'Your World' breaks down economic impact of CDC easing mask guidance

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This is a rush transcript from "Your World," May 13, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

CHARLES PAYNE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Well, there you have it, the president next to the vice president without a mask, as the CDC says fully vaccinated Americans no longer need to wear one in most cases.

It's a day of liberation for many. Are Americans and businesses breathing a little easier this hour?

Hello. I'm Charles Payne, in Neil Cavuto. And this is "Your World."

First to Peter Doocy at the White House on the significance of this moment and more on those guidelines -- Peter.

PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Charles, good afternoon.

As someone who has been in Biden's orbit since the beginning of the pandemic and who traveled with him at the very end of his normal feeling primary campaign, seeing him walk up to a microphone without a mask covering his mouth and nose or without a mask in his hand is something we have not seen in well over a year, before the quarantine started.

We were here on January 20, his very first moment stepping onto the grounds of the White House. And he walked through the gate outside right after giving his speech. He had a mask on. Last year, last summer, we were at the beach in Delaware. We saw him riding his bike outside on a bike trail, nobody else around, with a mask on.

This is a huge change from this president. He says he always tries to set an example for people to follow. And now the example that he is trying to set is that, if you have got your vaccination, you no longer need to wear your mask outside or inside.

He's telling people they only need to wear it if they have not yet been vaccinated. He says they will not enforce that. They're not going to go rounding up and arresting people who are not wearing their masks when they are supposed to.

But the feeling around the White House and just in Biden land in the last two hours or so since this guidance came out has been almost -- almost joyous for the people on the complex. White House staff and also the press that cover the White House and who are on the campus all got different e- mails, essentially saying that, if you have been vaccinated, masks are now optional.

And so things are already looking different. I was walking around in some of the hallways, seeing faces of people that I had not seen their face in person ever because of distancing measures and because of masking.

PAYNE: Wow.

DOOCY: This White House, in addition to being very serious about masking, they have also been very, very stringent about testing and sanitizing and social distancing.

So, in the coming days, we will see how the other measures that they have taken to combat COVID-19 evolve or the enforcement of them evolve. But this is a very, very big change felt here on the grounds at the White House -- Charles.

PAYNE: Absolutely.

Peter, thank you so much.

I want to get the read from Dr. Roshini Raj. She's an associate professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health.

Dr. Raj, thanks for joining us.

I guess is it hard to overstate just how momentous this moment is?

DR. ROSHINI RAJ, NYU LANGONE HEALTH: I don't think so, Charles.

I mean, this is -- you just heard a moment of joy. And I truly feel that personally, as a physician, as a mom, as a New York City resident. This is a dramatic move today.

And the fact that it also really does give an incentive to people who haven't been vaccinated yet to go get that vaccine. Really, your life can dramatically change in a safe way if you are fully vaccinated. So I think it's a very big deal and a wonderful day.

PAYNE: I haven't checked the last couple days. But I know, initially, when they paused one of the vaccines, the numbers started to go -- pull back a little bit. We were at three million a day, got to 2.5 million.

Did you see -- have you seen a pronounced slowdown? And is this, maybe to your point, that spark that gets it moving back up?

RAJ: Yes, there definitely has been a slowdown recently in the number of vaccines that are being administered every day.

And that's an issue. Now, now that we just, just were able to open it up to the 12-to-15-year-old, we're going to see an increase in the numbers soon. But, still, for those adults that are under 65, we still have a ways to go in terms of vaccinations.

And another thing I do want to point out is, a lot of people have been saying, well, maybe this should have been done earlier, and it's too late, or it was about time kind of thing.

When we look to other parts of the world where things were opened up too quickly, we see the consequences of that. And we see what's going on in India right now.

So I think, rather than focus on when this should have been done, we should be celebrating what's going on today, for sure, and really encouraging people as much as we can, this is one step, to get that vaccine, if they haven't already. We're still not at that point of herd immunity, where we can really stop worrying about this virus to a certain extent. We're not there yet, by any means.

PAYNE: Right.

And to that point, and we also saw in Europe last year where, even before the vaccines were ready, where you saw places like Germany sort of take those premature victory laps, and we applauded the fact they were doing so well.

What about the folks who still don't want to get the vaccine, particularly those who feel like, well, if we hit 70 percent, I probably don't have to worry anyway, or it's been over a year, going on two years? I would have gotten it. I would have gotten it. Maybe I did get it already. Maybe I beat it already. I don't know.

I mean, there's going to be a certain portion, a large chunk, I think, of people who probably will still, not for any other reason other than they just don't think they probably need it.

What does that mean for everyone?

RAJ: Well, I think what it means is, this virus is going to persist in a meaningful way longer than it has to. And that's -- and that's a problem for everyone.

So, I think this idea that, well, I probably had COVID, or maybe I know I had COVID, therefore, I'm protected, we don't really know that that's the case. We don't know how long that natural immunity lasts. And, really, the studies have shown it may not last very long.

We also know that, when you get the vaccine, the antibodies you get from the vaccine are far, far higher than what you would get just from a natural COVID infection. So, I think a lot of education has to go into this.

And what we're talking about with the herd immunity is to a point where not that COVID is going to go away completely. Unfortunately, many people think it's going to be around sort of like the flu, but in a manageable way. If we're not reaching herd immunity, it still could be a problem, where people are dying and getting sick.

So that vaccine is going to be important for individuals. And I also want to point out that, if people still want to wear their masks, as Joe Biden said, President Biden, in his speech, don't give them a hard time. You have no idea what someone else has gone through, whether they're very sick, they have a depressed immune system, or if they have lost someone to COVID, and they feel very fearful about removing the mask.

But to your question about the vaccines and people that are still going to be hesitant, I think we're going to have to do more education in terms of what that really means, and the fact that it is really necessary even when many other people have been vaccinated.

PAYNE: Dr. Raj, thank you very much. Appreciate it very much.

So, how are business owners handling this news?

Want to go to Erin Bellard. She's owns E's Bar in New York City.

Erin, I would imagine this is music to your ears.

ERIN BELLARD, OWNER, E'S BAR: It is amazing. We're so, so excited.

And I think it's going to give everyone the confidence they need to know that they can come out to eat and eat outside or inside and be safe.

The issue is, we need New York state to catch up, because, as it stands right now, they haven't changed the guidance for us. So, inside, we still have to socially distance or have people between partitions.

So, right now, we're kind of hoping that this is going to push New York state over the edge to lift those restrictions.

PAYNE: Yes, and New York state has been one of those ham-fisted states, in my opinion, that ignored the science and, for whatever reason, went in a direction that destroyed your colleagues.

So, first and foremost, congratulations for still being open.

BELLARD: Thank you.

PAYNE: But I would think that you must have a lot of people who've been coming there, following the guidance, but also who say, hey, we want to really come in. We want -- how much of an uptick -- if New York says, go ahead, fill the place up, how much of an uptick will you get?

Will it be packed?

BELLARD: I think that we will be totally packed.

Like, right now, we are able to seat 60 people. And that's full all the time. So, I think that the second it's lifted, everyone is going to come rushing back. They're so excited to sit at the bar and to mingle with people, to meet new people, right?

So, I think it's going to be amazing once New York gets it together.

PAYNE: Are there any other concerns that you have?

We're -- we have been talking to small businesses all week, particularly after that jobs report last week. Are you -- are you having any difficulty getting staffing and things like that? Because that's another issue, unfortunately, that seems to have come out of this whole crisis.

BELLARD: Yes, I mean, we have been fortunate that a lot of our staff is coming back to us.

But we do have some positions to fill that are tricky. And I'm hoping that, with Broadway coming back and the acting community coming back, that there's going to be a whole sea of people who typically work in hospitality coming back to New York who had previously left.

PAYNE: Right.

Hey, Erin, did you see me on earlier and then go and dye your hair, so your hair and my tie time matched?

(LAUGHTER)

BELLARD: I did not know we matched, but I'm glad we do.

(LAUGHTER)

PAYNE: Hey, congratulations for being -- for sticking in there, for surviving all of this. And I hope your place is packed. And I will come by and check it out one day myself.

Thank you very much.

BELLARD: Thank you so much.

PAYNE: All righty.

Well, the White House is pushing to expand vaccinations for eligible children. Will more parents now get shots for their kids if they can ditch the masks after?

David Lee Miller is also in New York City with the latest -- David.

DAVID LEE MILLER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Charles, the new masks guidance from the CDC is yet another reason for children to be vaccinated, but it is too soon to tell if hesitant parents are now going to change their mind and give their children a shot.

All kids between the ages of 12 and 15 are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. On Wednesday, a CDC advisory committee gave the green light for adolescent use of the Pfizer vaccine, just days after the FDA gave its approval.

Now, the shots are voluntary for the kids. The vaccine has only emergency use authorization. And, because of that, many legal experts say it is unlikely school districts or states will try and impose a vaccine mandate. That could change in the future if the vaccine gets full federal approval.

Those on both sides of the issue side concerns about their child's well- being.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have some safety concerns as a parent that I don't want this for my daughter. And I don't want this as her passport for an education.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a health-conscious person. And I think that the benefits outweigh the risks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MILLER: Now, the overwhelming majority of health experts say the shot is safe.

They say that children are known to be COVID spreaders. And for that reason, they should be vaccinated, because it protects not only the child, but it protects others.

Also, the more people, regardless of age, who are vaccinated, they say, will move the country closer to herd immunity -- Charles.

PAYNE: David Lee Miller, thank you very much.

And now this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI): And this is as close to open borders as we could possibly have. Don't you think that's going to be even more of a pull factor?

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, U.S. SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Senator, may I...

JOHNSON: Yes, quick.

MAYORKAS: May I have a minute to answer your question?

JOHNSON: Again, is...

MAYORKAS: Because...

JOHNSON: Is that going to be a pull factor or not?

MAYORKAS: Senator...

JOHNSON: That's kind of a yes-or-no answer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAYNE: Fireworks on Capitol Hill at today's Senate Homeland Security hearing, Wisconsin Republican Senator Ron Johnson grilling DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over the border crisis.

The senator, he joins me now.

I do want to mention, we did call the secretary's office. We have not heard back just yet.

Wow. Senator Johnson, have charts, will travel. You really took it to him, and you had the evidence right there. And it was pretty clear, and, hence, the energy, the sense of urgency from your part. Do you think the message eventually got across that this crisis needs to be dealt with?

JOHNSON: I kind of doubt it, Charles.

It was surreal being in that hearing room, as we heard the chairman, Peters, and then Secretary Mayorkas talk about how they inherited this crisis, and that the numbers were improving.

The only thing that's improving is that they are getting -- and they kept talking about they're getting more efficient. They're getting more efficient at apprehending, processing and dispersing, oftentimes dispersing illegal -- illegal immigrants around the country without even a notice to appear.

So, it was actually pretty shocking. I think we were all pretty amazed at the state of denial that the secretary was in. And we obviously have the numbers that show that this is a manmade crisis. This is a crisis produced by President Biden, when he dismantled all the successful policies of President Trump.

PAYNE: Yes, even -- even Democratic lawmakers in those border states are saying as much.

So, while they're focused on the public relations aspect of this, and clearly losing, what can they do? I mean, it seems to me that, during the election period, whether it was the debates or so many other things we heard later on, that a clear message went out to the world, particularly south of the border.

Hey, we're open. Come on. No more xenophobia. Come to this country. We're waiting for you. And the world heard the message.

JOHNSON: Well, what they could do is what they won't do. And that's reinstate the policies that worked.

During the hearing, they say, well, this crisis really started ramping up starting in April of 2020. Well, yes, numbers started rising because you had Democrat presidential candidates saying that they were not going to deport anybody, they were going to offer illegal immigrants free health care.

So that began to draw more people into this country after President Trump had, by and large, stopped the flow of unaccompanied children and family units exploiting our very generous asylum laws.

Now, the other thing I had to point out, Charles, is, both President Biden and Vice President Harris know the human deprivations, the inhumanity that their policies are creating, that they are facilitating the multibillion business model, multibillion-dollar business model of the most evil people on the planet, the sex trafficking, human trafficking, the beatings, the kidnappings, the additional ransom.

They know this full well. They know that children are being sold, that they're being recycled to be used again for another adult as a family unit. So, they knew all this. And yet they have instituted these policies that are incentivizing this business model. It's shameful.

PAYNE: No, it really is, when you start to -- you really look at it in a proper perspective.

I'm also concerned, and I know the audience is, about the large number of folks who are coming through. They're not -- they're not turning themselves over, like a lot of people are, but just coming through and making it into the country, and no one knows where they go, I mean, what they're doing, what they're going to do, because that feels like that could be the criminal faction, not the ones coming up looking for work or real humanitarian issues, but those with other nefarious things in mind.

Does anyone have a plan for that?

JOHNSON: No, they don't.

We are apprehending, on average, almost 6,000 people per day over the last couple of months, 6,000 people per day. That's a caravan a day, about 1,000 known get-aways. We have no idea how many people now get away without being known, because our border is completely open.

The drug trafficking, we have no idea. And, again, they are dispersing people without even a notice to appear. Secretary Mayorkas said, well, we're asking them to voluntarily check in with an ICE office at their final destination.

I mean, these people are coming in here illegally. Do you think they're going to check themselves in to be going through an adjudication process where their asylum claim will be denied because they're coming here for economic reasons? Of course they won't.

So, they -- these folks are in a fantasyland. They're in a state of denial. And it is definitely affecting our national and homeland security. It's unfortunate. In 2006, you had 26 Senate Democrats vote for the Secure Fence Act, including President Obama, President Biden, Secretary -- Secretary of State Clinton.

Now it's -- they have turned into a partisan issue, as every Democrat on my committee voted against my amendment to just complete the wall with the money that's already been spent. We're going to be -- we're going to be wasting $2 billion of American taxpayer money...

PAYNE: All right.

JOHNSON: ... because we won't complete that wall, and we will get nothing for it.

PAYNE: Senator, let me switch gears here, because the CDC updating its guidance today, saying fully vaccinated people can now go without masks indoors. That's in most places.

I'm sure you think this is a move in the right direction. But do you wonder why it took so long?

JOHNSON: Yes, this action is well overdo.

The vaccine is highly effective. By the way, so is natural immunity. I just consulted with a doctor, had an antibody test. My antibody level seven months after I had asymptomatic COVID is at a level as high as the doctor's is, who had two shots of the Moderna vaccine.

So, I think we should certainly include people that have natural immunity as well. And I would dispute that doctor you had an earlier that natural immunity is not as strong or that it's not as long-lasting.

We still have people from original SARS 17 years later that have immunity to that. So, it's true of almost every other virus that, once you have the virus, you're immune from it, even long-term.

PAYNE: Right.

JOHNSON: Why are we automatically assuming that's not true?

PAYNE: And, of course, you have taken a fair amount of heat for your position on this.

JOHNSON: I have.

But let's face it. I'm not in a position of either encouraging or discouraging. I celebrated Operation Warp Speed. I have had every flu vaccine for the last 30, 40 years. I'm up to date with all my other vaccines.

But I do believe this is a right to choose. I'm a big supporter of right to try. I'm the champion of right to try. But the corollary -- corollary to that is right to choose.

What about health care privacy? You know, we're losing all these liberties during COVID. We ought to reclaim these liberties.

PAYNE: Senator Ron Johnson, thank you very much. I really appreciate it. Your passion on these things, it's infectious.

We will talk to you again real soon.

Meanwhile, folks, the East Coast pipeline may be back online, but so are drivers. Is there any relief in sight?

And that -- extra jobless benefits, take that away and Americans, well, will they take jobs? A lot of states are doing it. Now these Republican senators are actually pushing all states to do the same thing. Will it work?

And a shot in the arm, a mask off the face. President Biden taking it all off, right? He goes maskless for the first time.

I want to get reaction from Republican Oklahoma Senator James Lankford. He's coming right up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAYNE: It was a mixed day for the Mouse House, Disney beating earnings estimates for the first three months of the year, but missing on revenue estimates on a slowdown in Disney+ subscriptions.

The stock getting hit a little bit in after-hours trading.

We're back in 60 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAYNE: Well, that East Coast pipeline is back online, but drivers are still seeing long lines here.

Here was the latest reaction, President Biden telling Americans not to panic and also saying that the fuel shortages are only going to be temporary.

Now, this with the Colonial Pipeline expecting partial service to resume to all of its markets at some point today, but it's still no comfort for drivers dealing with gas prices north of $3 a gallon.

Jonathan Serrie in Sandy Springs, Atlanta, and Jonathan has more -- Jonathan.

JONATHAN SERRIE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Charles.

Actually, we moved to another station. We're now in Smyrna, just outside of Atlanta, because the station we were at in Sandy Springs ran out of gas. This is the first station we have visited during this crisis that has not run out of gas.

In fact, a fuel truck showed up a couple hours ago, so perhaps a good sign.

I want to show you now a live drone shot, some aerials that we have over yet another Atlanta suburb of Doraville. It's flying near a fuel terminal, where tanker trucks are off-loading gas that has arrived from the pipeline system.

The trucks then make deliveries to gas stations. Federal officials predict many communities will see fuel supplies return to normal over the weekend and in more remote places early next week.

According to GasBuddy, roughly half of all gas stations here in Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia have run out of gas. And, in North Carolina, two out of three stations are without gas. Now, state and federal officials continue to urge motorists not to panic-buy. They say that this problem is temporary and things will be fully restored in just a matter of days -- Charles.

PAYNE: Jonathan, thank you very much.

So, the pipeline is back up and running. That's good. But with prices now over $3 a gallon and gas lines still forming, my next guest thinks this situation for drivers this weekend could be really bad.

Want to bring in energy analyst Tom Kloza.

Tom, so, what's the deal here?

TOM KLOZA, OIL PRICE INFORMATION SERVICE: Well, I think I have got good news, actually. I think that it's getting better.

In the business, it's what you call trying to keep your stations wet, making sure that have fuel. And they're getting wetter now that the pipelines running again.

I mean, the pipeline shutdown was a pretty serious problem. But the reaction of the maddening crowd reminded me of sort of 1978 and 1979 with the Iranian oil crisis. Everybody's hoarding. Everybody was topping off the tank. People in the Peninsula of Florida, which is supplied by water and not by pipeline, were filling up with gasoline.

The good news is, that's calming down. I was an abysmal failure at being the gas whisperer early in the week.

(LAUGHTER)

KLOZA: But I can tell you, talking to marketers, talking in stations, they're getting the gas back now.

PAYNE: Now, even before, though, the colonial ransomware attack, gas prices were trending higher. And we saw crude oil breaking out. Is there a sense that we could still see a very expensive summer driving season?

Also, let's add into the fact that we're reopened. I mean, people are going to hit the road. You got a choice. You're going to staycation, not go away from this country.

KLOZA: Well, we actually predicted that there could be some problems this summer, not because of a lack of supply, but because of lack of truck drivers.

When COVID hit and demand got knocked down to where it was in the Kennedy administration for a while, probably 15 or 20 percent of all the drivers of those transport trucks left and went to work elsewhere, Amazon FedEx, you name it.

So, when you have that pent-up demand, and I think probably July and August, maybe a little bit Memorial Day weekend, some of the destinations - - I live by the Jersey Shore here. If you're by national parks, you might see that.

The problem is, when you tell people to stay calm, and not to load up with gasoline, it's like telling people in March of 2020 not to buy toilet paper. You see your neighbors and everybody else getting it, and you start to hoard.

PAYNE: Right.

Well, Tom, you will always be our oil whisperer and gas whisperer. We appreciate it.

Thank you so much, my friend.

KLOZA: Thanks, Charles.

PAYNE: The CDC, meanwhile, folks saying, ditch the mask if you're fully vaccinated.

So what does this mean for our return to normal? Reaction from a top Republican senator.

Also, will taking extra jobless benefits away from Americans get them to take jobs? These states are doing it, and we're going to debate it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAYNE: As President Biden was meeting today with a group of Republican senators on infrastructure. Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio leading another group of Republicans and saying, forget spending, it's time to get Americans working.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): Enhanced unemployment benefits are creating an incentive for people not to return to work until they expire.

It's not because people are lazy. I'm not accusing anyone of being lazy. It's because people are logical, because it's logic that, if you're going to make close to what -- or as much, and in some cases more than what you do in your work, you will go back to work when that expires.

We have a labor crisis in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAYNE: All right, so who's right here?

I want to go FOX Business contributors Scott Martin and Gary Kaltbaum, along with Optimal Capital's director of strategy Frances Newton Stacy.

Gary K., I got a feeling I know what you're going to say. But where should we be going, more spending or more workers?

GARY KALTBAUM, FOX BUSINESS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, look, it's unfortunate that the president said there's no data. He can come to Lake Mary, Florida, and I will walk them into some restaurants, and they will tell him exactly what's going on.

The theme parks are offering bonuses. And all you have to do is just go print out what all the states are giving before this extra on unemployment. There are some states that are paying out $900 with the extra per week. So, people are definitively staying home. I'm pretty sure the president knows this.

I wish he would roll this back sooner, rather than later. Why? Because there are a lot of businesses just getting off their back that can't go 100 percent because they can't find people to show up at this juncture.

PAYNE: Yes.

To be clear, the administration says they haven't seen the evidence, because they know it's out there. They're just saying they haven't seen it. Yes, real cute.

You know, Frances Newton Stacy, right toward around 3:00, the biggest trend on social media was: "We are closed." In other words, the left now saying, we're not going to go back to work, even with the CDC guidelines, until we get more money. We feel like we have got big business on the ropes. McDonald's raised their prices.

So we could still see a worker crisis.

FRANCES NEWTON STACY, OPTIMAL CAPITAL: Yes, we definitely could.

I think what's kind of weird is that we -- taxes are going to go up, right? And these companies that made it through COVID, and God bless the ones that didn't, the companies that made it through COVID have a record amount of debt service, probably, on their books.

And so I think that this sort of demand and supply in the hiring is going to kind of even out toward the end of the year. Also, I think that there are some other sort of headwinds coming in the system that might kind of even out the record amount of pent-up demand that we're seeing play out now.

So this hiring thing could even out. But I do agree that it should be handled on a localized basis, because if you just cut it off at the federal level, you really do risk leaving some people behind. And, locally, you can analyze that a bit better.

PAYNE: Yes, at this point, though, Scott, we're talking about small businesses, to Gary's point.

It's gone on a long time. It was a noble thing to do. This has been -- this has been extended now two or three times. So, the question is, do we need it right now?

SCOTT MARTIN, FOX BUSINESS CONTRIBUTOR: No.

And I love how Marco Rubio use the word logic. Like, you don't need evidence. I mean, it's easy to ignore the evidence if you close your eyes, but, like, logic. I mean, I get it too. If you're getting paid to stay home or go out and party, go to the beach, whatever you want to do after you have been cooped up, by the way, thanks to the government, for a year, yes, I would do that as well.

I mean, I will say that right now. So the fact that we want to get this great reopening going, we want the markets and economy to enjoy a normalized environment, yet we're going to keep this stimulus going, is just crazy to me.

And it's because the government wants to control you. They still want to have control. They still want to have you dependent and under your thumb for funds. And so, as long as we are in this position, I'm now concerned, Charles, about this great reopening and the pent-up demand that Frances was talking about, because there's no way that demand is going to be satisfied, if you're a small business, a big business, if you can't find the workers to service people.

PAYNE: Right.

Gary K., we just heard from President Biden at the top of this show. He came out. He took a victory lap. And he's been in an awkward position, because I think a big part of this is that they have to sell a certain amount of fear, a certain amount of urgency. There's no way you can push through another $4 trillion in spending and at the same time say things are great.

So, they're walking this line and they're not walking it very well, not that it can be. And so what do you make of the notion that the administration can't admit that things are going well, and they have to keep certain things in place to pass the rest of their agenda?

KALTBAUM: Well, the problem is, they want to grow the government big time, and they want to just rip on the taxpayer, especially the supposed privileged few, and it's a shame.

And, really, the big shame is, all they really had to do was come in and do nothing. The economy's ready to get going. The economy's ready to soar. The pent-up demand that's out there is gargantuan. And once the airlines get going and international flights get going and the offices open in the big cities, it's look out upwards.

But they are so determined -- and this is what I believe -- to put all these headwinds in front of the economy. We're not talking about a $500 billion tax hike. We're talking about four, five, six -- we still don't even have the outline of it -- but I counted up a total of seven trillion bucks.

And to take seven trillion bucks out an economy and put it in their hands just coming out of pandemic is a sin.

PAYNE: Yes.

KALTBAUM: And it does nothing to help the economy, and it hurts everybody in the lower income and middle class that are trying to become wealthy. Crazy stuff.

PAYNE: Yes, I think the old saying is, a trillion here, a trillion there. Soon, we're talking about real money.

You three are the best. I appreciate it.

Hey, did President Biden just take a big step to get more shots in arms by taking the mask off his face?

I'm going to get reaction from a top Republican senator on that next.

And the folks behind the Colonial Pipeline just releasing a new update. We will have it for you right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAYNE: Fully vaccinated Americans can ditch the mask, the CDC easing indoor and outdoor mask restrictions today.

So, what will this do for the push to normalcy?

Joining me now, Oklahoma Republican Senator and Senate Energy Committee member James Lankford.

Senator, thanks for joining us.

Your thoughts, as this news -- it's -- finally, we're here. We have made it.

SEN. JAMES LANKFORD (R-OK): You know what's been self-evident to a lot of people for a very long time now -- CDC has finally caught up with it -- that a naked face is probably OK to be able to walk around, to be able to talk to people after you have been vaccinated.

And so I think a lot of people are sick of it already. A lot of people have already set it aside that had been vaccinated. And CDC just finally put their stamp. We will see it President Biden will take his mask off now on video calls that he's on and to go ahead and just follow in with the rest of where everybody else is.

PAYNE: Yes, a lot of people were upset, though, or at least frustrated, because it felt like this could have come a long time ago.

Regular folks were going outside without their masks. Vaccinated people were not wearing their masks in-house, when everybody in the house was vaccinated. And this all felt political.

What was interesting is, moments ago, when President Biden spoke, he said don't pick on people who are still wearing masks. Listen, that's fine.

LANKFORD: Right.

PAYNE: But I wish he would have kind of put that message out there all along for people, because, up until now, if you were skeptical of masks, you were portrayed as a villain.

LANKFORD: Right. Yes, don't pick on people that are not wearing masks as well. And that's been kind of the shame game that's gone on now for months and months of people that didn't wear a mask at any point. People would just jump on them. They would try to out them on social media, take pictures of them, do all that stuff.

Listen, let's just respect each other. That's a good way to be able to handle things as Americans. This shouldn't be that hard and complicated, as it has become.

PAYNE: Yes, I love that idea.

So, do you feel that this could kind of speed up now the recovery process? It's been moving along in fits and starts, but I think this is great news for the country overall.

LANKFORD: I think it will be very significant.

The most significant thing will be dealing with this unemployment. I heard you talking to some guests about that earlier. These additional unemployment benefits that have been stacked on the normal unemployment benefits, I think that's been the single largest drag on our economy, that we have got every single business out there wants to hire, but folks are making the logical choice to be able to stay home if they can make as much money staying home as they can working.

So that's the bigger issue, even bigger than the mask issue.

PAYNE: Yes, I think Friday underscored that, when we only got 266,000 jobs with 8.1 million job openings.

Senator, we just got a statement from Colonial Pipeline. I want to share part of it with you -- quote -- "Colonial Pipeline has continued to make substantial progress in safely restarting our pipeline system. We can now report that we have restarted our entire pipeline system, and that product delivery has commenced to all markets we serve. Following this restart, it will take several days for the product delivery supply chain to return to normal."

Of course, you think Oklahoma, you think Cushing, and you say to yourself, wow, what if this happened there? What's the message and the urgency factor we should take from this?

LANKFORD: I think this is a practical lesson of what a bad choice it is for President Biden to be aggressively opposed to pipelines. It's not only bad for jobs and for energy development. It's bad for just basic functioning of the economy.

The whole East Coast is in the process of shutting down, long gas lines, lots of gas stations that are closed down with no gas at them, and people panicking what they're going to do for energy from the loss of one pipeline. This is why redundancy of pipelines are very important.

This is why increasing the number of pipelines, not decreasing the number of pipelines important. It's why even the Keystone pipeline is important. All these things where President Biden wants to shut down anything that's carrying a carbon molecule and shut down pipeline development, this is a great example of why that's a bad idea and why it's a good idea to safely move fuel and have redundant systems and pipelines all over the country.

PAYNE: Senator, I want you to listen to something that Energy Secretary Granholm said about pipelines earlier this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER GRANHOLM, U.S. ENERGY SECRETARY: This particular area of the country, there -- this is why we doubled down on ensuring that there's an ability to truck oil in, gas in. But it's -- the pipe is the best way to go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAYNE: All right, your thoughts on her comments?

LANKFORD: Yes, pipe is the best way to go. That's what we have been saying over and over again.

(LAUGHTER)

LANKFORD: They want to shut off the Keystone Pipeline, and instead put it on a rail car, and to be able to move that same oil in a railcar.

They're suddenly saying let's move in on a truck, highly inefficient. And the problem is, they can't get enough truck drivers, because, again, the unemployment assistance, it's been hard to be able to get additional truck drivers to move this.

But the pipe is the best way to do it, safest way to be able to do it, most efficient way to be able to do it. It keeps energy prices down. Allow us to be able to move pipelines. It's amazing to me people are afraid of pipelines now, when we have got literally millions of miles of pipeline underground all over our country safely moving fuel everywhere.

PAYNE: I have got a minute, less than two minutes.

But I do want to ask you about some legislation you have joined with Marco Rubio -- or not legislation, but at least a plea to the administration to stop negotiations with Iran, this after the Hamas attacks and what's going on in Israel.

Can you tell the audience about what you're trying to achieve here? What would you like to see from this administration?

LANKFORD: Yes, I want to push back on the administration to be able to say, you're rushing into a new deal with Iran.

And the previous administration, the Obama administration, said they want to separate out Iran's terrorism from their nuclear program, as if they're two different issues. We're pushing back on the Biden team and say, don't go back to the negotiating table and pretend Iran can do terrorism in conventional means, but we're going to try to stop them from doing this with nuclear means.

Treat Iran as they are. That regime is the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world. Our issue is not with the Iranian people, but it certainly is what that regime. And we're trying to be able to push it to say, there's clear evidence, with Hamas now launching 1,200 rockets at Israel, 1,200 rockets just this week at Israel.

Those are funded by Iran. And we should take that seriously.

PAYNE: Do you think you -- have you heard from the White House on this? Do you think they will at least give you a listen?

LANKFORD: I have not heard from them yet.

But now, again, with rockets coming out of Lebanon now that are also Iranian-funded, that there's now Iranian rockets coming out of Gaza, Iranian rockets that are coming out of Lebanon towards Israel.

PAYNE: Yes.

LANKFORD: We hope that the administration will wake up and will see this for what it really is.

PAYNE: Senator Lankford, it's been a pleasure. Thank you very much.

We covered a lot of ground. And I appreciate your time.

Folks, that will be it for me for today. You can catch me tomorrow on "Making Money."

A crazy day in the market. I got your back.

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