america, with the covid pandemic that suddenly intensified despite the life-saving distribution of vaccines. and an economy that has created millions of jobs but sent prices soaring. the latest setback for the biden administration, senator joe

manchin, putting the plan on ice as congress wraps up for the holidays. >> i'm not giving up. the stakes are too high. >> brennan: vice-president kamala harris will tell us about the administration's priority in the new year. >> do you think you're being set up to fail? >> no, i don't believe i'm being set up to fail. i'm vice president of the united states. anything that i handle is because it is a tough issue. and it couldn't be handled at some other level. >> brennan: we talk policy and saw the personal side of the first woman, first black and first south asian vice president. what gets you fired up? >> in justice. in justice. >> brennan: plus a "face the nation" holiday tradition. our year-end correspondents' panel returns to wrap up 2021

and looks forward to 2022. it's all ahead on "face the nation." ♪♪ >> brennan: good morning and welcome to "face the nation." on this day after christmas, we bring you a special conversation with vice-president kamala harris. we met up with her last week in her cerimonial office in the old executive office building for a wide-ranging conversation. everything from covid to voting rights to the criticism that she has faced in her job. medical experts are projecting we could see as many as a million infections per day because of this new omicron variant. is our health care system prepared for what is coming? >> we are prepared for it. and there is no question there is a lot about this moment that is frustrating, but let's not forget our individual power to actually do something about it. everyone has to get vaccinated. the vaccines are free.

they are safe. and they'll save your life. >> brennan: we're already seeing hospitals overwhelmed with delta, inflation is real, it is going to be with us as long as the pandemic dominates. as you know, the exhaustion is just with us all of the time. when can you tell the american people this will end? >> we have the power today to have an impact on tomorrow. and we can't short change the significance of that. we have the power today to go out and if you've not been boosted, go get boosted. the power today to go and get vaccinated. and that will have an impact on where we end up tomorrow. >> brennan: is it the fault of the unvaccinated? >> i don't think this is a moment to talk about fault. it is no one's fault that this virus hit our shores or hit the world. i would not blame it on anyone in that way. but it is more about individual power and responsibility. and it's about the decisions

that e everyone has a choice to make, no doubt. but it is clear that everyone has the ability to make a choice to save their lives and to prevent hospitalization, if they get vaccinated and if they get the booster. so i urge people to do that. >> brennan: this is going to be hard for the economy. are you going to need to ask congress for another relief package? >> let's talk about the economy. what is in our grasp? to build back better. the average person in america is going to measure the economy based on can they afford to get through the day and the month. the cost of living, can they keep up with the cost of living, child care, elder care, prescription drugs. >> brennan: you're talking about the build back better act as if it still has some life to it. as you know, senator joe manchin says it is a no. >> i'm not giving up, the president is not giving up.

frankly, the costs are too high. >> brennan: it is the cost of the bill that led bill manhattan joe manchin to say it will hurt the economy. >> there is room for discussion about what actually will be the impact to the economy. an objective, leading, and highly respected economists are weighing in on this discussion to say, in fact, no. >> brennan: when you look at what is actually possible right now, do you feel that senator manchin is playing fair with you? >> i think the stakes are too high to be in any way about any specific individual. we have to -- >> brennan: it is a 50/50 senate, though, so -- >> it is. i'm the tie-breaker. in fact, the president and i joke. when i leave one of our meetings to go break a tie, he says, well, that's going to be a winning vote. it is a joke we have. [laughter] >> the stakes are so high. and we can't afford, in this

moment of time, where we have an opportunity to do something so substantial in terms of public policy in america, to literally help families, i refuse to get caught up in what might be personal politics when the people who are waking up at 3:00 in the morning worried about how they're going to get by could care less about the politics of d.c. they just want us to fix things. >> brennan: well, the child care tax credit has already expired, so how do you -- >> we have to extend it. >> brennan: how do you do that without senator manchin? >> we don't give up, that's how. >> brennan: the president has also put you in charge of voting rights. >> yeah. i've been right there. there is so much about this fight for justice and the ideals of our democracy that are part of just my d.n.a.. you know, i've been meeting with

prime ministers and president's from around the world. one of my favorite interactions was with the now past chancellor of germany, angela merkel. we talked about everything that has to do with our relative nations and our priority. and then she asked me about voting. and she knew what was going on here. and this is not a subject that was unique to my conversation with her, by the way, in terms of world leaders. because people around the world watch what we do as america. and right now we're about to take ourselves off the map as a role model if we let -- if we let people destroy one of the most important pillars of the democracy, which is free and fair election. >> brennan: you're talking about what is happening in state capitols around the world? >> i am. and the passing of the john

lewis voting rights advancement act and the freedom to vote act. it is about our standing in the world, the integrity of our democracy. when our kids look back five or ten years from now at this mom, moment, it will be on our watch we either stood for and fought for our democracy or not. i think that is all at stake right now. >> brennan: but you have the reality of a 50/50 senate. and you have two senators who say they're not on board for the filibuster in trying to push this through. how do you overcome that reality of not having the votes and not having a clear path forward? >> we will do and look at whatever is necessary to push for congress to take this issue on. and we have to. we have to. >> brennan: carve out to the filibuster? >> i'm not saying that. what i'm saying is that we are going to urge the united states congress, and we have been, to examine the tools they have

available, to do what is necessary to fight and retain the integrity of our voting system in america. >> brennan: it sounds like you're open, though, to the carve out to a filibuster to get there? you were when you were running for president. are voting rights important to you? >> i believe that voting rights is one of the most significant issues facing us as individuals and as leaders today. no question. voting rights lead to every other right, every other right. so we need to prioritize it as a nation. i think it is really important about in this conversation of what is happening in washington, d.c. about the issue of voting, we do not lose fact there is one whole group of people, half of the united states senate, who are refusing to even debate this issue. >> brennan: to that point, you were just in the senate, and the president spent decades there. how come you can't pull someone

across the aisle or manage joe manchin within your own party? >> we are trying. we are not going to give up on these issues. but you're right, it is a 50/50 senate. it is a 50/50 senate, and so -- but it has to be a combination of us as an administration, but also everyone weighing in. and i'm glad we're having this conversation. i think we have to continue to elevate the conversation about voting rights. given the daily grind that people are facing, this may not feel like an immediate or urgent matter when, in fact, it is. and the more we have the opportunity to talk about, the more i think people will see, yeah, i don't want an america of the future for my kids to be an america where we are suppressing the right of the right of the american people to vote. >> brennan: what do you see is the biggest national security challenge confronting the u.s.? what is the thing that will keep

you up at night? >> frankly, one of them is our democracy. there is, i think, no question in the minds of people who are foreign policy experts that the year 2021 is not the year 2000. i think there is so much about foreign and domestic policy that, for example, was guided and prioritized based on september 11, 2001, and we're embarking on a new era where the threats to our nation take many forms, including the threat of autocracy, taking over and having outside influence around the world. so i go back to our point about the need to fight for the integrity of our democracy. in addition, it is obviously about what we need to do on the climate crisis. >> brennan: there are 100,000 russian troops on the border with ukraine. are we going to see a hot war in europe in the next f few

weeks? >> we are having direct conversations with russia. we are very clear that russia should not invade the sovereignty of ukraine, that we must stand up, and we are standing up, for its integral territory. we are prepared to issue sanctions like you've never seen before. >> brennan: does that mean sanctioning vladimir putin directly? >> i'm not going to say that, but we're working very closely with him and with our allies. >> brennan: but in the past, alongside allies, sanctions have been punitive. it hasn't stopped vladimir putin to date? >> i will repeat that the type of sanctions we're talking about are sanctions we have not done before. >> brennan: you said you were in the room when the decision was made about the pullout of

afghanistan. do you feel personal responsibility for the chaos of what went wrong? >> i fully supported the president's decision to -- after what was taking on the fact of being an endless war, of pulling american troops out. i think it is very important tol th the afghanistan government to be at the table, and negotiated a deal that required and promised, as part of the agreement, that we would pull out by the end of may. so we were saddled with that sob responsibility based on an agreement between the united states and the taliban. >> brennan: you agreed to extend it and not to break the agreement with the taliban? >> we made the decision that if we were to break the agreement, it would have been a whole other

situation. right now i strongly believe that had we broken that agreement, we would be talking about the war in afghanistan and american troops in afghanistd wt candidate, you pledged to protect the gains that were made for afghan women. >> yes, and i feel very strongly about that. >> brennan: many afghani women are not in school today because the taliban is in control. >> which is why we're working through the u.n. and doing what we need to do, through or friends, to provide humanitarian assistance, by passing the taliban, to make sure that we are supporting women and girls there. one of our big issues in terms of any conversations with the taliban is exactly this point, which is: the condition and status and the treatment of women and girls. including for girls, access to education.

not to mention our concern about counter-terrorism and what we need to do in terms of that threat. these are real issues, there is no question. the united states has been, and continues to be since the end of august, the biggest contributor of humanitarian aid -- >> brennan: but a lot of that aid isn't able to make it in. so for afghan women, do you worry they were abandoned by the united states, essentially? >> i worry that the taliban hat not complied with what we know to be the appropriate treatment and the right treatment of girls and women. that is why we're talking the posture that we are with the taliban right now, because that one of our greatest considerations and concerns. >> brennan: what do you think your biggest failure has been at this point? >> to not get out of d.c. more (laughing). and i actually mean that

sincerely for a number of reasons. a large part of the relationship that he and i have built is being together in the same office for hours on end, doing zooms or whatever, because we couldn't get out of d.c. and on issues that are about fighting for anything from voting rights to child care, one of the issues i care deeply about, maternal health, being with the people who are directly impacted by this work, listening to them so that they, not some pundit, tells us what their priorities are. i think it is critically important. >> brennan: i talked to some of their senate colleagues, and they say you have been given an impossible portfolio. donna brazil said all of the focus on turnover in your office is overblown, but you do need to renew and repurpose. cary sellers said her portfolio is trashed. you give someone a portfolio

that is not meant for them to succeed. do you think you're being set up to fail? >> no, i don't believe i'm being set up to fail. >> brennan: but even democrats -- >> but more important, i'm vice president of the united states. anything that i handle is because it is a tough issue and it couldn't be handled at some other level. and there are a lot of big, tough issues that need to be addressed, and it has actually been part of my life-long career to deal with tough issues. and this is no different. >> brennan: why do you think there is such scrutiny? i mean, women are always held to a different standard. that's just a fact. the fact that you're a woman, and the fact that you're a minority in this office, is that part of why there is such scrutiny? >> i'll leave that for others to deal with. you know, i have a job to do and

i'm going to get that job done. if you talk about being the first or being -- maybe it is because i am that for the first time maternal health is on the stage at the white house, where we're bringing people in from around the country to talk about maternal morality, to talk about issues like post post-pardem care, to do it because it is the right thing to do regardless of your gender, regardless of your race, and it affects so many women around our country. >> brennan: we'll have a lot more of our conversation with the vice president in one minute.

service better. ss wireless this round's on me. holiday better with 5g from america's most reliable network. because everyone deserves better. johnson & johnson holiday better with 5g from america's most reliable network. is the world's largest healthcare company. building a future where cancers can be cured. strokes can be reversed. joints can be 3-d printed. and there isn't one definition of what well feels like. there are millions. we're using our world to make your world a world of well. >> brennan: here is more of our conversation with vice-president kamala harris. when you hear people start talking about 2024, do you feel

that is disrespectful to you and to the president? >> i think that there are so many issues that are present issues in 2021, that i just don't have the luxury of engaging in that. the pundits can sit back and do whatever they do. >> brennan: do you feel what becomes possible is going to dramatically change after 2022, since republicans, many project, will be taking the majority? >> we'll see. we'll see. i don't know; we'll see. >> brennan: you don't feel that calendar really pushing you to get things done in the year ahead? >> i feel a great sense of urgency for a variety of reasons to do everything we do. it boils down to the fact i've done a lot of work for children. the day in a life of a child is a very long time. sense of urgent s -- sense of

urgency, right? people are going to work every day and buses are breaking down -- sense of urgency, right? i can go down the list. for me, the focus is what wakes people up in the middle of the night. i call it the 3:00 and the morning issue. when you wake up at 3:00 in the morning, for most people what is on their mind is how are they going to pay their bills? how are they going to take care of their children? are they going to have a roof over their heads? these are real issues that affect people every day. they don't have the luxury of some chatter about what is going to happen in an election that is three years out. >> brennan: but for people going into their third year of this pandemic, you talk about cost of living, was it wrong to consider inflation transitory? these price spikes seem like they're going to be with us for a while. >> we have to address the fact -- we have to deal with the

fact that folks are paying for gas, paying for groceries, and they need solutions to it. so let's talk about that. the short-term solution includes what we need to do about the supply-chain, right? so we went to the ports of los angeles, long beach, and savannah, george, and we said, 24/7, let's move the product. people need what they need. we're dealing with it in terms of the long-term. we want to pass build back better because it strengthens our economy. >> brennan: is that your top priority for the new year? >> it is one of them. i don't have the luxury of having just one (laughing). >> brennan: fair. people saw you the other day, when you did that interview with charlemagne. >> who is the real president, you or joe biden? >> come on, charlemagne, it is

joe biden. and i'm vice president, and my name is kamala harris. and the reality is because we are in office, we do the things like the child tax credit, which is going to reduce black child poverty by 50%. >> you see frustration. >> brennan: frustration. we saw that in the kavanagh hearing. what gets you fired up? >> injustice. injustice is generally what will get me, you know, kind of -- it's -- i don't like unfairness. and, um...that is one of the things that will kind of cause me to say, okay, you know, some things are fairly innocuous, but unfairness in a way that can be hurtful to someone, i -- that's why i became a prosecutor, you

know? >> brennan: do you think you are judged fairly? >> i will leave others to make that decision. >> brennan: our full interview with the vice president is available on our website atwe right. wanted to do something to remember my mom. for some reason, i'm having anxiety. obviously it's normal with everything that's going on right now. i think i'm going to take a break for a while. you can get through it. and if you can get through it, there's a greater reward on the other side. just like anybody else, you know, i'm just trying to do my little part to try and save my community. ta-da! i'm just really excited we're back open. and i am smiling under my mask!

incredible scenes on the day the fans came back. welcome back to the theater! you guys, it's been so long! you're looking at yourself in the mirror, and you're just like, “there. i. am.” be your best. never, ever, ever stop dreaming. i don't care what they tell you. ...we the jury in the above entitled manner as to count three find the defendant guilty. i am proud to be asian. we are not drowning, we are fighting. we cannot keep quiet about climate injustice. we just have to band together as a c.ction is tll that even as we hurt, we hoped. that even as we tired, we tried. that we'll forever be tied together, victorious.

>> brennan: if you're not able to watch the full "face the nation," you can set your d.v.r. or we're available on demand. plus, you can watch us through our cbs or paramount +apps.

>> brennan: we'll be right back with our annual cbs correspondents right here on "face the nation." stay with us. ♪♪

♪ ♪ >> james: it's week 16 in the league. >> nate: joe burrow, against denver broncos played error-free. he needs to do that again today against the baltimore ravens