[Tapper:] Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper coming to you live from outside the United States Senate, where the countdown to a partial government shutdown continues. With fewer than eight hours for the Congress to come to a solution. Just a short time ago, the Senate voted to reject the Republican government funding bill which included a one year delay on a key part of Obamacare. It's now back to the House to decide the next move on how to fund the government and avoid a shutdown. It's just like hot potato. But instead of a potato, it's about 800,000 employees facing losing their paychecks. New York Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer is one of those senators who voted to strip the bill of the anti-Obamacare provision. He's the third ranking Democrat in the Senate and he joins me here outside the Capitol. Senator, thanks so much for being here.
[Sen. Charles Schumer , New York:] Good afternoon. Beautiful day.
[Tapper:] It's a nice day. Congressman Tom Price of Georgia was here, Republican. And he said that an overwhelming majority of the Senate earlier this year including you, he didn't say that, I am voted to get rid of the medical device tax
[Schumer:] Yes.
[Tapper:] which the latest provision of the House bill would also do. Why not concede on that one point since it's already a bipartisan majority in the Senate and get rid of this whole thing?
[Schumer:] Well, because of the way it's being done. It's basically extortion. They basically send us a bill and say unless you do what we want, we're going to shut down the government. Now, if we did it here on medical device tax or anything, then when we got to debt ceiling, these hard right wing people would say, "See, by holding out, we got what we wanted, let's move it up." And then when we got to funding the government for a full year in November, they would do it again. You cannot govern with a gun to your head. You cannot govern when somebody says, "I am going to hurt more than 800,000, millions of innocent people unless you do it exactly my way." And so, the whatever they send us is not the point. The point is there's a time and place to debate things. I'd love to debate the medical device tax. I think it should be changed.
[Tapper:] Right, you voted to repeal it.
[Schumer:] But not to say, not to send it over and say unless you do what we want, because it had other things in that bill, too
[Tapper:] Right.
[Schumer:] such as delaying Obamacare, change in contraceptive laws which we debated unless you do what we want, we are going to shut down the government, or not raise the debt ceiling. I have never seen anything like this. You know, Jake
[Tapper:] It has happened before.
[Schumer:] No. No. Let's
[Tapper:] Government shutdowns have happened before.
[Schumer:] But they never shut down where one side said unless I get my way, I'm going to shut down the government. There have been a bunch of them where they were debating an extraneous issue. Abortion was one. They couldn't come to an agreement. They ran out of time so a day later, the government but it wasn't saying unless you vote my way on abortion, unless you make for each side could do it unless you make abortion legal, I'll shut down the government, fully legal. Unless you make abortion illegal, I'll shut down the government. That is what's happening here. It would be as if President Bush was president when we had the big crisis
[Tapper:] Right.
[Schumer:] with Lehman brothers and AIG. Nancy Pelosi could have come to President Bush of the opposite party and done just what Boehner is doing, unless you get rid of your signature issue, the Bush tax cuts, I'm not doing TARP and I'll let the nation suffer. She didn't. We didn't. We voted for TARP because America needed it. It's the same exact analogy now. You don't say it's extortion.
[Tapper:] So, let me ask you a question. A lot of people, especially veterans I know are asking how come you and Tom Price, members of Congress, how come you guys continue to be paid? How come you guys continue as essential personnel?
[Schumer:] Well, look, the issue you know, the issue of what's constitutional is set by the Constitution but the issue is not us. The issue is a million people who have to feed their children, who have to feed, they're innocent.
[Tapper:] OK.
[Schumer:] Why does Tom Price and the people like him say, "I am not going to feed you, I am not going to give you a paycheck, unless Congress and the president does it my way on Obamacare"?
[Tapper:] Well, what's
[Schumer:] I have never this is not government by democracy.
[Tapper:] That he's
[Schumer:] This is government by bullying. You know, I'm from Brooklyn. You give up you give in to a bully once, they'll ask for more and more and more. I know they feel very strongly Obamacare is terrible. They have debated it before. We can debate it again. They ran on the election saying repeal Obamacare. Not a single Democratic senator they ran against every Democratic senator
[Tapper:] Right.
[Schumer:] on Obamacare, they lost the election. Now they have a bludgeon.
[Tapper:] But, Senator, first of all, I should point out that there is breaking news that President Obama is going to come out to the briefing room at 4:45 to talk presumably about this. We'll be obviously be covering that live. Senator, obviously there have been issues with Obamacare. You had the White House itself delaying the employer mandate for businesses.
[Schumer:] That is yes.
[Tapper:] Right?
[Schumer:] Right.
[Tapper:] You have, there are questions about the exchanges.
[Schumer:] There are issues
[Tapper:] There are questions about glitches in the technology.
[Schumer:] Of course. There are issues.
[Tapper:] So, what is what is theoretical wrong with saying
[Schumer:] The place to debate it you know, we have a budget coming up.
[Tapper:] Right.
[Schumer:] The place to debate it is on that budget. That's a logical place to debate it. It is not to say I will shut down the government or not renew the government's full faith and credit to hurt this country millions of innocent people, unless I get my way. That is the basic point here. You can say they'll send over this. It doesn't matter what they send over. It's the methodology of what they're doing which is which is basically saying, "I have a baseball bat, I'm going to hit you over the head unless you give in my way."
[Tapper:] I want to play some sound.
[Schumer:] And you, it's not even hitting me over the head. It's hitting all those people who need their paychecks to pay their families.
[Tapper:] I want to play some sound from Speaker Boehner talking about the U.S. Senate and get your reaction.
[Schumer:] All right.
[Rep. John Boehner , Speaker Of The House:] The Senate decided not to work yesterday. Well, my goodness. If there's such an emergency, where are they? It's time for the Senate to listen to the American people just like the House has listened to the American people and to pass a one-year delay of Obamacare and a permanent repeal of the medical device tax.
[Schumer:] OK, look
[Tapper:] Lots of Republicans have been critical. The Senate hasn't been in session.
[Schumer:] No, but he just is trying what he's trying to do, he's shutting down the government. He knows it. The American people know it. Everyone knows it. And so, he tries to wriggle his way out of it. The bills he sent us were meaningless. In the House right now, is a clean extension of funding the government. Not with Obamacare in it, doesn't make it better, doesn't make it worse, doesn't change it. That is the only way to overcome the shutdown. So, we could be here today, tomorrow, the next day until the House passes that bill which, by the way, the road to it was paved by a majority of both Democrats and Republicans. Twenty-five Republicans voted to allow that bill to go forward in the House and in the Senate, including Mitch McConnell, who I must say is showing a lot more strength and courage than Speaker Boehner, even though McConnell has a primary from the Tea Party. I mean, what is going on in Congressman Boehner's head? He knows shutting down the government is a bad thing.
[Tapper:] We have
[Schumer:] He knows that the right wing is bullying him. Doesn't he know if he gives in to them this time, they'll ask for more and more and more until they depose him?
[Tapper:] I have to take a break.
[Schumer:] All right.
[Tapper:] Thank you very much, Senator Chuck Schumer. Very animated and excited.
[Schumer:] You bet.
[Tapper:] Democrat of New York. Appreciate it.
[Schumer:] Thank you.
[Tapper:] Reminder, we are waiting to hear from President Obama in just a few minutes, at 4:45 p.m. Coming up next, a runaway train collides with another one full of rush hour commuters and now, police are asking how the park train got loose and whether someone intentionally set it in motion. We'll be right back.