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The next is a transcript of an interview with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass that aired on “Face the Nation” on August 20, 2023.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to Los Angeles and that metropolis’s mayor, Karen Bass. Madam Mayor, you’ve a state of emergency, what’s your greatest concern as Hilary strikes nearer?
MAYOR KAREN BASS: Positively our greatest concern is great rainfall in a really brief time frame. You already know, Los Angeles is just not used to climate occasions like this, particularly within the summertime. However we’re ready, we’re prepared.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Are you asking individuals to remain the place they’re? Or how ought to they put together for what’s coming?
MAYOR BASS: Sure, we’re asking individuals to remain dwelling, to be protected, that if they’re outdoors for any motive, they usually occur to see fallen bushes or energy traces, that they keep very distant. In the event that they want help, 911 and our 311 for metropolis companies. So we’re all fingers on deck right here on the metropolis’s emergency operations middle.
MARGARET BRENNAN: There’s a lot to get to with you in regard to your metropolis and the influence on the unhoused as properly. I wish to speak about that after we take this fast industrial break in the event you’d stick with us. We’ll be again with extra questions for the Mayor.
**COMMERCIAL BREAK**
MARGARET BRENNAN: Welcome again to Face The Nation. We wish to proceed with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Madam Mayor, your metropolis has an unhoused inhabitants of greater than 40,000 individuals, a few of them reside in these LA river mattress areas. Are you going to need to go in and clear them out due to the rains which might be coming?
MAYOR BASS: Properly, truly outreach began a few days in the past, and you might be proper, we now have lots of of individuals on our river beds. And each time we now have a rain occasion, helicopters drive by in addition to lots of of outreach staff go by upfront to inform them to hunt shelter. And we do have shelters open. And in the event you speak about our county, that is simply town. When you add within the county, you might be speaking about greater than 70,000 people who find themselves unhoused and the overwhelming majority of them reside outdoors in tents.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Properly, once we spoke to you final 12 months, you mentioned your first plan of motion was to declare a state of emergency to sort out that homelessness. Why hasn’t it made extra of a distinction?
MAYOR BASS: Oh, properly, you once more, you have been speaking a few great variety of individuals. We did declare a state of emergency on my first day in workplace. And in my first six months, we housed 14,000 individuals, but it surely simply reveals you the magnitude of the issue. As well as, I’m fearful due to the COVID protections ending like an eviction moratorium, and so on., that we’re going to have extra individuals who develop into housing insecure and hopefully don’t fall on our streets. So we’re working as quick as we presumably can and particularly in a scenario like this the place lives may very well be misplaced due to the climate occasion.
MARGARET BRENNAN: By way of financial pressure, which is an element, you’ve a number of labor strikes in your metropolis. On the writers and actors strike, the 2 sides are nonetheless negotiating. However this has now dragged on, what, longer than the final strike again in 2008. That strike drained greater than $2 billion from the financial system. How onerous is that this hitting you? What are you doing to mitigate it?
MAYOR BASS: Properly, it’s hitting us very onerous. And also you have been simply speaking concerning the writers. The writers have been on strike for greater than 100 days, however we even have the Display Actors Guild on strike as properly, the- the actors. I’ll say, although, that negotiations are at the very least underway. So that may be a step in the precise route. However you might be completely appropriate, the leisure trade is our elementary, foundational trade, to our financial system. And so our financial system has been hit very onerous. Along with that, resort staff are on strike.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah. Is it time so that you can intervene in these?
MAYOR BASS: Oh, I’ve been deeply concerned in conversations with all the affected events. And- and so we- I’m hopeful that there will probably be a breakthrough on condition that negotiations are underway and that is an advance as a result of that was not taking place for a lot of, many weeks.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Earlier than I allow you to go, I wish to ask you about your position as a surrogate for President Biden’s reelection marketing campaign. Our newest polling reveals 70% of People really feel issues within the nation are going considerably badly or very badly. Why is not his message of accomplishment breaking by means of?
MAYOR BASS: Properly, I imply, I believe that is necessary, my job and different people to speak about what has been completed throughout the Biden administration. I imply, for the primary time, we have had lots of agreements round local weather change, round transportation infrastructure. When you bear in mind the final administration had Infrastructure Week quite a few occasions, however there was by no means a invoice handed. And a historic invoice was handed underneath Biden’s administration and the financial system is getting higher. Bear in mind, a number of weeks in the past we have been all anticipating, a number of months in the past, a horrible recession that has not occurred. I believe that is indication of the power of the Biden administration’s insurance policies.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay. Properly, perhaps some optimism will break by means of someday quickly there. Madam Mayor, we gotta go away it. We’ll be again. Thanks.
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