This is a top concern for all voters.

SECRETARY BUTTIGIEG: It's also a top concern for the President. It's one of the reasons why he's made clear that his top economic priority is fighting inflation. But, there's a very clear choice right now between the policies that we're advancing on Capitol Hill and in this administration, and the policies that have been put forward legislatively by our Republican friends in Congress. Our focus has been on reducing the pressure of cost of living on families. For example, take the Inflation Reduction Act, right, part of what that does, at a time when we have pressure on people because the cost of living is going too high, is to cut the cost of things like prescription drugs. Of course, Republicans voted against that, and —

(CROSSTALK)

MARGARET BRENNAN: — in the future. That's not —

SECRETARY BUTTIGIEG: Right, but they've also made clear right now that they're proposing legislation to reverse that, to repeal that. So, you have something like letting Medicare negotiate the price of prescription drugs, something Americans have wanted to happen for years. We finally got it done. The President signed it. Congress passed it. They're already seeking to reverse that. So, it's a very clear choice, a very clear difference in approaches here right now on Capitol Hill and among officeholders, where the focus for- for Democrats, the focus for the president, is to cut that cost of living and to cut the pressure, give people more breathing room at a time where inflation remains a major concern.

MARGARET BRENNAN: It's not just drug prices that are the problem. I mean, across the board, inflation is hitting people. Their cost of shelter, incredible. The administration's policy, though, to speak about the affirmative, because you say it's a better platform, so let's talk about it. If you've pumped 3.6 trillion in fiscal spending into the economy, and you're not politically getting credit for it, and inflation is not coming down, how do you argue to the American people that it's actually the best alternative?

SECRETARY BUTTIGIEG: Well, because if we hadn't done that, if we hadn't rescued the economy through the American Rescue Plan, we would not have had the 10 million jobs that were created under this President, we wouldn't be seeing some of the lowest unemployment numbers in the history of the Republic, we would be faced with the kinds of problems that we were faced with when the President arrived, which was an economy that was facing a very real risk of freefall. We're in a situation right now where demand has come back, consumer confidence is up, people have more money in their pockets, and a- an almost record number of Americans are working. The other side of that is —

(CROSSTALK)

MARGARET BRENNAN: There's record inflation, a four-decade high.

SECRETARY BUTTIGIEG: That's because- right, that's because the supply side is straining to keep up with the demand, which is why we're also working —

(CROSSTALK)

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, that's one factor.

SECRETARY BUTTIGIEG: I think, really, the main factor. But imagine if we hadn't raised demand, and supply was even worse, which is where we would have been if we hadn't had the infrastructure work, which is helping on the supply side, and the rescue of the American economy that has brought back demand. So, if anybody's asking, was it a good idea to rescue the American economy? The answer is yes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right. Well, it- it's not just Republicans who make the argument that fiscal spending contributed to some of the inflation. And in fact, some of the fiscal spending was under the last administration's watch in terms of pouring in the rescue funds you're talking about. But the San Francisco Fed has put forward estimates that between three-tenths to 3% of percentage points in recent inflation is due to fiscal spending.

SECRETARY BUTTIGIEG: In other words, not most of it, right, by those numbers.

MARGARET BRENNAN: It's not nothing. So, to argue that government spending isn't a contributor here doesn't fully play out. So, what is the alternative in a new Congress? I mean, are you just saying that we've got to stop spending here, we're not going to move on taxes, but we're also not going to pump in more money. The best we have is what we've put forward.

(CROSSTALK)

SECRETARY BUTTIGIEG: Well, again, part of the challenge- part of the challenge we have is the productive capacity of our country racing to keep up, so failing to invest in that wouldn't make the problem better, it'd make it worse. But, again, the numbers you just quoted to me would make clear that a majority of inflation is not attributable to fiscal policy, and according to the numbers that were just in the package just now, the American people understand that. They understand that inflation is a global phenomenon, but we're fighting it here at home with measures to take that pressure off of families. And it's why we strongly believe that we should continue in the direction of prioritizing not tax loopholes for billionaires, not corporate profits, but allowing Americans to be able to get by with the income that they're making.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, we're going to talk to an economist next to go through the numbers, but on what the political messaging is. The President said this week that the economy is both strong as hell but also if there is a recession, it'll be very slight. What exactly is the forecast?

SECRETARY BUTTIGIEG: Well, look, I mean, forecasting is by its nature, something that is a little bit uncertain. What we know is that —

MARGARET BRENNAN: — That's political spin. 

SECRETARY BUTTIGIEG: Well, look, I mean, forecasting is by its nature, something that is a little bit uncertain. What we know is that that's political spin. Well, look, I- I don't think anybody could argue that, for example, our unemployment numbers or anything but strong as hell, they're under 4%. That almost never happens. We're at or near the definition of full employment. We also don't have any illusions about the challenges that Americans face with prices, but that's why it's mystifying that, as we speak, you got Republicans in Congress, arguing against the things that we have done to give Americans a little more breathing room, voting against measures to make prescription drugs cheaper, voting against the $35 insulin cap that's going to be especially important in the environment where you have inflation against the energy credits that are going to help more Americans save on energy. We are squarely focused on making it easier for Americans to get by on their income.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to get to infrastructure in a moment, but quickly I want to ask you. You know, the President campaigned on a lot of things, paid leave was one of them, and Democrats stripped that out of the legislation that they were able to get through.

SECRETARY BUTTIGIEG: I wouldn't describe that as something that Democrats alone did, but 

yes, obviously, paid leave —

(CROSSTALK)

MARGARET BRENNAN: It didn't get through, and you've got unified control right now, although a slim majority. I get it. But, in this new scenario we are talking about, and you just saw the numbers, it looks like a very real threat that Republicans will control at least one house. So, are you acknowledging that, basically, you've gotten through what you can get through, give up on paid leave for the end of the Biden administration.

SECRETARY BUTTIGIEG: We're not gonna give up on anything, because these are good policies that are wildly popular among the American people. Most Republicans think this is a good policy, just not most Republicans in Congress. And so, in the same way that we were able to get that infrastructure bill through, where a number of Republicans crossed over to work with Democrats on the President's priority, I think any other priority, you have to at least give it a shot. And I would point out, after repeated declarations that the infrastructure bill was dead, the way that that succeeded, as well as the other policy wins we've had, aren't just good news, they specifically validate the President's theory of change, which is that you, even in a divided Washington, you can get things done, and sometimes you can get them done with bipartisan support.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to get to infrastructure, but- but you know, with paid leave, I was talking about the dispute between Democrats, between Senator Manchin and the rest of the party, that was a Democrat with disagreement on paid leave —

(CROSSTALK)

SECRETARY BUTTIGIEG: Well, hold on, but if even one Republican were prepared to support paid leave, we'd be in a different territory. So, let's not let 50 Republicans off the hook, because we couldn't get alignment with one or two Democrats.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay. So, it will be taken up in the new Congress?

SECRETARY BUTTIGIEG: I don't know what the priorities of the new Congress will be. I know that it's a good policy, and we'll keep fighting to get it done.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay. And I'll keep asking about it. I want to ask you about infrastructure. So, you started doling out some of the sort of allocations here that was part of that more than $1 trillion infrastructure law. You've got $120 billion that you personally, I guess, at the department have discretion over in awarding some of these projects. Where do you prioritize it? Because we've had a number of mayors on this program talk about their frustration that the money's not getting to them, that they know it's been promised, they've spoken to the White House, but it's not getting to Miami, Florida and Jackson, Mississippi?

SECRETARY BUTTIGIEG: Well, look, we've got a lot of discretionary grant programs to run over the course of the next five years. And a lot of applications come in, we say yes to as many as we can. And I can tell you, we're supporting infrastructure improvement right now in every state in the union. Now, even now, even with this wonderful funding, we won't be able to say yes to every single project that every local community wants to do, but we can do more than we've ever done before. And I've been one of those mayors, right? I've been a mayor knocking on the door of the DOT, trying to get funding, and back then, we only had a sliver to work with of what we do now. It is amazing what we've been able to see as I've traveled the country with- with good news on everything, from port improvements that will help with our supply chain to fixing bridges that are so deteriorated the school buses and ambulances can't use them because there's a weight limit, to in the Inland Empire in Fontana, California kids walking having to compete with traffic basically along the highway just to walk with school. We're going to fix that. We're getting so many things done, but it's not going to be overnight. Of course it's not. That's part of how it works with infrastructure.

MARGARET BRENNAN: They've been frustrated that it hasn't been delivered, though it has been promised, but I know we have to leave it there today. Mr. Secretary, thank you for coming on the program. We'll be back in a moment, so stay with us on Face The Nation.