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Brian: It's The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. Good morning, everyone. Well, today marks one week since Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were sworn in as president and vice president and the changes keep coming in Washington's response to the pandemic, climate, immigration, and racial equity. Yesterday, for example, after all the confusion in the last week of the Trump administration over how much vaccine the states were really getting. Biden promised three weeks' notice from the federal government on how much states would get each week.

That's important, not just the amount of vaccine that is available, but the communication of how much so that people don't get their appointments canceled, as has been happening all over. He announced a big additional purchase of vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, that would be enough for all Americans to get vaccinated by the end of summer if they can really pull it off. He announced new racial justice measures, including promotion of fair housing and an end to private prisons, and more, we'll talk about that.

Meanwhile, a procedural vote on impeachment in the Senate seem to reveal very little Republican support for convicting President Trump in the trial that's slated for the week after next. Yesterday, we spoke to one of the new freshmen congressman from the New York City area Mondaire Jones, who got elected to succeed Congresswoman Nita Lowey who retired. Today we'll meet another one, Congressman Richie Torres, from the Bronx who was elected to succeed Congressman Jose Serrano, who retired.

The district covers mostly the South Bronx and portions of the West Bronx. Torres had previously been the city council member from an overlapping city council district. Congressman, great to have you officially in your new role for the first time. Welcome back to WNYC.

Congressman Torres: Always a pleasure to be with you.

Brian: Let me start with Coronavirus. Your district from what I understand has been hit harder than most places. Some parts of your district much harder than most places. Are people in the district getting access to the vaccine at similar rates?

Torres: Well, it's unclear because we have no demographic data on who's undergoing vaccination. Early on, the greatest challenge was vaccine distribution. New York State and New York City were going through the natural growing pains that comes from a mass vaccination campaign. The likes of which we have not seen in history of our country. Since then, the greatest challenge is vaccine supply.

The demand far exceeds the supply. The shortage is so severe that vaccination sites have been closed and appointments have been canceled. Even the mayor is pleading with the federal government to allow him the flexibility to tap into the reserves of second dose vaccinations. It's a real challenge. That's why I welcomed the announcement from President Biden yesterday.

Brian: You mention not having the data. I think that's a city or state issue, not so much federal. Gothamist has a story this morning about how they started collecting data, by demographics, by race, and other demographics over who was actually getting the vaccines but then they stopped releasing it to the public. Does that disturb you? Is that something you want to comment on?

Torres: It's deeply alarming because I represent the poorest congressional district in America, which is primarily Latino and African American. According to the story that you cited, 5% of the vaccine recipients have been Latino and 5% have been African American. Which is alarming given the disproportionate representation of people of color in the healthcare workforce in particular and the essential workforce in general.

Brian: The news organization, The City has a story today about one of their reporters going to the Washington Heights Armory vaccination site. In that mostly Latino also fairly significantly Black area just west of your district and finding almost all white people there to get vaccinated. Nothing against those people who had signed up for appointments because they saw them available on the website, but the impression was for whatever reason, the largely Black and brown neighborhood was not being served. I'm just curious if that's something you know anything about, or that you're seeing elsewhere?

Torres: I'm not familiar with that particular situation, but it's alarming that most elected officials are in the dark about who actually is receiving the vaccination. That is a problem.

Brian: How much vaccine hesitancy are you seeing in your district? The media talks a lot about mistrust by Black and Latino people of the medical establishment because of the long history of abuses. How much are you finding that to be the case on the ground?

Torres: There is some resistance. Donald Trump has cast a cloud over the vaccine. We are in uncharted territory, we've never had to vaccinate so many people in so little time in the face of so much distrust and disinformation so it's been a challenge. Even among the people who do wish to take the vaccine, the supply is woefully insufficient. We need to separate

Brian: Can you blame that one on Trump? Isn't that the one thing that he circled his arms around and hailed as his main goal, Operation Warp Speed, the vaccine, the silver bullet, and then did promote its use?

Torres: Well, I would attribute it to the crisis of confidence in his administration. I have no confidence in the competence of the Trump administration and so that contributes to a lack of confidence in the public writ large. I have no doubt that the vaccine is safe, and people should take it and there needs to be a public service awareness campaign that encourages people to take the vaccine. Because the more people who take it, the closer we will come to achieving population immunity, which is necessary for resuming normal life.

Brian: What needs to be done if you can get even more specific about that both at the level of access per se and at the level of communication?

Torres: Look, I support the Biden plan. The Biden plan envisions purchasing 200 million new doses, bringing the total up to 600 million, which is enough to vaccinate the whole population. Invoking the Defense Production Act to accelerate the production of more vaccines, distributing more vaccines to city and states, and providing them with more advanced notice. Then mobilizing FEMA, to provide vaccines directly to communities indeed.

I think the combination of all those measures is going to have a huge impact. It's refreshing to have a president who's treating the COVID-19 crisis with the seriousness that it deserves.

Brian: Listeners, we can take your phone calls for newly minted congressman from the Bronx, Richie Torres, succeeding Jose Serrano, who retired after many years of service in Congress to as congressman Torres points out the poorest congressional district in America. We can take your phone calls from the district or from anywhere, and it doesn't have to be all on vaccinations. Which has been what we've been discussing so far. Anything pertaining to what's going on in DC in his new role as a member of Congress, 646-435-7280, 646-435-7280, or you can tweet a question @BrianLehrer.

Congressman, part of your district is the West Farms neighborhood of the Bronx, which has been in the news for getting hit so hard in terms of hospitalizations and deaths. Also unemployment with the concentration of people there who work in hard-hit service industries, not so much the jobs people could do from home. Would you comment on the state of West Farms in particular, in that respect, and what you think it needs from any level of government that it's not getting?

Torres: Look, like the South Bronx at large West farms has seen a catastrophic loss of income. The unemployment rate is 25%, which is comparable to the joblessness of the Great Depression. It serves as a reminder that we need bold governing from Washington DC. Our highest priority should be to put people back to work and to put income in the pockets of families struggling during COVID-19 to compensate for the impact of unemployment.

One of my highest priorities is the child tax credit. I'm going to partner with Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro who's the chair of appropriations to co-lead a bill that would permanently expand the child tax credit. If we were to extend the child tax credit to the poorest families, we would cut child poverty by 40% in the span of a single year. Families struggling during COVID-19 would receive up to $300 every month under a permanently expanded child tax credit.

That's where my priority is, is to ensure that people have enough income to put food on the table, to pay the bills, and to keep their families afloat, especially in a neighborhood like West farms.

Brian: We know that Republicans are balking at President Biden's $1.9 trillion relief bill proposal at the price tag of it in total for one thing, and then specific provisions. Do you know if you have bi-partisan support on that child tax credit expansion?

Torres: My understanding is that there is bicameral bipartisan support for the child tax credit, but never underestimate the Machiavellianism and the obstructionism of the Republican Party. I'm strongly in favor of either abolishing the filibuster or passing a massive COVID relief package through reconciliation, to the extent possible.

Brian: Can you explain reconciliation to our listeners. I know that's a process for certain bills that have to do with budget items, which I guess a coronavirus relief bill would be that allows the Senate to bypass the filibuster. In other words, they would only need 51 votes, not 60 votes to get it passed, but why on that? How does that work and why is it uncertain whether it could be invoked here?

Torres: I'm no parliamentarian, but the purpose of reconciliation is to reconcile, is to unite the budgets of both the House and the Senate. We would pass everything through one budget resolution. The value of reconciliation is that it is insulated from the filibuster. You can pass a sweeping package with a simple majority in the Senate. It's a genuinely democratic process. We can circumvent the 60-vote threshold that the filibuster imposes, but as you said, there are limitations with reconciliation and it's unclear what those limitations are.

Reconciliation typically applies to mandatory rather than discretionary spending and much of what we're exploring is discretionary in nature. Can we recreate it as mandatory spending? It's a complication. It's unclear what the limits of reconciliation are, but it's much better to pursue reconciliation than to put ourselves at the mercy of the filibuster.

Brian: Since you brought up the filibuster and to be clear for our listeners, you're in the House, which does not having to filibuster, that's in the Senate. You brought it up and obviously that's of great interest to everybody right now, because that's going to determine a lot of how many bills can get through both Houses. People say, well, what you do today because it's in your party's interest might come back to bite you in two years or four years when your party is in the minority. Of course, the Democrats were just in the minority for a number of years in the Senate and so use the filibuster to block Republican things that the Democrats thought would be heinous. What's the single standard there? Is it in one party's interest or another longer-term?

Torres: As far as I'm concerned, we are a Democratic republic, majority rules. The notion that one Republican from a state that has fewer people than the South Bronx, can filibuster, can obstruct the priorities of a Democratic House and a Democratic Senate and a Democratic President is absurd. The filibuster has been the driver of dysfunctional politics, government gridlock in Washington, D.C.

It has rendered America ungovernable. Keep in mind, the Senate is deeply undemocratic, deeply unrepresentative of America. Like the electoral college, the structure of the Senate concentrates power in States that are much more conservative, much wider, much more rural than the rest of the country. The filibuster only compounds that bias against States like New York.

Brian: Let's take a phone call for congressman, Ritchie Torres, freshman Democrat from the Bronx. Here's a constituent Jim in the South Bronx. You're on WNYC with Congressman Torres. Hi Jim.

Jim: Hi God. Good morning, congressman. I'm a big supporter of yours, I did vote for you in the Democratic primary and in the election, and congratulations on taking the seat.

Torres: Thank you.

Jim: My question is this, in this area, and this is actually one of the reasons I voted for you rather than your opponents in the primary. Though the politics of the area focuses on what their advocates call anti-poverty programs, but not enough in my judgment on job development. You mentioned for instance, that this district is the poorest congressional district in the country. If you had a real industrial policy, real job development, we wouldn't be the poorest congressional district in the country and relying on these anti-poverty programs. I'd like to ask you what ideas do you have of policies that you've put forward for real good job development in the city and this area. I'll take my answer off the air. Thank you.

Brian: Thank you, Jim. Congressman?

Torres: For me, the Democratic Senate, and a Democratic Presidency, and a Democratic House represents the makings of an FDR moment. We have a historic opportunity to govern as boldly in the 21st century is FDR did in the 20th century. At the heart of that is massive investments in infrastructure and public works. One quick example, we should be not only creating and preserving affordable housing and public housing, but we should be greening our affordable and public housing stock.

Imagine reinventing nature as the greenest city in America, and installing rooftop solar panels and rooftop gardens. Promoting local hiring and local procurement and energy efficient retrofits. If we were to do that with every unit of public housing and every unit of affordable housing. You could create thousands of jobs while at the same time, providing people with access to safe, decent, affordable housing. That is one example of what infrastructure investments can do in creating revenues, in creating jobs and in creating housing.

Brian: Let's take another call, Steven in Manhattan you're on WNYC. Hi, Steven.

Steven: Hi there. You were talking earlier about the vaccine center connected with Presbyterian Hospital up on 168th street and I got vaccinated there yesterday, I'm 66 years old. It was really a total accident because I had attempted to get a vaccination appointment through city site and the state site and had been unable to. It was only because a friend mentioned to me that he had gotten an appointment for his mother on the Weill Cornell site that I went to the Weill Cornell site. It's set up much better than the city or the state site, the city or the state should really go to Weill Cornell and get their technology.

I tried several times and on the third day at about 2:30 suddenly there were appointments the next morning. When I was there, they told me that they carefully monitored supply and its people don't show up that they make appointments available for the next day. I agree with you. It is primarily a white group up there. I think what's happening is that you have to be computer literate and have access to a computer to get onto that system and get your appointment and if that's not available to you, it doesn't happen. However Weill Cornell is running it, they're very efficient and I'm very grateful for it. I agree with you it's not getting to that community.

Brian: How was the line there? That's a very big site that armory, right? I read in that article or somewhere else that they have 70 vaccination stations.

Steven: They do. No line at all. I showed up at the time I was supposed to show up, it went through. They guide you around the outside of the oval shape track that's in there from station-to-station. Then you cross over the track on a bridge into the center where they have 70 stations and they have the chairs for you to sit afterwards. I asked the doctor who gave me the vaccination, who was managing this, and they said they were all volunteers. In order to volunteer, you had to be an employee or have some connection and a badge for the hospital system. The doctor who gave me my vaccination said that she was a pediatrician and she happened to have privileges at the hospital and that's how she could volunteer.

Brian: Stephen, thank you for that story, useful for some people. Congressman, what's your reaction to it? He talked about a lack of access or computer literacy. It might also just be what word of mouth network you happen to be in that he was. Any other reaction to that story as emblematic of either just itself or something larger?

Torres: Two quick thoughts come to mind, first New York city has a patchwork system. The state has its own system for distribution, the city has its own system, and each of the healthcare providers have their own systems. The quality varies widely and it's not clear what level of coordination obtains among those various entities. I think the second thought is, I would just go back to what I said earlier, I think sunlight is the best disinfectant and the mere reporting of demographic data would create pressure on policy makers to see to it that the most vulnerable communities are served.

Brian: We'll continue in a minute with congressman, Ritchie Torres. Stay with us.

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Brian Lehrer on WNYC with congressman, Ritchie Torres. Some of you knew him as city council member, Ritchie Torres when he served the district from the Bronx prominently in that role. Now he's been elected to Congress and he just started this month. Bronx Congressman, freshmen, Democrat, Ritchie Torres. We'll take some more of your phone calls for him at 646-435-7280, where are you on impeachment Congressman if it's not going to result in conviction, like it appears from last night's procedural vote in the Senate that it's probably not. Does it empower Donald Trump more than we can him for the future?

Torres: Look, we had no choice, but to impeach Donald Trump. The angry, armed mob that he unleashed on the US Capitol represents a violent assault on the separation of powers between Congress and the president. It represents a violent assault on the peaceful transfer of power. If those are not impeachable offenses, then what is impeachment for? We had no choice, but to hold him accountable in order to uphold the constitution, uphold the rule of law.

Look, there's a three-step process here, there's impeachment, which requires a simple majority in the House, and that has transpired. There's conviction, which requires a super majority in the Senate, which means 17 Republicans voting for conviction. Then there's disqualification. If Donald Trump is both impeached and convicted, then the Senate by a simple majority can disqualify him from ever holding federal office again.

Brian: If he's convicted?

Torres: If he's convicted, which is admittedly improbable.

Brian: You represent the poorest district in the country, which you mentioned with serious needs for bringing people in, from marginalization by public policy. I'm curious if when President Biden speaks of unity, if you or your constituents read that as unity between them and the majority of America, meaning the white majority of America. How, and what you can tell of how your constituents hear it when Biden speaks of unity?

Torres: I'm not going to suggest that my constituents have a single response to President Biden's speech. I will tell you that I struggle with the calls for unity. I was deeply affected by the siege and I struggled to see many of my Republican colleagues in the same line. There were Republicans who voted to overturn the results of the election. About half of the Republican conference in the House.

There were Republicans who incited the violent mob to storm the Capitol. Then there might've been a few Republicans according to some reports that might've actively aided and abetted the insurrectionist. I asked myself, how can I possibly collaborate with people who created a dangerous situation that led to the murder of a police officer and could have led to serious harm to the vice president, to the majority leader, to the speaker and to members of Congress? I struggle with the call for unity. I do.

Brian: Does Biden need to do something concrete to reach out to Republicans on any of their priorities at the policy level, if his language about unity isn't received as empty and red or purple America. In a way that despite everything you say about the insurrection and some Republican members roles in it, might need to be done to build unity at the population level, to get things done that you want to do?

Torres: For me, the most important priority is effective government. There's deep suffering in our country. There are people who have fallen into, or are in danger of falling into abject poverty and destitution. There is widespread economic dislocation and poverty. I would rather focus on addressing the most serious challenges confronting our country than pursuing unity, where none might exist. I particularly have no interest in uniting with conspiracy theorists and seditionists. There are members of Congress who subscribed to QAnon who have no business being there, who are in utter embarrassment to the institution.

Brian: I'll just follow-up on that with one more question. What, if you can find an economic policy that benefits your district and one of those members' districts, and you can more easily get to yes on something like that?

Torres: Of course, I'm going to build coalitions wherever possible but with Republicans who act responsibly. There are Republicans who did vote to uphold the results of the election, who did respect and accept the peaceful transfer of power. I will happily collaborate with those Republicans.

Brian: You proposed expanding the child tax credit to help families in your district and elsewhere around the country earlier in the segment. Jake in Morningside Heights wants to follow-up on that. Jake you're on WNYC with Congressman, Ritchie Torres.

Jake: Hello, Congressman. Hi, Brian. My question, I've seen the child tax credit, I'm certainly enthusiastic about it. I recently read a study that said that one of the challenges with the tax credit is that families will have to file tax returns and try to predict their income in advance, and then follow-up with the government on that. If your income is higher than you predicted, you might have to return some of the money. I just was wondering if you are concerned at all about how the tax credit, as opposed to say a child welfare allowance could potentially cut off families with crucial benefits. I'm no expert on this, but I would just love to hear if you've thought about this, considered this. Thank you.

Brian: All right. Pretty wonky question on the difference between the child tax credit and a child family allowance. Can you clarify?

Torres: I'll do my best. I am convinced that tax expenditures are much more reliable than a direct subsidy, because keep in mind a direct subsidy discretionary spending is subject to annual appropriations. A future Republican Congress could easily slash a child allowing subsidy for families. Whereas tax credits tend to be much more insulated from the vicissitudes of politics, from the changes that come with annual appropriation. I prefer the tax credit approach.

Keep in mind, we're not going to maintain the child tax credit as it presently is, because at the moment, the structure of the child tax credit is so regressive that it excludes a third of American families, the poorest families in the country. In the South Bronx two-thirds of the families there are excluded from the full benefit. The purpose is to extend it to those families and to dispense it not annually, but monthly because we pay bills monthly, not annually.

Brian: Stuart in Malvern following-up on the filibuster. Stuart you're on WNYC. Hello.

Stuart: Hi, thanks for having me, Brian. Maybe this is a suggestion that the Congressman could make to Senator Schumer I've written him, but I haven't heard back. It used to be that to maintain a filibuster one had to actually keep debating. Where a filibuster can hang up the Senate is first they have to have a vote to end debate, and then the actual vote on the bill and to end debate, it takes 60 votes and that's where the filibuster comes in. It used to be, they had to keep debating, they had to keep on getting Senator after Senator up to talk and talk and talk and continue debating. If they couldn't the filibuster ended.

It was when they made it merely a procedural thing that Republicans started abusing it, I think it was like 20 years ago or so. How about go back to the old style of filibuster, where to maintain one they had to actually go through a little bit of pain, keep getting guys up to talk and talk and talk until they're blue in the face. That way, if the Democrats become minority again, at least they'd have a little bit of that ability to stall something really onerous. They wouldn't be in the same position as when they ran through Amy Coney Barrett.

Brian: Congressman.

Torres: I agree with you, but the problem is not Chuck Schumer. The problem is, are few conservative Democrats who stubbornly refuse to either weaken or abolish the filibuster. That's the challenge. I think Chuck Schumer gets it. He has a burning desire to make the Senate work for our city and for our country. The trouble is that you have more conservative senators who choose that come [unintelligible 00:30:14] cinema, who have clung stubbornly to the modern form of the filibuster.

Brian: Ed, in Port Richmond, Staten Island, you're on WNYC with Congressman Ritchie Torres. Hi, Ed.

Ed: Morning, Brian. Morning, Congressman. I had a question and then also a comment. My question, I live in a 7 foot by 9.5 foot, "apartment" in a single room occupancy building. Of course, I'm one of the better people off because there's 62,000 people who are still in emergency housing. Is there any chance that you can propose a bill to actually build more public housing, and get those 62,000 people out and create a better market condition by having a supply of housing for the lowest income people? That's my first question.

My second question is just a comment. That is that when it comes to yesterday's 45 Republican senators, bear in mind that their votes is simply that they don't want to risk making a bad vote as the impeachment trial goes forward, they're on the hot seat. The idea that 45 of them would say, "I don't want to sit in the hot seat," but that 17 of them might actually vote to convict once they're in the hot seat, it's two different questions. It's just a gleam of hope there.

Brian: Ed, thank you for putting on your pundit hat. [chuckles] Congressman Torres, why don't you make that housing question, the last response as we're running out of time. People who know your background know that when you were in city council, you were very active on questions of NYCHA and the lead problems in NYCHA and holding NYCHA accountable, generally. Now, you're in Congress, and he's got that housing proposal that he would like you to take to DC with you. Everything I always hear is that building new public housing in the old sense, is just a non-starter these days. What's your response to him, then, we're out of time?

Torres: Here's how I would respond. When Washington speaks of infrastructure, what has historically come to mind is roads and bridges. Within the Democratic Caucus, there's a recognition that infrastructure includes housing. It includes affordable housing, it includes public housing. I'm hopeful that we're going to secure historic infrastructure funding to address the humanitarian crisis in public housing. Now, in order to build more public housing, you would have to remove the Faircloth, you would have to repeal the Faircloth Amendment, which prohibits the use of federal funding for public housing construction. My understanding is that Congress member Ocasio-Cortez has legislation to that effect.

Brian: Which I presume your support.

Torres: I would support. I and I sit on financial services, and I sit on the subcommittee on housing, insurance, and community development so that issue would come before me as a financial services member.

Brian: Well, to be continued on that and so many other things. Congressman, congratulations again on your election. Sounds like you're off to a substantive start down there and we look forward to having you many times during your first time.

Torres: Take care, Brian.

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