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GOP Senators Blocks IVF Bill; Hezbollah Vows Retaliation Against Israel; FBI Investigates Suspicious Packages; More Explosions in Lebanon After Pager Attacks. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired September 18, 2024 - 10:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[10:30:00]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Republicans in Congress are once again blocking a bill that would have guaranteed access to IVF. All but two GOP senators voted against it, and while on the campaign trail yesterday, Vice Presidential Candidate J. D. Vance slammed the bill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JD VANCE (R-OH), REPUBLICAN VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I think we have to be careful here because the Senate did not block an IVF bill. The Senate blocked a ridiculous show vote bill that had no chance of passing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And Republican Congressman Mike Lawler of New York joins us now. Congressman, thanks so much for being with us. We appreciate it. You're a supporter of IVF. What's your response to this bill being blocked?

REP. MIKE LAWLER (R-NY), FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: Look, obviously I've been very clear on this issue that I support access to IVF. I was one of the first Republicans to sign on to Democratic Rep. Susan Wild's bill in the House as a co-sponsor to enshrine into federal law IVF protections, as well as introduce my own legislation to provide tax credits to families that are seeking IVF treatments, as well as signing on to a bill that would ensure insurance companies provide access.

I do believe that this is something that we should take up at a federal level. Obviously, you know, it was voted down on a procedural level yesterday, not allowing for a debate to end, which is standard in the Senate. You know, for instance, in the House, I had a bill to lift the cap on SALT, that every Democrat says they support and then they voted down on procedural measures because they didn't want to have the bill advance.

So, look this happens. At the end of the day, my view is this, IVF is something that has broad bipartisan support. Obviously, so many families across this country rely on IVF and IUI treatments to start a family. And I think it's imperative that we make sure that people have access. Obviously, in light of the Alabama Court decision, the Alabama State legislature and the governor moved quickly to override that decision.

[10:35:00]

And my general view is to avoid a situation like that again, it would behoove us to enshrine it into law.

ACOSTA: All right. Well, we'll keep an eye on that issue. I do want to ask you, since you're on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, about these hundreds of pagers in Lebanon that simultaneously exploded yesterday. Israel has refused to comment publicly on the explosions. But CNN has learned the attack was an Israeli operation. The White House says it has -- it had no heads up or involvement in it. What was your response to that? What did you make of that?

LAWLER: Well, obviously, Israel sent a strong message to Hezbollah. And, you know, ultimately, Hezbollah was obviously using pagers as a means around what they thought was Israel's ability to track their intentions and movements. And I think given Hezbollah's commitment to eradicating the State of Israel, given Hezbollah's commitment to doing the bidding of Iran you know, and utilizing pagers as a vehicle by which to act, you know, I think, obviously, Israel sent a strong message.

Israel is under threat and I think it is imperative that the United States continue to stand by them and show strong support. There can be no equivocating here. There is no moral equivalency. Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and other terrorist networks are clear in their objectives. They want to eradicate the State of Israel. They want to kill Jews, period, because they are Jews. And I think that is something that Israel has to contend with, and the United States needs to be very cleareyed.

When Kamala Harris says that she's open to an arms embargo, that is disconcerting to me, when the administration lifts sanctions on Iran and allows the illicit oil trade between Iran and China to the tune of a hundred billion dollars, which is being used to fund not only their nuclear program, but Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, that is disconcerting. It's why I fought to get the SHIP Act and the Iran- China Energy Sanctions Act as part of the supplemental aid package.

Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have thus far refused to implement the SHIP Act and crack down on that illicit oil trade. It needs to happen immediately, because that is what is funding Hezbollah. And the threat from the north is significant.

ACOSTA: But the administration -- I mean, you would agree though, the administration has been pretty solidly backing Israel in this war against Hamas, no?

LAWLER: I think -- listen, I think the administration, by and large, obviously, has backed Israel. However, I think they have taken some steps that have clearly undermined Israel. And you have people like Chuck Schumer calling for regime change on the floor of the United States Senate. That does not help our ally as they're under threat.

And when you withhold weapons, when you openly consider an arms embargo, as Kamala Harris has stated, when you don't crack down on the illicit oil trade between China and Iran, then you are undermining Israel's ability to not only defend itself but, obviously, you are emboldening their enemies.

ACOSTA: Do you think that's what the president and the vice president --

LAWLER: You're emboldening their enemies.

ACOSTA: Do you think they're undermining Israel's right to defend itself -- ability to defend itself?

LAWLER: When the vice president openly says that she is considering an arms embargo, when the vice president says, I've seen the maps, you can't go into Rafah, meanwhile, that's where Israeli hostages and American hostages are being held, when you, again, don't crack down on the illicit oil trade, despite the fact that the SHIP Act and the Iran-China Energy Sanctions Act have been signed into law, then yes, I think there are decisions that have been made that have undermined Israel's ability to defend itself at times, and I think it's unfortunate.

ACOSTA: All right. Congressman Mike Lawler, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

LAWLER: Thank you.

ACOSTA: Be right back.

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[10:40:00]

ACOSTA: New this morning, the Associated Press is reporting that the FBI is investigating suspicious packages that were sent to election officials in more than a dozen states. Let's discuss now with Democratic Congresswoman Nikema Williams of Georgia. Her state was where at least one of those packages was sent. Congresswoman, thank you so much for being here. I guess, what's your reaction to this?

REP. NIKEMA WILLIAMS (D-GA), PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS AND CO-CHAIR, VOTING RIGHTS CAUCUS: Jim, this is the day and the time that we're living in right now with all of the threats against election officials. We -- I am the chairwoman of the State Democratic Party, a congresswoman in Atlanta. So, this is something that I am deeply concerned about. We saw Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman who were targeted because of their roles as election officials in the 2020 election.

And people shouldn't have to live this way. But when you have a former president who tried to overturn the will of the elect -- the voters, and a free and fair election, then this is the times that -- these are the times that we live in. And it doesn't have to be this way, but we need leaders in this country, especially those running at the highest level of government to condemn these actions and to not continue to talk about if they will or will not accept the will of the voters. When you lose an election, you accept that you move on, you regroup and you bring you're a-game the next time and try to win. But when you don't have policies that the American people are following or want to be put in place, then you do things like Donald Trump is doing and you target election officials, or you try to overturn the will of voters, and it's just not acceptable in the United States of America.

[10:45:00]

And we need to stop this. We need to elect leaders in this country, like Kamala Harris, who will bring unity and bring our -- bring the country together to move us forward on a path for a new generation, new leadership, and get away from the divisiveness of the past.

ACOSTA: Yes, Congressman, we saw what took place on January 6th. We know that the former president tried to strong arm the secretary of state in Georgia, Brad Raffensperger, to overturn the election results there. And now, we're seeing this Associated Press story about the FBI investigating these suspicious packages. Are you confident that the upcoming election is going to be safe and secure in this country?

WILLIAMS: So, I am definitely doing everything that I can to ensure voters that, number one, when you show up to cast your ballot, your vote will be counted. We have attorneys deployed in all 159 counties in Georgia, and we're making sure that our voter protection team, which is top notch, the largest that we've ever had, is monitoring every situation, but we definitely need to -- the state to step up and do their job as well, because our elections are administered by the state.

So, we need our secretary of state to make sure that we're doing everything that we can to secure our election. Make sure that not just the election process, but voters who are showing up are safe and make sure that our election workers who are doing these jobs just as a citizen in our country, that they're able to go home safely and not be targeted by failed former presidents who lose elections.

ACOSTA: And, Congressman, I did want to ask you just in the last several moments we've received word that there have been more explosions going off in Lebanon a day after those pager blasts injured thousands of people. And just a few moments ago, we were interviewing one of your Republican colleagues in the House, Mike Lawler, who is accusing the Biden administration of undermining Israel's ability to defend itself. I wanted to give you a chance to respond.

WILLIAMS: So, that's ridiculous, and Mike Lawler knows this. President Biden has stood with our closest ally in the Middle East, Israel, time and time again. And we've made sure that Israel had the mechanism and the support to defend themselves.

President Biden has been leading on this issue, showing empathy to people -- citizens who have been impacted, but also standing strong against those people who wish to bring harm to Israel. That has not changed, and Mike Lawler knows this.

ACOSTA: And I do want to ask you -- you mentioned Kamala Harris. I do want to ask about something that she had to say. Vice President is blaming Former President Trump for the death of a young Georgia woman after a recent ProPublica report detailed her 20-hour wait at a hospital to treat complications from an abortion pill, two weeks after the state's abortion ban took effect.

In a statement, the vice president said, quote, "Trump abortion bans are preventing doctors from providing basic medical care. And now, women are dying. These are the consequences of Donald Trump's actions."

What do you think? I mean, Georgia is just going to come down to the wire. It's going to be so close. How is this reproductive rights issue going to play out in your state, do you think?

WILLIAMS: So, what we know is that this issue is not just an issue that resonates with Democratic or Republican women or independents, it's across the board, Jim. And women are paying attention, but not just women. Men who have women in their lives who you don't know what care they're going to need. This young woman went to get abortion care the week that the law -- Trump's abortion ban went into effect in Georgia. She had to travel to North Carolina, four hours away from home, just to get abortion care. And then came home and needed to have DNC, which is a routine complication that could have been treated.

And here we are, having someone who literally died because of Trump's abortion ban. Trump bragged about overturning Roe v. Wade. So, this is on him, square and center, and we need to hold him accountable, and we can do that at the ballot box. On November 5th, people need to show up, in force, to make sure that their voices are heard, because women should not be dying in this country from complications of a routine medical procedure.

ACOSTA: All right. Congresswoman Nikema Williams, thank you very much for your time. We appreciate it.

WILLIAMS: Thank you, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:00]

ACOSTA: All right. We are following breaking news. State media in Lebanon is reporting several wireless devices exploding. This comes just one day after pagers exploded, killing at least 12 and injuring at least 2,800 people seen as Ben Wedeman is in Beirut. Ben, what are you learning?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're hearing from the state news agency that at least three people were killed in a town in the Beqaa Valley to the east of here. And also, security sources are telling CNN that these walkie talkies, essentially, even though they're being described in the Arabic media as wireless devices, 15 to 20 explosions occurred in the southern suburbs of Beirut, and that, of course, is an area where Hezbollah has a large presence. In addition to 15 to 20 explosions in various areas of Southern Lebanon.

Now, these security sources say that the extent of the explosions today are much less obviously than what we saw yesterday when, according to the ministry of health here, as many as 2,800 people were killed, as many as almost a dozen, I mean, we're wounded in addition to at least or almost a dozen people killed in yesterday's blast.

[10:55:00]

So, we're outside the American University of Beirut Medical Center, which yesterday treated as many as 200 people who were injured in those pager blasts. We have yet to see any injuries arriving at this hospital, which is really Lebanon's premier medical facility.

But certainly, this -- it puts a new spin on this story, which yesterday really left people in shock. And today, with a second wave of blasts, it really is making people feel that any sort of device, like your mobile phone could be a danger as well, Jim.

ACOSTA: Yes. I mean, Ben, the latest that we're getting, as you were just saying, the devices that detonated in this new wave of explosions were walkie talkies. I know, Ben, you'll continue to gather information on this, but just extraordinary. One day after that remarkable turn of events yesterday where the pagers were exploding. All right. Ben Wedeman, thank you very much. We appreciate the reporting, as always.

And thanks so much for joining us this morning. I'm Jim Acosta. Our next hour of Newsroom with Wolf Blitzer starts after a short break. Have a good day.

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