the 7pm news, weeknights on kpix 5. captioning sponsored by cbs >> brennan: i'm margaret brennan in washington. this week on "face the nation," along with more access to vaccines and more money headed to people who need it most, comes more concern about americans moving too quickly to get back to normal. with sunny states easing and some cases dropping health restrictions, spring break 2021 a off to an unhealthy start. according to the t.s.a., 1.3 million people flew on friday, the highest day of travel since the pandemic began. president biden's 100 million shots administered in 100 days challenge has been met in only 50. 11% of the adult population

has been fully vaccinated, but with images like these, there is cause for concern. >> biden: this is not over. conditions can change. we're not finished yet. >> brennan: because images like these are still coming in. the u.s. death toll is at over 534,000 and still rising. the biden administration had another first 50-day accomplishment last week: passage of the american rescue plan. this week the challenge of implementing it begins. >> biden: we have to get this right. we have to continue to build confidence in the american people that their government can function for them and deliver. >> brennan: we'll check in with new york city city mayor bell blahs and governor asa hutchinson. plus there is good news about vaccine hesitancy among minorities. we'll talk with the chair of the covid-19 health equity task force, dr. marcella nunez-smith. and dr. scott gottlieb will join us, and we'll talk with

ireland's prester micheaál martin. it is all ahead on "face the nation." ♪ >> brennan: good morning, and welcome to "face the nation." . president biden's american rescue plan has been signed into law, and it is one of the largest stimulus bills in american history. its impact particularly on low-income americans could be significant. traditional political party lines could also be altered. make no mistake: democrats support and republicans rec -- we begin this morning with senior national correspondent mark strassmann. >> biden: for the first time in a long time, this bill puts working people in this nation first. >> president biden will spend this week selling his new deal for covid america

after a year defined by loss. the american rescue plan becomes washington's neay t socl safety net. two pandemic unemployment programs will extend into september and add up to an extra $300 a week in benefits. multi-billion hikes in housing aid, food stamps, and obamacare subsidies. $50billion for small business relief, and $350 billion in aid to state and local governments as a bailout for blue america. despite broad public support, not one republican in congress voted for the package. >> it was a multi-million trojan horse full of bad, old liberal ideas. >> reporter: and the stimulus bill will be a booster shot to the middle class and the poor. a much more generous child tax credit, and for millions of people, $1400 in direct

payments that start going out this weekend. under the new temporary tax credit, eligible families will get up to $3600 for each child under six. partial benefits could roll out as soon as this july. more than 280 million americans will qualify for the third round of stimulus checks. including this taxi driver in atlanta. business is better, but last year his family barely escaped eviction. >> i'm not out of the woods, but it gives me a small cushion to say, okay, if something does happen, i at least have this to kind of fall back on. >> reporter: for millions of americans, it is also help finding hope, another casualty of this pandemic. >> brennan: mark strassmann reporting from atlanta.

our new cbs news poll out this morning shows americans do have hope and optimism about the coming months. a record-high 64% of those surveyed think efforts to contain the coronavirus are going well. the majority gives president biden credit, with over two-thirds saying he is doing a good job. we go to anthony salvanto for insight. good morning to you, anthony. what is driving these numbers? >> good morning, margaret. there are two key drivers: economic outlook and vaccine outlook and they're linked. let me start by talking about the economy. first, because people think that the outbreak is going to get better over the coming months, 63% who think so, that means for them they can go out and start doing more of the things that they want to do, gathering with family and friends, traveling, going to restaurants and bars more, even shopping.

so that's pent-up demand. that's spending. that could fuel th and sot, in turn, boosts optimism about businesses reopening safely, about the job market in their area, the stock market, they tell us, as well as overall optimism about the national economy. so it is as people are looking forward to doing more of those things, maybe spending more money, that could fuel the economic optimism, margaret. >> brennan: anthony, president biden will be out on the trail talking up this $2 trillion relief package he just signed. it was passed just on the party-line vote. i'm wondering what you're seeing in terms of public perception of it? >> right. that bill is extremely por.has been all throughout. 74% approval. one interesting thing, margaret, you don't get those big approval numbers without across the board, at least some, support from all

partisan supporters. democrats overwhelming in favor, and republicans, even half of them, and it did pass on the party-line vote in congress. why is that? first of all, it hits their pocketbooks. people tell us they think this bill is going sonally. that's always important, as well as, of course, the national economy. there is another component to this, too. in that they think it is going to help working class and lower income people, who tell us they have been so hard-hit by the pandemic, even more so than the wealthy, always associated with higher approval numbers for something like that coming out of washington. >> brennan: popularity explains why the president will be on the trail taking credit for it. how persuasive is he in convincing people to actually be willing to take the vaccine? >> this is the second key component, margaret. we are seeing the trend line

in willingness to get to the vaccine going up. it has been going up over recent months and weeks. you have a majority saying if they haven't gotten it already, yes, they will get it. but there are still some who are hesitant. some on the fence with maybe, and some outright no. and some of the key things we're seeing is it is receipted to partisanship. you have democrats saying they'll get it, and most independents, but there is a reluctance among republicans, and particularly younger republicans under 65. so as they become eligible to get the vaccine, we'll watch whether they change their minds on it. we asked them why they're still hesitant. and they say, well, it is still untested. they're worried about the side effects. some don't trust the government or don't trust the science on it. so that's something we really want to watch. even though i should add, we also asked and a majority of the americans give the trump

administration at least some credit for spurring thatwhre its back to the economy, too. people say, when are they going to feel comfortable venturing out and spending more, and it's when most in their community are vaccinated and cases get even more rare. it is the hesitancy we'll have to watch to see if the economic outlook comes together, margaret. >> brennan: so goes the virus, so goes the economy. thank you very much, anthony salvanto. a year into the covid-19 pandemic, new york city has the highest per capita death rate in the country. joining us now is mayor bill de blasio. good morning to you, mr. mayor. >> mayor: good morning, margaret. how are you going? >> brennan: i'm doing well. i want to ask you about what is happening in your city. we had dr. fauci on our program last sunday and he says he is very concerned about this new variant

circulating in new york because it has shown some resistance to antibodies and the vaccine. what is your health department telling ubabout whyou about who is getting sick. >> mayor: margaret, our health team is really hopeful. we're vigilant about the variants. we don't take them lightly. we've had 2.8 million vaccinations in new york city. the vaccine effort is moving very rapidly. we need a hell of a lot more supply, but it is moving. hesitancy levels are going down. i'm hopeful we' aheadiants. the health department says the vaccine is affective against the variants we've seen. but people should not let their guard down. keep wearing the masks and practice social distancing. we've got a pandemic to overcome and we all have to do it together.

>> brennan: are people who were infected last year getting reinfected? >> mayor: we've not seen a lot of reinfections. it is something our health team has studied carefully. we know that the science is still imperfect, but the answer is to maximize the pace of vaccinations. we could be doing over half a million vaccines a week if we had more supply. >> brennan: the federal government directly supplies you with the supplies. is the biden administration not doing enough? >> it has been the greatest victory, what joe biden has pulled off. but we don't get our fair share. we are vaccinating people in the surrounding suburbs. we don't have contr enough control over our own destiny. this has to be better going forward if we want to reach

everybody with the vaccine. >> brennan: you detected the first covid-19 case march 1st of last year. you waited until the 15th to shut down bars and restaurants, gyms and schools. in fact, you tweeted yourself, on march 1 g peop to go out that one last nk at the bar. why do you think you were so late in understanding the threat? >> mayor: margaret, i'll tell you something, this is the anniversary of our first death, march 14th. we're doing a memorial tonight to remember everyone we lost and to keep their memories close in this city. but, i'll tell you something, i was one of the first in america to shut schools and one of the first in america to shut bars and restaurants. i called for shelter in place. unfortunately, my state government won't agree to it. >> brennan: that is true, you had that dispute very publicly with the governor. but, on the other coast, san francisco's mayor, back on

february 25th, declared an emergency in her city before there was a single infection. we were looking at italy, plenty of people sick there. the writing was on the wall, at least for her. why didn't you see it? >> mayor: margaret, as i said, we closed schools on the 15th. we closed bars and restaurants. we tried to move shelter in place, but, i'll tell you something, we were trying to make sure we were working on the best health evidence while also protecting our children who needed to be in school. this is something i've really focused on, keeping our schools open and bringing our schools back strong in september. this is the kind of thing we can no do with the stimulus money -- >> brennan: but did you feel responsible, because the former c.d.c. director said if you acted earlier, you could have saved 50% to 80% of the people? >> mayor: that is just not equate. the thing that would have been great was shelter in place. when i called for it, governor cuomo said he

wouldn't do it. he said it would bbe, quote, unquote, like imprisoning people. >> brennan: and i know you want more of that control as the governor is politically embattled. you were one of the first democrats to call for andrew cuomo to resign. do you actually think he will do that? >> mayor: i think he'll try to hold out. he is used to getting things his way, and it has been almost an imperial governorship. but the folks in this state and the political leadership don't believe him anymore. he doesn't have any credibility. i think an impeachment proceeding will begin, and i think he will be impeached, and perhaps right before that he'll decide to resign. i've got to tell you something: he should be resign because he is holding up our effort to fight covid. he is literally in the way of us saving lives right now. >> brennan: do you believe that he and his administration deliberately tried to cover up the scale of nursing home deaths?

>> mayor: i don't have a doubt in my mind. everything is about his public image. everything was about his political future. it was not about what people needed. by the way, it was about campaign contributions. the nursing home industry, the big hospital systems, they gave him millions and millions of dollars. and he went easy on them. he tried to cover up for everyone, not just him, but his donors. i think the investigations are going to prove this, margaret. this was a thoroughly corrupt situation. and he just needs to resign so we can actually turn the page. look, it is an optimistic time, as you started out this morning. it is an optimistic time. we've got to put the past behind us. and andrew cuomo can't lead us into the future. we've got the people of the state ready to reopen, but we've got to get him out of the way to do it. >> brennan: i want to know about your future. are you going to run for governor in 2022? >> mayor: i'm focused on covid and reopening my schools and bringing this city back.

that's my focus. >> brennan: that is not a no, sir. >> mayor: i'm not worried about the future. we're in the middle of a war. and we're winning that war. new york city is going to come back, and it will be a recovery for all of us. it will include people everywhere. we had the most folks ride our subway last thursday since the pandemic began. the city is coming back strong, but i'm going to make sure everyone comes alone. >> brennan: i have to ask you about this really troubling spike in hate crimes. it is the city with the most significant spike in crimes against asian-americans. why weren't you better prepared for this? a hate crmes unit at is with asian-ans it hasenorrendou. we have asian-american police officers out in communities, finding the

people who did it, and making sure there are consequences. all americans should stand up for asian-americans. we've got to do this together. >> brennan: mayor, thank you for your time. and "face the nation" will be back in a minute with arkansas governor, asa hutchinson. stay with us. it's occasional constipation. maybe it's not. it could be a chronic medical condition called ibs-c, and time to say yesss! to linzess. linzess works differently than laxatives. it helps relieve belly pain and lets you have more frequent and complete bowel movements. do not give linzess to children less than six and it should not be given to children six to less than 18, it may harm them. do not take linzess if you have a bowel blockage. get immediate help if you develop unusual or severe stomach pain, especially with bloody or black stools. the most common side effect is diarrhea, sometimes severe. if it's severe, stop taking linzess

and call your doctor right away. other side effects include gas, stomach area pain, and swel change your thinking to ibs-c. if your constipation and belly pain keeps coming back, tell your doctor and say yesss! to linzess. >> brennan: despite demand for the vaccine outstripping supply nationally, arkansas is one state that is expanding eligibility in order to use their supply. governor asa hutchinson joins us from little rock this morning. good morning to you, governor. cod, i want to ask youout about politics. your partner, andrew cuomo, governor of new york, head of the national governors' association, should he resign from his position? >> governor: first of all, it is very important to take any allegations by the women who have come forward seriously. they have credibility. they need to be heard. i understand there is an investigation by the

attorney general, and that should proceed. beyond that, you know, he's the chairman of the n.g.a. right now, and he is selected by the democrats, and so that's within their bailiwick to deal with that issue and the people of new york. >> brennan: all right, governor, let me ask you what is happening in your state. our cbs polling, as you heard on the top of the show, is reflecting a real partisan divide in terms of willingness to get the vaccine. young republicans, in particular, are resistant to it. are you seeing the problem and how are you combating it? >> governor: we are seeing that problem, and the poll numbers are troubling because in arkansas it is a very pro-trump state in terms of the last election. and so we see that resistance whenever we are opening up eligibility for the vaccine. we're moving through it very quickly because we're not

having everybody sign up to take it. what we're doing to address it is having influencers, who need to broaden that, to help shape the thinking. but as more and more people get the vaccine, they see it as a way to get back to more normal life. they're excited about it and optimistic. i see the numbers changing. sometimes someone will not take the vaccine, saying i just want to wait a little longer to make sure everything is okay. we're encouraging them not to do it. when it is your turn, take the vaccine. at the same time, we'll move through the eligibility, and then we'll have to come back and catch up. because we'll probably be at a 50% rate, and we need to get up to 70% rate to increase the ill >> ban: giha of thee. prlem, why wou cons lifti the mask mandate at the end of the month? >> governor: well, because we need to continue to wear a mask, socially distance

until we get the vaccine widely accepted. you can do that two ways: one by a mandate and, two, by public common sense. i didn't didn't want to have a jump off the bridge in one moment. so we have a ramp, in which we want to see what our cases look like, positivity rate, and we'll make a decision if we can lift the mask mandate and turn it into guidance and common sense, as we said. i think the time in this pandemic for heavy-handed restrictions and mandates are going by the wayside so people can make good judgments. and we expect that to happen even after march 31st, if the mask mandate is going to get $4 billion from this rescue plan, and many are going to take home the i tax

credits. isn't this good for your state? >> governor: well, there are many good parts of the bill, and that's important to remember. there is rental assistance for people who need it, there is food assistance there. there is also money in there for arts, humanities, really across the board there in increase in spending. some of the most important important elements of it would be trying to recover the lost learning in our schools over this last pandemic year. i think we've done better because we didn't close our schools, but there is still lost learning we have to make up for. there are great investments in there. i know with your previous guest, you talked about why the republican opposn? weits simply too la. for a state like arkansas, we'll be getting more money than in the last cares act, and we have a balanced budge and a surplus. the challenging thing is while there are so many good things in this bill, they

have given us a double whami by saying we are going to distribute the money to the states based upon your uneployment rates. that cost us $390 million. another one is they said you cannot have tax cuts and take this money. we were planning on reducing the sales tax on used cars, that is low-income and mincom nw we're worried about whether that is going to be prohibited under this bill. the language seems to indicate it is. while there are many good things about it, it is too large and we have got to make sure that the states have flexibility. >> brennan: you were a former homeland security in at the borders now, there are thousands of unaccompanied children in u.s. custody. does the u.s. need to send them back or keep them here, as the biden administration is doing?

>> governor: you have to have a stricter border policy or there will be a crisis that will continue throughout this year. unaccompanied minors is a risk to themselves and their families. you have to have a tougher policy so we can repatriate them but care for them as they seek asylum or the help they need. >> brennan: we've got to need it there, sir. need it there, sir. thank you very much, governor. mom and dad left costa rica, 1971.

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