Here & Now

Here & Now for January 22, 2021

Announcer:

The following program is a PBS Wisconsin original production.

Frederica Freyberg:

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris take the oath of office in Washington during a colorful and peaceful inauguration day. In Wisconsin, all remained quiet at the state capitol after preparations for possible protests over the inauguration.

I’m Frederica Freyberg. Tonight on “Here & Now,” U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin speaks to the Biden-Harris administration as well as the new democratic majority in the U.S. Senate. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley looks ahead to breakthroughs in racial equity. “Here & Now’s” Will Cushman with the latest on the COVID-19 state vaccination plan. And political panelists McCoshen and Ross are here. It’s “Here & Now” for January 22.

Announcer:

Funding is provided by the Focus Fund for Journalism and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.

Frederica Freyberg:

Wednesday brought pomp and circumstance to the nation’s Capital, but under very different circumstances for presidential inauguration. Because of COVID-19 and extraordinary security measures, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president without the crowds and under a majorly enhanced police and military protection after the insurrection of the U.S. Capitol two weeks prior. Biden got down to work right away with a raft of executive orders, including at least ten pertaining to COVID-19. Those include easier access to COVID-19 vaccines at local pharmacies, using the Defense Production Act to address vaccine and PPE supply shortfalls, establishing a COVID-19 Equity Task Force, reimbursing states for 100% of the cost of deploying National Guard troops and buttoning down OSHA guidelines for workplace safety.

The new president says his priorities are COVID-19 and the economy. We check in with U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin who also finds her party in the majority in the Senate with Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic tie-breaker. Senator, thanks very much for being here.

Tammy Baldwin:

It’s a pleasure. Thank you for having me.

Frederica Freyberg:

So before we get down to brass tax, we’re now in day three of the Biden administration and a Democratic Senate majority although one now grappling over power-sharing as you well know, but how does it feel?

Tammy Baldwin:

Well, it feels hopeful. It feels like a page has turned and a new chapter is beginning, especially as we find ourselves in so many crises at the same time. The opportunity to really get to the other side of this pandemic and get our economy back on track, but building it back better, with greater equity and inclusion and all of that feels very hopeful to me.

Frederica Freyberg:

Now, the articles of impeachment will go to the Senate for a trial of Donald Trump on Monday. In your mind, does this timetable get in the way of President Biden moving his agenda quickly?

Tammy Baldwin:

I do think that we can work hopefully across the aisle to create a schedule for the impeachment trial and keep a schedule for assisting President Biden by confirming his cabinet nominees and helping him set up a functioning administration and federal government. Now, it’s been so hollowed out in the waning days of the Trump administration with secretaries resigning and people leaving the federal government. And given the crises we face, it’s really critical that we be able to do both of those critical tasks at the same time.

Frederica Freyberg:

Back to that day of the insurrection, what was it like for you?

Tammy Baldwin:

You know, I was on the Senate floor. Prior to walking on the Senate floor, I had gazed out one of the Capitol windows and saw large crowds of people headed up to — from the White House to the Capitol. But they were all outside when I entered the Senate chamber. It was very frightening to have it locked down and our proceedings interrupted. Vice President Pence whisked away. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris whisked away. We were just all told the safest place for us to be would be to remain in the Senate chamber with all the doors locked. Of course, shortly thereafter plans changed again and we were encouraged to leave and leave quickly. It was only afterwards when we started seeing images on television that it really I think hit home how close we came to a direct confrontation with the rioters and those participating in this insurrection.

Frederica Freyberg:

Terrifying. What is your position on getting rid of the filibuster or reforming it to allow legislation to pass?

Tammy Baldwin:

You know, I believe that we want to start out, just as the president said in his inaugural address, working together and recognizing the enormity of the crises we’re facing and endeavoring to work together to pass legislation to address the suffering that’s going on right now, the pandemic and the economic recovery. If not, we do have a tool at our disposal called reconciliation, and if we’re unable to especially pass this rescue plan, I think we will have to seriously look at using the reconciliation process to pass things with a simple majority.

Frederica Freyberg:

Because what is your expectation that that nearly $2 trillion COVID rescue package could move forward in a bipartisan manner without going to go to, say, reconciliation?

Tammy Baldwin:

Well, there’s certainly going to be key elements that I hope we can all agree on. You know, the expiration of certain programs on March 14 of next year was a number, it seems, or date pulled out of a hat. What we have to do is align our programs and our relief and our rescue to the pandemic and how long it remains gripping the United States. And so things like that, in my mind, should be — we should be able to achieve agreement on those. We also want to get the vaccine out and in people’s arms as quickly as possible. We know that we have not allocated sufficient funds to make that happen. So these are all things that I hope we can come together on. Small businesses that may close if we don’t continue some small business relief. And getting people back to work. All are critical elements that should have bipartisan support. But, again, if they don’t, we’ll look at budget reconciliation to get it done.

Frederica Freyberg:

So on the economy, a priority of yours is an expanded “Buy America” program minus kind of the loopholes. What are you urging President Biden to do on this, with about a minute left?

Tammy Baldwin:

Well, two things. First of all, we saw how problematic it was at the beginning of the pandemic that we were reliant on manufacturers across the globe for things that we no longer produced in America, whether that was N95 masks or gowns and gloves, tests, reagents, swabs. We can’t do that anymore. We have to be self-reliant, especially in a global pandemic. But we see this also as we look towards building back better with a renewed investment in infrastructure. Taxpayer dollars should not go overseas when we need jobs here in the United States of America. So taxpayer dollars should be spent on American workers and American products as we build back our nation better.

Frederica Freyberg:

All right. We leave it there. Senator Tammy Baldwin, thanks very much for joining us.

Tammy Baldwin:

Thank you.

Frederica Freyberg:

Republican U.S. Senator Ron Johnson provided his view of an impending Senate impeachment trial, tweeting, “Democrats can’t have it both ways: an unconstitutional impeachment trial and Senate confirmation of the Biden administration’s national security team. They need to choose between being vindictive or staffing the administration to keep the nation safe. What will it be: revenge or security?” Johnson asks.

During his inaugural ceremony, President Biden spoke out against systemic racism in his call for unity. That call resonates with the leader of Milwaukee County who says, “For years we’ve languished at the bottom as one of the unhealthiest counties in the state. We know that’s in part due to generations of disinvestment from communities of colors and unequally distributed opportunity.” Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley looks to new opportunities to create equity. He joins us now and thanks very much for being here.

David Crowley:

Thanks for having me, Frederica.

Frederica Freyberg:

So did you hear what you were hoping to from the new president when it comes to equity?

David Crowley:

I absolutely did. I think when we think about the challenging year we had last year and coming into 2021, when we think about racial equity and getting over this pandemic, it is truer now than ever before. To see this new administration tackling not only this coronavirus pandemic but paying attention to how this has disproportionately affected people of color and when we see the racial inequities that have been exacerbated by this pandemic, this is a breath of fresh air. I think everybody from urban to rural areas.

Frederica Freyberg:

What concrete steps, in your mind, need to be taken to work toward that both at the federal, state and local level?

David Crowley:

Well, I think that’s an excellent question. One, we always have to recognize what is happening, so we have to call a thing what it is. And we did that right here in Milwaukee County by making sure to say that racism was a public health crisis. We’ve been doing exactly that. We’ve been focusing on our first strategic plan in over 20 years to focus explicitly on both health and racial equity. In order to do that, particularly here in Milwaukee County, it’s going to take resources. I think President Biden definitely understands that. And when you think about Milwaukee County specifically, every year we start with about a $20 million deficit. If we want to invest in local priorities, invest in racial equity, it’s going to take resources. That’s one of the reasons why we are creating partnerships here locally, about a 1% sales tax that we’ve been talking about with state officials as well as the governor’s administration, because we have to put our money where our mouth is and we have to focus on three strategic focus areas in my opinion. One, we have to be intentional on who we include to be at the table. It has to be the decision-makers. We have to bridge the gap, making sure that we’re breaking down the barriers and silos that we’ve been operating in as private entities but more importantly as government entities. And we have to put our money where our mouth is and actually invest in equity. And that means putting dollars and resources into communities that have been historically underserved.

Frederica Freyberg:

Because we have been talking about these disparities, especially in Milwaukee for decades. You think these steps will make it different now?

David Crowley:

Absolutely. And I would say that we just finished this week — and I would say this week really gave me hope. We had Dr. Martin Luther King Day on Monday and we had the inauguration this past Wednesday. It’s really about how do we bring this country together, bring our communities together to really have this conversation. If you want to tackle racial equity, I think we’re learning what we’re seeing through this pandemic, it’s going to take all of us being at the table. So whether you’re a Republican, a Democrat, a union member or a business owner, we need everybody to have some skin in the game and making sure we’re tackling this head-on.

Frederica Freyberg:

Specific to the pandemic, one of the Biden executive orders would create a COVID-19 equity task force. What would you hope would come of that for Milwaukee County, where people of color are disproportionately impacted by COVID and vaccination rates for Black and Hispanic people lag way behind those of white people there.

David Crowley:

When we talk about the vaccination rates, one, we have to educate the community on the efficacy and the safety of this vaccine. This is like myself and other business leaders, community leaders not only educating, but actually going out with a public campaign getting vaccinated themselves. What I would say is when we think about this pandemic and how it’s disproportionately affected people of color, in making sure we have an equitable distribution of the vaccine, I think it’s critically important that we have regional centers, in my opinion. When you think about what local governments and what the state government has to do in order to be prepared to put these shots in people’s arms, we have to rely so much on our federal government for these doses. So I would hope with the president’s ambitious goal of getting 100 million vaccinations in 100 days, I think that is doable, but it’s going to take resources. It’s going to take education and I think a regional approach to this will definitely alleviate a lot of the confusion we have seen as it relates to the vaccine rollout.

Frederica Freyberg:

What is your urgency toward equity in your county and for your people?

David Crowley:

Well, I think there’s a lot. The very beginning you talked about how we’re at the top of a lot of the wrong lists. And so for me, the ultimate goal is getting Milwaukee County to be removed from the list of being one of the most segregated places here in the United States. And this is making sure that we focus on all five determinants of health. But again we have to hold ourselves accountable and we’re doing that and bringing other partners along with us, internally as well as externally. Again, it’s going to take resources. That’s why we are continuously having this conversation about how do we put our best foot forward and gather and leverage resources to invest in the equity and the future we want to see here in Milwaukee County.

Frederica Freyberg:

All right. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, thank you very much.

David Crowley:

Thank you so much for having me.

Frederica Freyberg:

The state health department is increasingly opening COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to more people, including people over age 65. But it’s not going to be quick.

Tony Evers:

On Monday, Wisconsinites 65 and older will be eligible to receive the vaccine. This is great news and will help save lives in one of the populations we know is particularly vulnerable to severe effects of the virus. But, folks, here in Wisconsin that’s not a small group. There are approximately 700,000 Wisconsin residents 65 and older. The amount of vaccine we get from the federal government will help determine how quickly we can get through this group. But we’re going to get started with the supplies we have available now.

Frederica Freyberg:

Governor Tony Evers continues to ask the federal government to provide more vaccine to Wisconsin. When might that happen? We turn to PBS Wisconsin News Reporter Will Cushman who covers all things COVID for us. Thanks a lot for being here.

Will Cushman:

Thank you.

Frederica Freyberg:

So even as the governor says how it will be a lift to vaccinate 700,000 people over the age of 65, the Department of Health Services is expanding who’s eligible next week. But with not enough vaccine coming into Wisconsin but increasing numbers of those eligible, how does that work?

Will Cushman:

Yeah. It’s going to work slowly. So right now Wisconsin is vaccinating about — or administering about 70,000 doses per week. As you just mentioned, the newly-eligible age group, who will be newly-eligible next Monday, all those 65 and older, that’s a group of people that is 700,000 strong. So at the current rate, it would take about ten weeks to vaccinate that whole age group or at least to administer their first dose. Really, public health officials are moving from kind of the riskiest groups in the state, so front line health care workers, nursing home residents and staff and assisted living facility residents and staff to who they deem to be kind of in this next riskiest group and that would include all of those 65 and older, because, as we know, almost 90% of the deaths due to COVID in Wisconsin are in that age group.

Frederica Freyberg:

So who’s expected to be in this next group that the state is going to announce next week?

Will Cushman:

Right. The Department of Health Services did receive recommendations from a state committee that’s working on determining who should be eligible for the vaccine when. The department is expected to act on those recommendations early next week. Right now those recommendations include teachers, K-12 teachers, child care workers and a couple other groups, transit workers and potentially grocery store workers and other food service workers.

Frederica Freyberg:

Wow. A lot more people, which is good, and we hope those vaccines keep pouring into Wisconsin. Meanwhile, what is the guidance from health officials as to how people are supposed to get themselves in queue to get a vaccine if they’re outside health systems or other workplaces that will vaccinate them?

Will Cushman:

Yeah. So the hope is that — there are more vaccinators coming online pretty much every day. As of yesterday there are about 1300 registered vaccinators to provide the COVID-19 vaccines in the state. So the hope is that there will be a lot more places to go to get the vaccine, including community pharmacies, community clinics, primary care providers. So state health officials are recommending that people try to search online first for information about where they can get their flu shot — excuse me, their COVID shot and the Department of Health Services is actually recommending that folks approach trying to secure a COVID vaccine in the same way or at the same venues that they would get their annual flu shot.

Frederica Freyberg:

All right. Wow. Well, we thank you very much for the information, Will Cushman.

Will Cushman:

Thank you.

Frederica Freyberg:

As students return to campus next week, UW schools are rolling out new testing guidelines. Students and faculty on most campuses must be tested for COVID-19 every two weeks or once a week for those in dorms. UW-Madison will require weekly tests. The UW-Madison plan becomes effective February 1st.

Lori Reesor:

We learned from experience this fall that a high degree of testing, followed by quickly isolating and quarantining those who test positive or were exposed, is key to keeping our university operating and our community safe.

Frederica Freyberg:

PBS Wisconsin is part of UW-Madison.

Another special session Governor Evers had called this week to fix the unemployment insurance system was rejected by the Republican majority. More tangible evidence of the persistent partisan divide. So there’s that at the state level. How will the polarized political culture evolve at the national level? We check in now with our political pundits, Democrat Scot Ross and Republican Bill McCoshen. Thanks for being here.

Bill McCoshen, Scot Ross:

Thanks for having us.

Frederica Freyberg:

As to that question, after everything the country has been through, the violence over the presidential election and people who still don’t accept the results, can there truly be the unity Joe Biden preaches? Scot, first to you.

Scot Ross:

I think if there’s anybody in the United States who’s going to be able to bring us back together or take the best shot at it, it’s definitely Joe Biden. I mean, after 50 years in the Senate, as the vice president, this is not a guy who people think of as a hack partisan. This is a guy who gets things done. He proved it in the Senate for decades. He proved it as the vice president and he’s going to prove it as president. It’s time we get some adult leadership in the White House. We’ve got that now. It’s time to focus on the things that are important: the economic crisis, battling COVID. Those are the two top priorities. He’s already taking steps to try to do that.

Frederica Freyberg:

Bill, what do you think about that call for unity and whether it’s actually possible?

Bill McCoshen:

Well, it’s interesting. Remember four years ago when Donald Trump was elected, Democrats’ mantra was resist. It wasn’t unity. I think Scot’s got a decent point as it relates to Biden. He’s got so much D.C. experience, he knows how to get things done, but Republicans won’t be listening to his words necessarily. They’ll be watching his deeds. So it depends on how he conducts himself and the kinds of issues that he tries to pursue early in his administration and his willingness to reach across the aisle and work with Republicans, which has been his history, at least as a Senator, and if he continues that, I think he’ll get some results.

Frederica Freyberg:

Meanwhile, there’s already a power-sharing fight in the Senate, now split 50/50. Both sides at odds over the filibuster. What is all this going to look like in practice with big items like the $2 trillion COVID package Biden wants to move?

Bill McCoshen:

Twenty years ago when we had a 50/50 Senate, Tom Daschle and Trent Lott from Tennessee did come up with a power-sharing agreement. Chuck Schumer has no interest in that. So Democrats will control the United States Senate. Provided the filibuster stays in place, we should still have an opportunity to block things Republicans don’t like.

Frederica Freyberg:

Scot, what about that filibuster? What do you think ought to happen?

Scot Ross:

Well, I think they should get rid of the filibuster because Mitch McConnell and the Republican Senate have broken every single norm that’s existed in the U.S. Senate over the last ten years. When Democrats were in charge and then when the last six years when Republicans were in charge. Mitch McConnell is a partisan hack. He will not do anything for the good of the country, he will only do things to increase his power. Now that he doesn’t have any, I don’t think it’s a great idea for Chuck Schumer to look to cues to McConnell. Chuck Schumer should look inside of his own caucus. There are moderates. There are liberals and there are centri –he has the gamut in there. They’re going to come up with solutions that will work. Joe Biden has already proven. He put — he’s nominated Trump’s FBI director to stay at the FBI. But what’s happening on the Republican side? They’re blocking President Biden’s nominee for Department of Homeland Security. It’s disgraceful. I’d like to think the Senate will come to its senses on the Republican side. I don’t think it’s gonna with people like Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz and certainly Ron Johnson.

Frederica Freyberg:

The House will deliver the impeachment article to the Senate on Monday to start the trial against Donald Trump. Should this have been delayed so Biden could move his agenda and Trump could assemble his defense, Bill?

Bill McCoshen:

There again, it goes back to the president. The president could easily say those articles should remain in the House. The impeachment should not move forward. If he’s serious about unity, that would be his best message and Democrats would lay down their arms, so to speak, and we could get on the with the Biden agenda, whatever that may be. We’ve seen a bunch of that, a flurry of executive orders this week already. But things he wants to pass through the Congress are going to be less likely to get done if he proceeds down the impeachment path.

Frederica Freyberg:

What do you think about that, Scot?

Scot Ross:

I mean, we had a president who was guilty of helping a seditious terrorist insurrection and he must be held accountable. Don’t forget, Congress and the Executive are equal branches of government. If President Biden wanted to say stop it, I don’t know that it would stop it. The Congress wants to hold Trump accountable and I think they’re right to do so.

Bill McCoshen:

It would put Biden on a different level with Republicans. If he said stop it, it would make them more interested in working with him at least early in the administration during that first 100 days, which are often critical.

Frederica Freyberg:

We don’t have a lot of time left but here at home the stalemate continues. Republicans are now going after the latest Evers’ mask mandate. Is this dysfunction just at a new place now?

Scot Ross:

I think so. I mean, it’s been 280 days since the Republicans put a bill on Governor Evers’ desk. The only thing that the Assembly has passed is a self-congratulatory resolution for Robin Vos. They’re not interested in finding a solution. They haven’t worked in ten months. Unfortunately continues for Robin Vos and Republicans in the legislature to be business as usual and that’s no business.

Frederica Freyberg:

Really quick, Bill?

Bill McCoshen:

Buck stops with the governor. The governor’s 0-7 in special sessions. Prior to him taking office, there were 97 of them. 92% of those produced some results. Tony Evers has no results in any of his.

Frederica Freyberg:

We need to leave it there. This doesn’t look a lot like unity, folks but I know you are pundits on opposite sides. Thanks for joining us.

Ongoing coverage of the legislature and our congressional delegation can be found online throughout the week. Go to PBSwisconsin.org and then click on the news tab.

That is our program for tonight. I’m Frederica Freyberg. Have a good weekend.

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Funding for “Here & Now” is provided by the Focus Fund for Journalism and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.