On this «Face the Nation» broadcast, Vice President Kamala Harris joins Margaret Brennan.
On this «Face the Nation» broadcast moderated by Margaret Brennan: Click here to browse full transcripts of «Face the Nation.» MARGARET BRENNAN, HOST: I’m Margaret Brennan in Washington. And this week on Face the Nation: my exclusive year-end conversation with Vice President Kamala Harris, and our annual CBS News correspondents on what’s ahead in 2022. 2021 was a year of ups, downs and surprising setbacks for America, with a COVID pandemic that is suddenly intensifying, despite the lifesaving distribution of vaccines, and an economy that’s created millions of jobs, but sent prices soaring. The latest setback for the Biden administration? West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin putting the president’s $2 trillion social spending plan on ice, as Congress wraps up for the holidays. (Begin VT) KAMALA HARRIS (Vice President of the United States): I’m not giving up. The president’s not giving up, and, frankly, the stakes are too high. (End VT) MARGARET BRENNAN: Vice President Kamala Harris will tell us about the administration’s priorities in the new year and what the scrutiny of her first year in office has taught her. (Begin VT) MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you think you’re being set up to fail? VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS: No, I don’t believe I’m being set up to fail. I’m vice president of the United States. Anything that I handle is because it’s a tough issue and it couldn’t be handled at some other level. (End VT) MARGARET BRENNAN: We talked policy and saw the personal side of the first woman, first black and first South Asian vice president. (Begin VT) MARGARET BRENNAN: What gets you fired up? VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: Injustice. (End VT) MARGARET BRENNAN: Plus, a Face the Nation holiday tradition. Our year-end correspondents panel returns to wrap up 2021 and look forward to 2022. It’s all just ahead on Face the Nation. Good morning, and welcome to Face the Nation. On this day after Christmas, we bring you a special conversation with Vice President Kamala Harris. We met up with her last week in her ceremonial office in the Old Executive Office Building for a wide-ranging conversation, everything from COVID, to voting rights, to the criticism that she has faced in her job. (Begin VT) MARGARET BRENNAN: Medical experts are projecting that we could see as many as a million infections per day because of this new Omicron variant. Is our health care system prepared for what’s coming? VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: We are prepared for it. And there’s no question. There is a lot about this moment that is frustrating. But let’s not forget our individual power to actually do something about it. Everyone has to get vaccinated. The vaccines are free. They are safe and they’ll save your life. MARGARET BRENNAN: We’re already seeing hospitals overwhelmed with Delta. Inflation is real. It’s going to be with us as long as the pandemic dominates. As you know, the exhaustion is just with us all the time. When can you tell the American people this will end? VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: We have the power today to have an impact on tomorrow, and we can’t shortchange the significance of that. We have the power today to go out and, if you’ve not been boosted, go get boosted, the power today to go and get vaccinated. And that will have an impact on where we end up tomorrow. MARGARET BRENNAN: Is it the fault of the unvaccinated? VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: I don’t think this is a moment to talk about fault. it is no one’s fault that this virus hit our shores or hit the world. I would not blame it on anyone in that way. But it is more about individual power and responsibility, and it’s about the decisions, that everyone has the choice to make, no doubt. But it is clear that everyone has the ability to make a choice to save their lives and to prevent hospitalization if they get vaccinated and if they get the booster. And so I urge people to do that. MARGARET BRENNAN: This is going to be hard for the economy. Are you going to need to ask Congress for another relief package? VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: Well, let’s talk about the economy. What is within our grasp? To pass Build Back Better. When we talk about the economy, the average person in America is going to measure the economy based on, can they actually just afford to get through the day and through the month? The cost of living, can they keep up with the cost of living, child care, eldercare, prescription drugs? MARGARET BRENNAN: You’re talking about the Build Back Better Act like it still has some life to it. As you know, Senator Joe Manchin said he’s a no. You don’t have the votes. VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: I’m not giving up. The president’s not giving up. And, frankly, the stakes are too high. MARGARET BRENNAN: It is the cost of the bill that has led Senator Joe Manchin, at least publicly, to say it’s actually going to hurt the economy. His argument is, it’ll add to inflation, among many other things. VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: I think there is, without any question, room for discussion about what actually will be the impact to the economy. And objective, leading and highly respected economists are weighing in on this discussion to say, in fact, no. MARGARET BRENNAN: When you look at what’s actually possible right now… VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: Yes. MARGARET BRENNAN:… do you feel that Senator Manchin is playing fair with you? VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: I think the stakes are too high for this to be in any way about any specific individual. We have to — you know, one of the things… MARGARET BRENNAN: It’s a 50/50 Senate, though, so you need him. VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: It is. I’m the tiebreaker. I’m the tie vote. MARGARET BRENNAN: That’s — exactly. VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: In fact, the president and I joke. And when I leave one of our meetings to go break a tie, he says, «Well, that’s going to be a winning vote.» Whenever I vote, we win. It’s a — it’s a joke we have. (LAUGHTER) VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: But the stakes are so high. And we can’t afford, in this moment of time, where we have an opportunity to do something so substantial in terms of public policy in America, to literally help families, I refuse to get caught up in the what might be personal politics, when the people who are waking up at 3:00 in the morning worried about how they’re going to get by could care less about the politics of D.C. They just want us to fix things. MARGARET BRENNAN: But the child care tax credit has already expired. How do you… VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: We have to extend it. MARGARET BRENNAN:… come up with… VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: We have to extend it. MARGARET BRENNAN: How do you do that without Senator Manchin? VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: You don’t give up. That’s how we do it. We don’t give up. That’s how. MARGARET BRENNAN: So, the president has also put you in charge of voting rights. VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: Yes I — and I have asked, yes. There is so much about this fight for justice and the ideals of our democracy that are part of my DNA. You know, I have been meeting with prime ministers and presidents from around the world. One of my favorite interactions was with the now past Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel. She came over for breakfast. And we talked about everything that has to do with our relative security as nations and our priorities. And then she asked me about voting. She asked me about voting, and she knew what was going on here. And this is not a subject that was unique to my conversation with her, by the way, in terms of world leaders, because people around the world watch what we do as America. And right now, we’re about to take ourselves off the map as a role model, if we let — if we let people destroy one of the most important pillars of a democracy, which is free and fair elections. MARGARET BRENNAN: You’re talking about what’s happening in state capitals around the country. VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: I am. I’m talking about that, and I’m talking about what’s not happening in this Capitol in Washington, D.C., which is the passing of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. This is literally about our standing in the world. It’s about the integrity of our democracy. When our kids look back five,10 years from now at this moment, it will be on our watch that we either stood for and fought for our democracy or not. And that — I think that is all at stake right now. MARGARET BRENNAN: But you still have the reality of a 50/50 Senate… VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: Correct. MARGARET BRENNAN: And you have two senators who say they’re not on board for changing the filibuster in order to try to push this through. So, how do you overcome that democratic reality of not having the votes and not having a clear path forward? VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: We will do and look at whatever is necessary to push for Congress to take this issue on. And we have to. We have to. MARGARET BRENNAN: A carve-out to the filibuster? VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: I’m not saying that. What I’m saying is that we are going to urge the United States Congress, and we have been, to examine the tools they have available,to do what is necessary to fight for and retain the integrity of our voting system in America. MARGARET BRENNAN: It sounds like you’re open, though, to a carve-out to the filibuster to get there…. VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: I… MARGARET BRENNAN: You were when you ran for president on the issue of climate. VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: I… MARGARET BRENNAN: Are voting rights as important to you? VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: I believe that voting rights is one of the most significant issues that is facing us as individuals and as leaders today. There’s no question, no question. Voting rights lead to every other right, every other right. And so we need to prioritize it as a nation. I think it’s really important that, in this conversation about what’s happening in Washington, D.C., on the issue of voting, that we not lose sight of the fact that there is one whole group of people, half of the United States Senate, who are refusing to even debate this issue. MARGARET BRENNAN: But, to that point, you were just in the Senate. VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: Yes. MARGARET BRENNAN: And the president spent decades there. How come you can’t pull someone across the aisle on this… VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: We are trying. MARGARET BRENNAN:… or manage Joe Manchin within your own party? VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: We are not going to give up on these issues. But you’re right. It’s a 50/50 Senate. It’s a 50/50 Senate. And so — but it has to be a combination of us, as an administration, but also everyone weighing in. And I’m glad we’re having this conversation. I think we have to continue to elevate the conversation about voting rights. Given the daily grind that people are facing, this may not feel like an immediate or urgent matter, when, in fact, it is. And the more we have the opportunity to talk about it, the more I think people will see, yes, I don’t want an America of the future for my kids to be in an America where we are — are suppressing the right of the American people to vote. MARGARET BRENNAN: What do you see is the biggest national security challenge confronting the U.S.? What is the thing that worries you and keeps you up at night? VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: Frankly, one of them is our democracy. There is, I think, no question in the minds of people who are foreign policy experts that the year 2021 is not the year 2000. You know, I think there’s so much about foreign and domestic policy that, for example, was guided and prioritized based on September 11,2001. And we are embarking on a new era, where the threats to our nation take many forms, including the threat of autocracies taking over and having outsized influence around the world. And so I go back to our — our point about the need to fight for the integrity of our democracy. In addition, it is obviously about what we need to do in the climate crisis. MARGARET BRENNAN: There are 100,000 Russian troops on the border with Ukraine. VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: Yes. MARGARET BRENNAN: Are we going to see a hot war in Europe in the next few weeks? VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: Well, we are having direct conversations with Russia. We are very clear that Russia should not invade the sovereignty of Ukraine, that we must stand up and we are standing up for its territorial integrity. We are working with our allies in that regard. And we’ve been very clear that we are prepared to issue sanctions like you’ve not seen before. MARGARET BRENNAN: Does that mean sanctioning Vladimir Putin directly? VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: I’m not going to talk about specific sanctions, but we are making that clear to him. And we are in direct conversations. And we are also working very closely with our allies. And, again, let’s use this issue as an example of the importance of the strength of those relationships. MARGARET BRENNAN: But in the past, alongside allies, we’ve sanctioned. It’s been punitive. It hasn’t prevented anything. It hasn’t stopped Vladimir Putin to date. VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: And I will repeat that the type of sanctions that we’re talking about are sanctions that we’ve not done before. MARGARET BRENNAN: You said you were last in the room on the decision in Afghanistan to pull out. You’ve talked about not abandoning allies. VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: Mm-hmm. MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you feel personal responsibility for the chaos of that withdrawal? VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: I fully supported the president’s decision to — after what was taking on the fact of being an endless war, of pulling American troops out. And I think it’s really important to remember that the previous administration negotiated a deal with the Taliban, did not invite the Afghan government to be at the table, and negotiated a deal that required and promised as part of an agreement that we would pull out by the end of May. MARGARET BRENNAN: Mm-hmm. VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: So, we were saddled with that responsibility based on an agreement between the United States and the Taliban. And so… MARGARET BRENNAN: You agreed to the — extend it and not to break the agreement with the Taliban. VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: We made the decision that, if we were to break the agreement, it would have been a whole other situation. And, right now, I strongly believe that, had we broken that agreement, we would be talking about the war in Afghanistan and American troops in Afghanistan. And we’re not talking about that. I don’t regret that. MARGARET BRENNAN: But I know, as a candidate, you pledged to protect the gains that were made for Afghan women. VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: Yes. And I feel very strongly about that. MARGARET BRENNAN: Many of those Afghan women are not in school today because the Taliban is in control. VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: Which is why we are working through the U.N. and doing what we need to do through our friends to provide humanitarian assistance, bypassing the Taliban, to make sure that we are supporting women and girls there. One of our big issues in terms of any conversations with the Taliban is exactly this point, which is the condition, the status and the treatment of women and girls, including, for girls, access to education, not to mention our concern about counterterrorism and what we need to do in terms of that threat. So, these are real issues, there’s no question. The United States has been and continues to be, since the end of August, the biggest donor of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.
