with david bidder. after that, a student bank on private student loans. after that, "q&a." as the congress wraps up its business and makes way for its august break, we are pleased to have senator david vitter of louisiana. he is a senior republican on the environment works committee. he is chair of the caucus. that's an right at the center and many of the big issues. thank you for being with us. let me introduce our two reporters. the associated press national environment reporter. susan is that the washington examiner. i am going to start with your caucus. that is a very front and center issue for americans right now. what is on the minds is is it

appropriate for congress to be taking a break? >> before the election is what i work the only vote harry reid is allowing is a pure spending bill, spending more money on the situation to house the illegals in this country and to distribute them around the country rather than focus on enforcement and making changes to the laws that are necessary to streamline enforcements. i think the house will act in a more balanced way doing both. if harry reid would allow them. >> there is a big question about how to handle these migrants. unaccompanied children, 60,000, some feel like we should keep them here as refugees.

even some conservatives are talking about that as a compassionate move. democrats are behind that as well. what do you think should happen? should they be given court hearings or should they be quickly deported if they are even from central american countries? >> i agree with those who say this is a crisis on many levels including humanitarian. these are minors. the biggest phone ability they have is that they are being transported in the hands of criminal gangs, literally that is not an overstatement. druglords, coyotes. the only way you stop that his wake deportation, quick, streamlined action. to get there we may need some more money. we do need some changes to the 2008 law.

this is the only thing that is going to stay this low. that is the most humanitarian policy. putting these in the hands of criminal elements when they are abused as a very serious situation. >> the house is going to vote on a measure calling on them for deferred actions. do you support that? >> i do. it is pretty clear this has a lot to do with the current flow. if you look at the numbers and the metrics, this started very soon after the 2012 executive order. the spike clearly started right after that.

is that a coincidence? this is part of the problem. this is a necessary part of the solution. >> it has been a take week. republicans just issued a report looking into the environmental movement. how is this different from what happens on the other side? there is conservative funding for opposite means. how you differentiate between the two.

>> i'm very excited this was done on the minority side of the environment. there are reports about the billionaires club. this very well financed and complicated system of funding the policy object does. this is different from a lot of other things you see on the left and right. it is a very complicated, multilayer system. it is super complicated with multiple layers. the only reasonable conclusion is to defeat any hope of transparency. it is obvious what is going on. there is not a lot but transparency.

by design there is a complete lack of transparency. the other is the dollar numbers. the dollar numbers are truly monument. they are much larger than you see in most other efforts and most other categories. >> there is things that you are opposed. there is another report those with out that shows the power plant actually benefit states like louisiana. refineries are expanding, a chief source of power. how do you balance that she -- this opposition of yours to forces in your own state that would be benefit? >> i am sure some companies and

big industrials would benefit here and what i'm concerned about are the folks who can least afford very significant increases in electricity bills. the poor, the vulnerable those , on fixed incomes. those are the folks that are always hurt when you have a big cost increase in energy. that is fundamentally what we are talking about. some big companies, some big investors will benefit. but the very core is going to be on the front line in terms of significantly increasing electricity. >> turning to your decision to run for governor. you have a solid tenure in the senate. the republicans are poised for state majority would give -- which would give more power. why run for governor now -- governor now? >> we thought a lot about this before we made our decision.

we decided that i could have a but more impact from start to finish and that chief executive position. we are at an exciting point. lots of opportunity for our great economic road. -- economic growth. to really fully capitalize on that and take advantage. we need to take some important fundamental things right, starting with education. i am really excited about those challenges. as governor i can have a much bigger impact. this is in no way negative in any sense. i really think republicans are going to take over the senate. i'm going to have a great final year in the senate in that regard. >> could you talk a little bit about your view and where you are?

what would you do as governor? >> it started up including louisiana. i strongly support the common core standard. people who really read them. this may not be a whole lot. people do not actually look at them. the key is being aggressive at the state level or implementation. number one, planning and implementation so nobody is caught off guard. there is no preparation in the classroom. retaining reading lists. we can do that. some have not put in the necessary effort to do that and be fully on top of that. i would absolutely do that.

>> you have paired up with the late senator on a bill to reform this. back in april there was a lot of controversy about this. where does this stand now. where do they stand on that effort? >> 10 minutes ago i was in a member's meeting with her he other members about that very issue. frank lautenberg has passed a couple of months after we struck the historic deal. tom udall has stepped up on the side. he has been a great partner. we just had a meeting with sir. -- with barbara boxer.

we're trying to get to the goal. i think there's absolutely this for the congress. there's still bipartisan legislation to reform the regulation of chemicals including toxic chemicals. everybody involved in that industry and consumer groups says there is a significant updating that needs to happen. i think we still have fact important opportunity. >> is boxer on board with advancing the bill? >> we just presented her a new redline. she's going to look at that with her staff in the next few weeks. i continue to be optimistic that we have a very bipartisan effort. barbara is the outlier on the democratic side. i am very optimistic. >> are halfway through the

program. >> can you talk about how this will affect your state? -- how the health care law will affect your state? will you expand medicating your state? a lot of republican governors have decided to do that. where do you stand on the issue? >> what we need to focus on is fundamentally reforming medicaid. we talk about medicaid for the poor. it is a broken system. people with no coverage at all have better health outcomes than this. we need to reform it. if we can reform does, the fundamental challenge is significant reform. we are not joining official state resources away from other

priorities. a growth in health-care costs has largely been driven by the federal government. it has drained this into health care. we cannot afford for that trend to continue. i will not allow any discussion of changes to further this. >> the house voted yesterday to begin a lawsuit against the executive branch over its decision to delay the mandate. do you think it helps the party? do you think they could be successful? >> i'm going to take the radical approach and focus on the substance first. i think president obama is

picking and choosing what parts of the law to enforce them what parts of the law to ignore. i believe that is beyond his constitutional authority. i think that's lawsuit is exactly right. we passed the law. congress passed the law. you cannot then pick and choose what he is going to enforce and what he is not going to enforce. what deadline he is going to ignore. >> going back to the global warming issue, recently for epa chiefs came to the hill and basically call for action on climate change. i met with them prior to their appearance. this is not seem to happen. what do you think is going on? why do we have republicans with environmental credentials? they are proposing these two

standards. i do not think this should be so -- of epa was sometimes the extreme left wing of the party. i do not think that is the mainstream view. i think the mainstream view is real skepticism when you compare huge costs of this proposal to our economy and specifically to the most vulnerable. huge costs that are going to impact the spirit of china and india and others cannot change their clearly stated policy there would be zero benefits. that is the main concern among republicans, particularly when we are struggling with an rd mediocre area.

>> has you get countries like china and india who are big it matures to change their policy if the u.s. does nothing? >> i don't think you do it by having the u.s. tank , not tied to any discussion or negotiation. i am not sure how you'd do it. but i do not think that is a productive path. >> in my reporting i was looking at a sea level rise around virginia. i had a conversation with no and -- noah and noah said where do they stand up to the sea level rise? they said it is not the worst. it is the worst on the east coast. as the senator from louisiana, probably a place that is experiencing global warming. as the senator from louisiana, a

place that is experiencing the consequences of global warming how do try to explain this to , your constituents? >> they were in the coastal issues at all. i don't think global warming is the biggest issue we face. i think by far the biggest issue we face is coastal erosion which is fundamentally about two things. we have levied the mississippi river and pushed that sentiment out into the gulf where it actually creates a dead zone rather than rebuilding the coast. secondly, the energy issue channeled the coast. that killed the vegetation which was the glue that held that together. we had a very coastal plan which puts it in a part of developing this with many other folks. we're on the path plan. those are the biggest.

>> turning now to a state issue that will certainly come up if you are elected governor. the minimum wage. what is your view on state action to rage minimum wage or a federal bill that will raise minimum wage? >> in louisiana we have huge positive industrial projects coming along relating to natural gas. we have great job opportunities. the obvious challenge is to train people to meet the opportunities. if you have the right holding -- welding certificate, you can walk into your first job ever and be earning 60,000 plus a year. that is a great salary in louisiana. in four years, you can be $100,000. our biggest challenge is workforce development and training. i'm going to be focused to get

people with those opportunities, not a minimum wage job flipping hamburgers. >> you're likely to be asked to weigh in. it has come up in your state legislature. i am not avoiding the question. i just think it is counterproductive. i think it is far more productive to focus on these job-training opportunities. i want to veer to another controversy. hydraulic fracturing. you and several other senators have talked about the investigation of fracturing going forward. just this week, congress investigated it. they put out a report saying the epa has to do a better job of regulating all of the ways, -- the wastewater generated by hydraulic fracturing. because of the links to

earthquakes. what is your response to that? in terms of epa stepping in more? specifically my objection to the study was it was focused on something completely beyond their jurisdiction. that is completely beyond their jurisdiction. you can read their mandate and read what they want to study. they do not match up. secondly, look, we have meaning -- we need to make sure that fracking is dealt with properly. fundamentally, the process of fracking has been a round for almost 100 years and i do not think there is anything fundamentally unsound about it. of -- final question about the governor's race. one poll is showing some serious

dissent ruvell. -- disapproval. theink he was rated one of most unpopular governors in the country. what is your view of his job performance? >> i am preparing to be graded. not to great others. for my priorities in the administration, working with a great team to move the state forward, not focused on what bobby has done or not done. i have said very clearly that this is going to be my last political job, elected or appointed. i'm going to be focused on moving the state forward for the benefit of all louisianians. from our best and brightest to our most vulnerable. that is going to be my focus. >> i'm going to have to go back to global warming. it is the topic do sure -- the

topic du jour. topic in thethe real world. >> there is some criticism. >> in washington. >> you are not happy with where the president is going. you don't think -- you think he is overstepping his bounds. the question becomes what is your proposal? what is your alternative? does this not need to be addressed? >> i think the entire premise on which the president is at doing in terms of the types of work -- of forecasts is completely overstated. i do not support that draconian action that is going to have a huge impact on the economy. particularly on the poor and the most vulnerable. the forecast they is you -- they

are using is very suspect. none of these has come true. we are to have zero impact of -- impact if china, india and other countries do not dramatically change their policy. >> what is the plan? is there any republican being focused? >> they're focused on other things like any the economy back -- like getting this economy back on track. if we have real job growth we are much better equipped to deal with the plethora of challenges. >> final question. this is when people are talking about. that is veterans affairs issues. >> i agree with the. that is being talked about everywhere. >> on your homepage you invite them to share the stories. as congress leaves this town, do you feel like there have been steps taken to right what is wrong?

>> i supported this change. i wish them all the best. they are getting some clinics done that are way overdue in louisiana. veterans are not adequately dealt with within the system. they have other opportunities. they can see other providers. another big reform is to cut through the overly cumbersome laws and let the new secretary to actually be able to fire people. that is an important start. is it everything we need? no. we need to follow through. >> this has been a wide-ranging conversation. thank you. >> what is congress leaving and

-- leaving undone? >> it is on the environment. i was a little bit surprised about the meeting he mentions on the top of the reform at that he and martin burke had penned. that is undone. there was some real bipartisan movement. you don't get that very often. that was really the big one. >> on the flip side are there any accomplishments? >> it's funny. it hasn't been a great run. you saw some bills that would easily pass things on energy efficiency making things more efficient like appliances, getting tripped up with things

they do not like from republicans. whether that was forcing another oror down vote on pipelines trying to get a vote on the floor about the epa's plans on power plants. this partisan divide on some of these issues has tripped up what historically would be a no-brainer piece of legislation. >> this is what many of the members will be doing. assess the political state of affairs. >> is not just environmental issues. there is a bit of a voter backlash. i think there is a lot of feeling in the congress right now that is all about 2014. you also have republicans who

are angry about amendment process. they said no to bills they even liked. things aren't getting done that both sides like because of the partisan gridlock. more so than i have seen in years. this is remarkable to me. the second thing that is a good thing is that they were able to get done some things they knew they could not leave town without doing. that includes the veteran reform bill. democrats in the senate -- they managed to work over the weekend. they moved that bill ahead. accomplishments because they know the public wants it done.

i think that is going to motivate them in the future in terms of what they are willing to do. if they feel the public doesn't want to tolerate the gridlock, they will see it. they're watching that fine line. i believe republicans feel that they can leave town without giving the president more money. they are willing to do it rather than giving the president a blank check their politics is ruling the day on capitol hill. they're keeping a close eye. >> the question is what they're doing. >> when money is running low you'll hear all kind of complaints that they cannot furniture any further. -- function any further. no money is needed at all. the president has money.

conversely, we know there is a backlog of emigrants waiting for hearings. there are not enough judges and courtrooms. this has doubled over the past deck eight. -- the past decade. i think both sides acknowledge that this cannot be done quickly unless they put in more resources. >> this is the worst atmosphere in years. you focus on a bipartisan area. what is your assessment between the parties? >> on the environment, it is the worst i have seen. you are caught and this very interesting race where republicans want to force a vote on issues. these are complicated topics. they do not really follow party lines sometimes.

they know if they bring an amendment to the senate floor they're going to not these off from states that are affected by these rules. that is the real rub. the is a war between what harry reid wants to put on the floor and what republicans see on the floor. as a result, you're going to get some basic bills. that's where we are. >> thank you. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] >> here's a look at some of the live events we will have tomorrow on c-span. at 1:00 p.m., a discussion of a spot in the african-american community.