- Well, two-term Congressman,

Ro Khanna, represents California

in the 17th district at theHouse of Representatives

and joins us now.

Congressman Khanna, thankyou for being with us.

Congressman, your stateis among those seeing

a big rise in cases.

Do you agree with Governor Newsom's call

to shut down businesses and do you worry

that it could hurt thealready struggling economy?

- I believe that we needto prioritize safety

and if we can first getthings under control,

even if that takes a week or two weeks,

then it will allow usto have a safer start

for businesses especiallyif we all wear masks.

So, what happened is, thatpeople were going on beaches,

they were going to bars,they weren't wearing masks,

we have to get that under control

and then we can restart the economy.

- Congressman, across the country schools

and universities are weighingwhether to reopen this fall,

something the Trumpadministration is pushing for.

What's your take?

Should kids return to theclassroom in August or September?

- I think it has to be case-by-case.

I hope people are able to return

and able to return safely,

but we have to look at different places,

should be differently.

I mean in L.A. wherethere is a huge issue,

there it probably doesn't make sense.

In other parts of the country,

which may be more rural,which may not have

the same density or positivity of cases

it makes sense.

So, I don't think there'sa one-size solution

for everything, we have to let localities

make that decision.

- Today the Trump administration announced

it will rescind an orderthat would of blocked

international students fromliving in the United States

if they were only taking online classes.

I imagine you agree with that move,

but what do you thinkcaused the about face?

- Well, I appreciate it.

It's a simple thing.

If students are here, wewant them creating jobs here.

We want them, if they've benefited

from work and education, thelast thing that makes sense

is to kick them out.

Sometimes they're almostgetting their degree

and then what's gonna happen?

They're gonna go back totheir country of origin

and create the jobs there.

I rather they create thejobs in the United States.

The second thing is, education is one

of our biggest exports to the world.

These students are paying full tuition

and that's allowing, frankly,universities to expand

and provide less tuitionfor American students.

So, I think the economics of it

is what caused thedecision and I appreciate

that the Trump administrationlooked at those facts

and changed course.

- Congressman, today HouseSpeaker, Nancy Pelosi,

told CNN she'd be willingto forgo your August recess

to reach a deal with anotherCOVID relief package.

Do you think that needs to happen?

Especially with employmentbenefits set to expire

at the end of this month?

- I do and I don't understandwhat we're doing thinking

of having a recess.

We are under crisis in this country,

we have a health crisis,we have an economic crisis,

Congress should be working.

I think we ought to becanceling that August recess,

it's ridiculous from my perspective

to have five weeks off ordoing things in the district.

Especially because we can't do anything

in most of our districts

because there aren't public gatherings.

So, I think Congress needs to be working

and we need to be doing every day

what we can to deal with the health crisis

and deal with the economic crisis.

- And finally, Congressman, if you can,

what are you hearingfrom your constituents

about the biggest hurdlesin an economic recovery

and what does Washingtonneed to do to help?

- The first thing isthe fear of coronavirus

and it's not just what the governors say,

or what the mayor said,

the reality is until peoplefeel safe, personally,

they're not gonna listento what a Congressman says

or frankly even what the President

of the United States says.

They have to personally feel safe.

And so the first thing thatwe ought to do, I think,

is to have everyone wear masks

and have everyone takethe basic precautions

so we can get the economy up and running.

And then the second thing I'm hearing

from small business ownersand they're concerned,

they're concerned thatbusinesses they've built

for 20 years may go under.

We need to extend the PPP program,

really target it to small businesses

and we've gotta help people transition

in these next few months to make sure

their expenses are coveredwhile they're returning to work.

So, I hope all of those things can be part

of a bipartisan relief package.

- All right, CaliforniaCongressman, Ro Khanna,

thank you so much for your time today.

- Thank you for always having me on.