HAVE THE VOTES TO GET IT DONE IN

ANY OTHER WAY.

MARIA: JOINING ME RIGHT NOW TO

WEIGH IN DIRECTOR OF OFFICE

MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET MICK

MULVANEY.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

>> I LIKE THE OUTDOOR STUDIO.

MARIA: LITTLE COLD.

WANTS TO ACCOMPLISH WHAT HE’S

PREPARED TO DO IN THE SECOND

TERM, WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT

TONIGHT FROM YOUR STANDPOINT?

>> A LOT OF THE REPORTS HAVE

BEEN INACCURATE.

I THINK YOU WILL SEE UPBEAT,

VERY POSITIVE SPEECH, HE WILL

START TO REACH ACROSS THE AISLE

A LITTLE BIT.

WE WILL TALK ABOUT THE SUCCESS

THAT IS WE’VE HAD IN THE PAST

YEAR.

I THINK ONE THING THAT PEOPLE

SORT OF IGNORE ABOUT THE

GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN WAS THE

POLITICAL ANGLE OF IT LAST WEEK

AND THAT HAPPENED OVER THE

ANNIVERSARY OF THE INAUGURATION.

I’M STILL CONVINCED THAT THE

DEMOCRATS DID THAT IN ORDER TO

DENY THE PRESIDENT SORT OF THAT

FORUM TO TALK ABOUT WHAT A GREAT

FIRST YEAR THE ADMINISTRATION

HAS HAD.

YOU SEE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT

AND A LITTLE BIT OF LOOKING

FORWARD INTO WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT

NEXT YEAR.

MARIA: OF COURSE, WE HAVE SEEN

GOOD PERFORMANCE IN TERNLS OF

ECONOMICS, WHEN YOU COME OUT

WITH THE BUDGET IN THE NEXT

COUPLE OF WEEKS, ARE YOU GOING

TO TALK ABOUT 3% GROWTH,

ECONOMIC GROWTH?

>> YEAH, IN FACT, IT’LL GIVE ME

A CHANCE TO TELL EVERYBODY I

TOLD YOU. SO EVERYBODY ON THE

LEFT ACCUSED OF USING ECONOMIC

ASSUM LS THAT WERE WAY TOO

OPTIMISTICS, 2.7% GROWTH, 2.9

FOR NEXT YEAR AND 3% AFTER THAT

AND WE WILL BEAT THAT ALREADY,

THE NUMBERS THAT EVERYBODY ON

THE LEFT SAID WE WOULD NEVER

ASHOVE WE ACHIEVED FASTER THAN

WE THOUGHT WE WOULD.

MARIA: 4%, IS THAT ACHIEVABLE?

>> WHAT’S BEING OVERLOOKED WITH

THE TAX BILL, IT’S BEEN SO LONG

THAT WE HAD A TAX BILL THAT DID

THIS MUCH AS THIS TAX BILL,

SHORT-TERM STIMULUS TO THE

ECONOMY AND WHAT WE HAVE BEEN

ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH OVER THE

COURSE OF THE LAST YEAR NOT ONLY

WITH TAX BILL BUT DEREGULATORY

POLICIES THAT WE PUT IN PLACE,

WE REALLY DO FEEL THAT WE HAVE

CHANGED THE FUNDAMENTAL

STRUCTURE OF THE AMERICAN

ECONOMY WHERE IT’S NOT A

SHORT-TERM STIMULUS, IT’S NOT A

SUGAR HIGH, NOW ENABLE AN

ECONOMY TO HAVE LONG-TERM

ECONOMIC HEALTH.

SO WE THINK THE NUMBERS CAN

STICK AROUND FOR A LONG.

MARIA: CERTAINLY WE ARE SEEING

AND SEEING IT WITH COMPANIES

TRYING TO PASS ON SOME OF THAT

SAVINGS.

LET ME ASK YOU WHERE WE ARE

TODAY, WE ARE SEEING INTEREST

RATES CREEP UP, YOU HAVE BEEN

TALKING ABOUT 10-YEAR YIELD,

STARTS GETTING INVESTORS

NERVOUS.

HOW NERVOUS ARE YOU WHEN YOU SEE

RATES GOING HIGHER AND EXPECTING

TO GO HIGHER, OUR INTEREST

PAYMENTS AS COUNTRY GO UP AS

WELL.

>> YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD,

WHY ARE THEY GOING UP, IF

THEY’RE CREEPING UP BECAUSE THE

ECONOMY IS DOING BETTER AND

BETTER, THAT SORT OF COMES WITH

THE TERRITORY, RIGHT, IT’S ONE

OF THE REASONS WE TRY TO REMIND

PEOPLE, LOOK, THIS IS ONE OF THE

RISKS TO HAVE 20 TRILLION-DOLLAR

DEBT WHEN YOU’RE SITTING ON THAT

MUCH DEBT, EVERY ADDITIONAL

MONEY.

WE TRY AND REMIND FOLKS THAT

GROWTH IS FANTASTIC AND WE WILL

TAKE IT BUT WE ALSO DO PAY VERY

CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE INTEREST

RATES.

MARIA: SO WHAT ABOUT THE DEBT,

WHEN DOES IT BECOME PRIORITY, I

RECOGNIZE THAT GROWTH HAS BEEN

YOUR PRIORITY GOING INTO THE

STATE OF THE UNION BUT NOW WE

ARE TALKING ABOUT 1 AND A HALF

TRILLION DOLLAR TAX PLAN, MORE

MONEY BEING SPENT ON

INFRASTRUCTURE, IN FACT, THAT

MATERIALIZES, WHAT DO YOU DO TO

CUT BACK IN TERMS OF GETTING

YOUR ARMS AROUND THAT?

>> ONE OF THE THINGS WE TALKED

ABOUT DURING THE TAX PLAN, TO

CONVINCE FOLKS TO VOTE FOR IT,

YES, YOU WOULD SEE A SHORT-TERM

SPIKE IN THE DEFICIT BECAUSE THE

WAY THE TAX PLAN LAYED OUT.

IT WOULD TAKE A COUPLE YEARS FOR

BENEFITS TO PAY OFF.

ONE OF THE THINGS WE DIDN’T TALK

ABOUT, VERY FEW PEOPLE TALKED

ABOUT CAPITAL INVESTMENT NUMBERS

THAT CAME OUT ON FRIDAY, ALMOST

FOUR TIMES THAT WE EXPECTED.

THOSE TYPES OF INVESTMENT TAKE

TIME TO PAY OFF.

YOU HAVE A SHORT-TERM HIT TO THE

REVENUE SIDE OF THE EQUATION

WHICH YOU HAVE LONG-TERM PAYOFF

AND YOU SEE TEMPORARY SPIKE IN

THE DEFICIT AND AS GROWTH KICKS

IN YOU SEE DEFICIT START TAIL

OFF.

MARIA: YOU HAVE TO SEE SPENDING

CUTS IN ORDER TO REALLY MOVE THE

THERE, RIGHT?

YOU LOOK AT SOMEBODY LIKE

COMMITTEE FOR RESPONSIBLE

BUDGET, SHE FEELS THAT, YOU

KNOW, YOU NEED TO ACTUALLY COME

OUT WITH SPECIFICS IN TERMS OF

CUTTING BACK SPENDING IN THIS

UPCOMING BUDGET.

>> YEAH, SPENDING RESTRAINT HAS

ALWAYS BEEN PART OF THE PLAN, IT

WAS PART OF THE PLAN IN LAST

YEAR’S BUDGET AND THIS YEAR’S

BUDGET, WE GO BACK TO LAST TIME

WE BALANCED THE BUDGET IN LATE

1990’s.

THERE WASN’T DRAMATIC CUTS.

THAT’S THE SAME FORMULA WE ARE

TRYING TO GET BACK TO TODAY.

MARIA: WE WERE TALKING ABOUT

47 TRILLION-DOLLAR BUDGET AND

YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT VERY LITTLE

IN TERMS OF SPENDING, COME ON,

YOU HAVE A LOT OF PRIORITIES,

RAISE MONEY FOR MILITARY, RAISE

THE NUMBERS, YOU TO RAISE THE

NUMBERS IN TERMS OF

INFRASTRUCTURE PACKAGE, ARE WE

TALKING $1.7 TRILLION

INFRASTRUCTURE PACKAGE AND HOW

MUCH OF THAT IS FEDERAL MONEY?

>> AGAIN, I DON’T WANTING TO IN

SPECIFICS ON THE DOLLAR AMOUNTS

UNTIL WE ROLL OUT THE PLAN HERE

WHICH I THINK IS IN THE NEXT

WEEK OR TO BUT I WANT TO TALK

ABOUT THE CONCEPT OF HOWEVER

THIS IS FEDERAL MONEY, ONE OF

THE THINGS YOU’RE GOING TO SEE

IS INNOVATIVE IDEAS ON HOW TO

STRETCH THE FEDERAL DOLLAR, KEEP

IN MIND, THE LARGE MAJORITY IS

PAID BY STATE AND LOCAL

GOVERNMENTS, FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

ONLY PAYS ABOUT 20% BUT WE

REGULATE 100% OF IT.

IN ADDITION TALKING ABOUT HOW WE

ARE GOING RAISE MONEY, STRETCH

FEDERAL DOLLARS, YOU WILL SEE

ABOUT HOW WE CAN MAKE THE MONEY

THAT’S ALREADY THERE GET ON THE

GROUND FASTER BY STREAMLINING

REGULATION.

MARIA: DO YOU EXPECT TO BALANCE

BUDGET ’19 BUDGET?

>> HOPE SO.

THE LONGER WE WAIT, MORE AND

MORE DIFFICULT TO DO.

I DON’T KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT

QUESTION.

MARIA: WITH ECONOMIC GROWTH

THAT’S ALWAYS HELPFUL AND YOU

WANT TO KEEP SEEING THE NUMBERS

GO UP IN TERMS OF GDP.

>> WE WILL TRACK A COUPLE OF

THINGS, THE NOMINAL SIZE OF THE