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Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez (R-FL), Is Interviewed About Condo Collapse In Miami-Dade; Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), Is Interviewed About Biden's Deal On Infrastructure; FL Gov. Ron DeSantis Holds Press Conference After Deadly Building Collapse. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired June 24, 2021 - 12:30   ET

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

[12:30:00]

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Right now at least 51 people are unaccounted for. The Miami-Dade Mayor tweeting just minutes ago, just got off the phone with POTUS, he offered full support of the federal government to help our community during this difficult time. We continue to work with local, state, and federal agencies as we respond to this tragedy and do everything we can to support the impacted families. Let's go back to Surfside in CNN's Leyla Santiago. Leyla, what more do we know at this hour?

LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dana, let's go over the numbers as if the 51 that you mentioned is not horrifying enough. That by the way, is based off of reports made to a hotline that the county set up for people who may not be able to get in touch with someone they believe was inside. But we also know that 35 people were rescued, and at least two people have been pulled from the rubble. So what do we know about this building? What caused this? That is still a very big question in the investigation. One that I suspect will not be answered anytime soon.

But I can tell you that this was a building that had some roof work being done part of updates and an inspection that takes place for a 40-year standard that comes from one of the commissioners who told us about that. That said you have a very large, massive effort underway right now trying to get to anyone who could be underneath the debris that was left behind. The part of the building that is still standing, according to the mayor, has been cleared.

Right next to it where all of the debris still is, that is where search and rescue efforts are really focused. They've got K-9 units. I've seen a very big response from city workers to medical teams to the attorney's office. A very big effort right now as officials come and go, trying to get to the bottom of what happened and who they could possibly save. We expect the governor to take a tour of the area and then speak to the media any minute now.

BASH: Leyla, thank you so much. I want you to stand by.

I want to bring in Congressman Carlos Gimenez, who represents the district just south of Surfside. But, Congressman, you were the mayor of Miami-Dade County, and also

the former chief of Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue. So, given your deep knowledge of what is happening right now and of the area, what can you tell us? What are you hearing from your friends and family on the ground?

REP. CARLOS A. GIMENEZ (R-FL): Well, the -- you know, I've heard from some of my former colleagues there on the ground that are there right now trying to save any of the victims that they can save.

I can tell you that Miami-Dade is very fortunate to have two female Urban Search and Rescue teams, one that's operated by Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue, the other (ph) by the city of Miami. And so, they have all the resources that they need to conduct the search.

I know they also need to make sure that the rest of the building, the other parts of the building, you know, aren't going to somehow put firefighters and rescue workers in danger.

I've understand that there was about 55 units that collapsed, and they collapsed early in the morning, so that -- we expect them to -- the majority of them to be occupied. And so, you know, the numbers, you know, it would not surprise me if the numbers of casualties, you know, rose from the 51 unaccounted for.

But I can tell you that, as the former mayor of Miami-Dade, and as a former fire chief of the city of Miami, I can tell you that you have no finer personnel working on that around the country than those that are working on the scene right now.

BASH: Absolutely. And that's pretty clear from watching some of the unbelievable heroic efforts going on right now.

You mentioned 55 units, which we know. And obviously this happened in the middle of the night. You said that you believe that they were largely occupied. Is that based on information you're getting from down there or just based on the fact that this particular building we have heard doesn't have that many snowbirds, meaning not many -- wouldn't necessarily have that many vacancies of people who are retirees who are there in the winter and come north in the summer?

GIMENEZ: No, I didn't mean that they were all occupied.

BASH: I see.

GIMENEZ: I mean, there was 55 units that are there now. Of the units that are occupied, you would expect them -- that the people would be there sleeping because it was in the middle of the night.

BASH: Sure.

GIMENEZ: And so, I don't have a number of how many of those units were actually occupied. But I would expect that of the occupied ones that the inhabitants were in there.

And so, you know, I could see this toll rising higher than the 51 or so that are unaccounted for right now, and that's a very unfortunate event.

But again, they're in search and rescue mode right now with the FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Personnel that are part of those two fire departments. And again, they do magnificent work around the country and around the world. And so, unfortunately now they're being called on to save, you know, their own neighbors here in Miami-Dade County.

[12:35:08]

BASH: They are. You know, as the mayor down there, as the head of fire and rescue, the chief, you dealt with so many natural disasters from Mother Nature from hurricanes to, you know, and beyond.

But looking at the wreckage at the rubble at the pictures that it's almost hard to believe we're seeing that this was a condo building, or at least the tower of a condo building, not that long ago, what is going through your mind from the perspective of somebody who is -- has expertise in this?

GIMENEZ: Well, I mean, obviously, the first thing is what caused this building to go down? It doesn't appear to be -- you know, since it's been up for about 40 years, that it's a design problem. So there's got to be some kind of corrosion issue here that weakened the structure to the point where it collapsed. And where that weakening came from, why it was caused, that needs to be investigated.

It could be, you know, like they -- there was roof work being done, maybe there was a lot of leakage in the roof, and it allowed that water to get into some of the columns, some of the steel, and then weaken the structure to the point where it collapsed.

But, that takes a lot of time. It takes, you know, it's -- that's not something that happens overnight. So you got to have building engineers go in and determine what happened here and learn from this. And make sure that this doesn't happen in any of the other buildings, not only here in Miami-Dade County, but around the country so that we learn from this so it never happens again.

I mean, this is again - yeah, it --

BASH: Congressman I'm so sorry, I'm going to interrupt you, because we're going to go to the White House. President Biden is speaking.

GIMENEZ: Fair enough.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: One of the things that I've made clear, I've signed on, and I'm going to let them give you the detail because, and you can ask them, and I will talk to you all later in next hour or two. But I promise, I'm not going away.

But one of the things that we agreed on infrastructure, we made serious compromises on both ends. There is, and they'll give you the numbers. But we did not -- they did not, and I understand their position, Republicans in this group did not want to go along with many of my family plan issues, the child care tax credits, the human infrastructure that I talk about. And that, we'll see what happens in a reconciliation bill in the budget process, if that -- if we could get some compromise there and if we can't, let's see if I can attract all the Democrats to a position that is there.

But we're going to -- they're going to move into dual track. And that's all I'm going to say. But I want to thank each and every one of them. I spent, you know, a lot of us go back a long way where we're used to doing one thing, give each other our word. And that's the end. Nobody questions. They have my word. I'll stick with what they proposed. And they've given me their word as well. So where I come from, that's good enough for me.

So I'm going to turn it over to the two chairs here. And I'll talk to you a little bit later.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- about the building collapse in Miami?

BIDEN: I have. I spoke with the Mayor, I spoke to the Congresswoman, and I'll have more to say about that as well.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, what does it mean that you were able to reach this deal?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you committed to the two track system, Mr. President? Are you committed to the two track system?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes. Sure.

BIDEN: That is if there is going to be a two track system.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And are you confident that you're going to have all of the Democrats support in the Senate?

BIDEN: Let them talk to you, OK? I'm not confident. I said I trust their words.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But there will be a reconciliation still? There will be a reconciliation moments, Sir?

SEN. ROB PORTMAN (R-OH): OK. I'm not going to answer that one. OK. I have a little different view on that one. Listen, I appreciate the fact that the President came out today to express what we all believe, which is we didn't get everything we wanted. But we came up with a good compromise that's going to help the American people. This is about infrastructure.

Every president over the past four or five presidents has talked about doing a big infrastructure package. You may recall that President Trump proposed a $2 trillion infrastructure package. Today, we are announcing the framework for an historic investment in infrastructure. This is roads and bridges, but also lots of other kinds of infrastructure, including broadband, including our water system and our rail system, all of which is good for the economy.

This will lead to more efficiency in our economy, higher productivity, more economic growth. This is about the long term. And it's something that traditionally has been very bipartisan. And I'm pleased to see today we were able to come together on a core infrastructure package. This is not non-infrastructure items, without new taxes, and with a commitment from Republicans and Democrats alike that we're going to get this across the finish line. So I appreciate my colleagues behind me. This was a team effort. Everybody was equally involved. Kyrsten Sinema did a great job leading the effort. And I want to know as courtesy a few words.

SEN. KYRSTEN SINEMA (D-AZ): Thank you Rob.

You know, there are many who say that bipartisanship is dead in Washington D.C. and across this country, but this historic agreement today, between Republicans and Democrats in the Senate and with the President of the United States shows that when a group of people who are committed with shared values to solving the problems and challenges our country faces, we can use bipartisanship to solve these challenges.

[12:40:18]

As Rob said and as the President said, no one got everything they wanted in this package, we all gave some to get some, because what we did was put first the needs of our country. This does represent a historic investment in our country's infrastructure. And it meets the needs of folks who live from Virginia out to Arizona. It invests in green energy and climate recognizing the changing nature of our country and our future. It invests in broadband in our power grid and our structures.

And we are delighted to go back to the Hill and begin earning more support from both Republicans and Democrats to get this bill across the finish line. There are other members of our group who'd like to say a few words. And so I'm going to scoot over and let other folks step up, and then we'll take questions after we finish. Next, Susan?

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME): Well, first, I want to thank our two liters, Kyrsten and Rob, and every single member of this group. Everyone contributed to what is the largest infrastructure package in history. This is important. We've agreed on the price tag, the scope, and how to pay for it. It was not easy to get agreement on all three. But it was essential, it was essential to show the American people that the Senate can function that we can work in a bipartisan way.

And it sends an important message to the world as well, that America can function, can get things done, and particularly on an issue that as Rob mentioned, we've been talking about the need for a large infrastructure package for decades. Today, we are delivering.

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): Let me just say very quickly, I'm just proud to be part of a bipartisan group, which I know has always been there, always can be there and always will be there if we work together like we did. We've got an infrastructure package that merely meets the needs of the needs of this country for the 21st century. And I think it's a tremendous opportunity for us to show the rest of the world that we can still get big things done in a bipartisan way and lead the rest of the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me just -- let me just take that. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): I want to comment a little bit further. We've talked about infrastructure, meaning roads and bridges, often Louisiana. But I think I can speak for every coastal state and every river reinstate, there's been an incredible problem associated with loss of coastline or flooding in these riverine systems. There's $47 billion for resiliency. When I call the White House initially to explore this, I said, do you mean like coastal restoration? Do you mean like riverine systems which are flooding, and maybe we can do something to make it more resilient, our wildfires to try and tamp that down? And they said, that's exactly what we're speaking about.

So I do think, as we focus upon the roads and bridges, which is so important, we need to also think about how we're making a beginning investment in the resiliency, that will be essential as we address our changing environment. No one knows that better than someone from Louisiana, one thing I'll add, and in this process will also be creating those jobs, those jobs that help rebuild the coastline, or to build the pipelines to sequester off the carbon dioxide, et cetera. And I think it's important to send the message, there's going to be a lot of jobs that come out of this. So thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just want to add two quick points. One, you know, when we announced the frame work last week, and $79 billion, it took a lot of work to get there and to maintain that. And I commend all of my colleagues. I mentioned to the President and Susan and I, and a number of us, Joe and others. Yesterday, we're at the funeral of my dear friend, John Warner. And my hope is that when this framework becomes law, that we do it in the spirit of John Warner.

And I would hope to convince my colleagues that we actually named this legislation after him. And we all commended the his ability to work with people across party lines, the fact that he always put country first, and I think my colleagues have demonstrated that again.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's important to recognize that when we say a bipartisan bill what that really means not just to those of us in the Senate in the Congress working with the White House, but that signal that it sends to the country, again, that we actually can work that we actually can perform that we can do something not for Republicans or for Democrats, but for --

[12:45:24]

BASH: We have been listening to history being made at the White House. And that is the President of the United States coming out to the driveway of the -- right outside the West Wing there, standing with five Democrats, five Republicans, you see there. They're still taking questions from the White House press corps there, but announcing, in the President's word that they have a deal, that they have a deal on a very large infrastructure package.

Both Democrats and Republicans coming out making very clear, nobody got everything that they wanted. Rob Portman, the lead republican saying it's a good compromise. We didn't get everything we wanted it. Kyrsten Sinema had a line that really sums it up. We all gave some to get some. But let's talk about this with our panel.

We are as we are listening to them talk about the fact that they have this deal. We're getting some of the specifics that they have been negotiating behind closed doors for weeks and weeks and weeks about how they're going to pay for this. Before we get to that though, I just want to kind of mark the moment. This is something in these very, very partisan times. And every single one of these members, sorry, Kaitlan, especially those who are from purpley states are saying, look, it can work if we just get together. It can work, it meaning your government.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's why the grins on their faces are so big as they're standing there outside the West Wing and really give you an indication that this was all worked out yesterday, they only met for 30 minutes with President Biden. They weren't expecting any big surprises. He already knew the substance of this deal. And you don't normally see the President come out to where they were, I should note.

BASH: Yes.

COLLINS: That's the stakeout. It's right outside the West Wing. Normally, he --

BASH: That's kind of what I meant by history, obviously, the substance but that moment was very noteworthy.

COLLINS: But I do think it speaks to the level of enthusiasm in the White House that they have been the ones who have been the most patient on this with President Biden hearing these criticisms from some Democrats saying it's time to cut bait, it's time to move on, stop letting these talks drag on. Clearly he is feeling really good about this. Senator Sinema is feeling very good about, Manchin, you heard several other of the Republicans, they're also talking about this. They feel really good because they've been hearing these voices.

And it's often the progressive voices, or the ones that are on the far ends of each side that are the loudest about what they believe should be happening. But this has been the group that's been quietly working behind the scenes, confident they could actually get to an agreement. Not everyone is getting what they wanted, as they're all very clearly acknowledging. But I do think it speaks to this is the group that's been saying we actually can get something bipartisan done. And so they're clearly feeling very good.

We still have a long ways to go on this and to actually get a pass through both chambers. But clearly there is a high level of optimism to see them come out and speak in this manner.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: And typically, infrastructure is the thing that should be relatively easy in Washington, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

PHILLIP: You get to bring something home to your constituents, roads, bridges, whatever broadband. But for years in this town, it has been very, very difficult to get to because of the, you know, the rancor and partisanship. And so when you really think about it, take a step back, Joe Biden has been saying, there will be a moment when people come back to the table when people are willing to come back to reality and to sanity. And I think Joe Biden probably thinking to himself, this is that moment.

COLLINS: Yes.

PHILLIP: We're able to get an infrastructure deal done. And you what you heard, I think, from Senator Collins, I believe, was that this is the largest infrastructure package in a very long time. But one thing to keep in mind is that Joe Biden, if this is passed, will be responsible for two of the largest bills, spending bills in also over a decade, probably even more than that. Two of the largest spending bills will be happening under his watch. That is a huge, huge deal in this kind of political climate, one on infrastructure, one on COVID if they're able to get this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

COLLINS: And also just to quickly add to bills that have direct impact on people that you actually can see the changes in the COVID-19 relief bill, obviously we all saw that, the child tax credit that's going out, the stimulus checks. But this is going to actually because it is physical infrastructures, things that people can actually see happening in their communities.

BASH: Guys, standby for one second, I want to bring you guys in.

But Senator Chris Coons is now with us from Capitol Hill.

Of course, Senator, thank you so much for joining us. You were not at the White House, that was the 10 senators, but you were apart of the larger group of 20 bipartisan senators who have been meeting on this.

So, tell us your thoughts about the impact and the import about what we just heard from the president and your colleagues at the White House.

[12:50:05]

SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): Well, Dana, this is a great day for President Biden, for the determined group of 10 Democrats and Republicans who you just heard from Kyrsten Sinema and Rob Portman from Joe Manchin and Susan Collins and others who have been hammering away at this for days and days.

And now the work begins to build it out, to make sure that beyond the 21 of us who have publicly been supporting it and urging them along, we get more supporters in both caucuses.

Over the next eight years, this represents $1.2 trillion in investment and infrastructure. That really is a big deal.

And this framework has $559 billion in new spending. To get an agreement on that on a bipartisan basis took a lot of very hard work.

And so, I just want to congratulate the folks who were just over at the White House with President Biden, this is a significant accomplishment. Something that should not go on remarked is that the Senate of the United States also just passed in the last hour and a half a bold bipartisan bill on climate change in the agriculture sector. Senator Stabenow and Senator Braun were the leads on this.

There are good bipartisan things happening here in the Senate. I do think for us to accomplish most of President Biden's boldest agenda in the American jobs plan and family plan, we will still have to proceed by reconciliation, which I support.

But as you just heard a Republican senator from Louisiana celebrate at the White House, this package has $47 billion to do climate resiliency work.

It is great to hear Democrats and Republicans legislating together around something as urgent as combating climate change and as significant as creating great high paying jobs, building American infrastructure for this century.

BASH: Senator, I'm -- thank you so much for joining me. I'm sorry to cut you short. We have to go to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis talking about that building collapse.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): I mean, it is really, really traumatic to see the collapse of a mass of that. Right now, we have fire rescue, they are in search and rescue mode. They are trying to identify survivors. I know they have made contact with some. And they are they're doing everything they can to save lives. And that is ongoing, and they're not going to rest. And so thank for what they're doing. We were just over there got this thank, some of the some of the folks who just had a change a shift, but they've really stepped up.

We're also making sure that the people that have been displaced have a place to go. We're going to be visiting the center up further north on Collins Avenue after this. But we are happy to report that through the help of the Red Cross, we have short term hotels set up for these folks. And then obviously, we're going to work with the city and the county state to make sure that there's any longer term needs that we can be helpful in any way we can.

This is not necessarily going to be immediate in terms of what ended up happening. But I know that they are going to have engineers looking at this to try to identify what happened and what was the problematic utterance. And so that's probably, you're not going to have those answers immediately. But I know that they are diligently going to be working to be able to do that. And so it's a tragic day. Some of those folks who were able to go from safety, we thank the Fire and Rescue for what they did to be able to put themselves on the line to help other folks. They're still hard at work.

We still have hope to be able to identify additional survivors. And the state of Florida, we're offering any assistance that we can. We've done some with the Florida Department of Transportation. Miami-Dade has got a great team. And so they've got a lot of resources that they're bringing to bear, but we're standing by to help in any way we can.

I'm going to introduce our Director of Emergency Management, Kevin Guthrie. He's going to say a few words. We're also going to hear from Mayor Cava. And then I think, Mayor, yes, you're going to hear from the Mayor of Surfside as well, so Kevin.

KEVIN GUTHRIE, DIRECTOR, FLORIDA DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: right. Good afternoon, Kevin Guthrie with the Florida Division of Emergency Management. Just to give you an update on what's going on with state resources. We do have members of the state emergency response team that have been activated and are working this event. They include members from obviously the chief financial officers office, with the State Fire Marshal, and ESF 16. That includes individuals from the Florida Department Law Enforcement and our law enforcement resources from ESF 16.

It also includes our ESF 8, health and medical as well as our DOT partners. I know Director Dane Eagle is here as well with the EO. So we've got about five different state agencies involved right now that are assisting local, county, and city government on responding to this event. Right now the biggest asset has been asked for is traffic control devices from DOT. And DOT is filling those resources right now. Again, we will be here as long as we need to be to continue to assist the local county municipal government with the needs that they have on us. Thank you.

[12:55:10]

DESANTIS: Mayor?

MAYOR DANIELLA LEVINE CAVA, MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA: So this is the incredible unimaginable situation that none of us could have predicted. But we have the right people on the job. Our team at Miami- Dade Fire Rescue has dealt with collapse situations before. Their dogs are trained. They have been on the scene since they got the call at 1:38 this morning. And they are doing a fantastic job they were able to rescue so many from the buildings, the intact building, the collapse building, and really incredible that at this time, we've only identified one person as having passed.

So we are very, very hopeful. We'll continue the search and rescue operation. We've also evacuated the two side buildings and we're working with Red Cross with our own social service agency, our police and fire departments to make sure that those people are properly situated. The leadership here of the city mayor has been phenomenal. He's been on the scene since early this morning, as well as neighboring mayors. They've all come to help with their police departments with their own moral support and presence.

Also, this is a predominantly Jewish community and we've had the rabbis and chaplains on hand, the operation that we'll be visiting in shortly, the community center. People are getting the support that they need. Not only are they getting hotel rooms, they're getting help with their medicines, with blankets, with clothing, because of course there they are with nothing. They were evacuated in the night.

Anyone who is looking for a missing loved one, anyone with information, we have a hotline 305-614-1819, 305-614-1819. And this is how we are going about continuing this operation with the support of family members. We're also going to be receiving family members. We're going to accommodate them. So stay tuned as well for that.

(Speaking in Foreign Language)

BASH: As we continue to watch this press conference, I want to bring in our experts at Craig Fugate and Juliette Kayyem. Craig Fugate, tell us your reaction to what you've heard so far with this update. Oh, Juliette, you're here. Go ahead Juliette. You tell us.

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yes, so a couple things. So obviously, we are still in search and rescue and identification of the survivors and also the dead. So we just need to focus on that. There's going to be lots of questions about why this happened. But the Governor was clear, as clear was the Mayor. Right now this is still going to focus on the victims and of course, their family members. So in this way, it doesn't look that different than a lot of the emergencies you and I have covered before.

There's secondly, there's this question about how many so I just want to tell viewers to be careful here. We've been hearing about a number about 50 or 55 people may still be missing. It looks to me like the state and the locals were walking away from that, that that might just be rumors. They said they still only found one body, it may be that this is a miracle, right, that these things just happen. And we don't have as high as a fatality rate. It may be that this is also a greater tragedy.

So we'll just be careful with what the numbers are telling us. But still, it's only one dead. So that's basically the takeaways.

BASH: Juliette, thank you. Let's go back to Miami.

KAYYEM: Thanks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And Mayor Cava sent the cavalry as did the Governor. And that has made all the difference in the world. They've got resources like you can't believe here. We've got the dogs, we've got the equipment, and we're going to do our very best to save as many people in that pile of rubble as we possibly can. So thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Governor. Thank you.

[12:59:43]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sure. Great. Yes. FOREIGN LANGUAGE)