Whip Clark: "New Year. Same Chaos From the GOP."

Interview

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"It's a new year. It's a new session of Congress. But it is the same old chaos and civil war over on the GOP side of the aisle.

Democrats know this: We made a deal around funding back in June. We voted on it in a bipartisan way, despite the fact it wasn't a deal that we loved, and it was brought about by the GOP holding our economy hostage. We have continued to be the party that is funding the government. We did it in October. We did it again in November. And, we will probably have to do it again this week because we understand that a shutdown is not good for the American people. It's not good for small businesses, federal employees, [or] our veterans. And, it is our fundamental obligation.

We've made the deal. It is now time for the Republicans to come and fulfill this most basic responsibility of Congress to pass a budget."

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What we're seeing is, as this budget drifts once again toward an impending shutdown, they have no affirmative agenda except for taking away reproductive freedom. This week, when we should be negotiating how we prevent a shutdown, they're putting two more anti-abortion bills on the floor.

They should be talking about how we can prevent and reduce gun violence in this country. They should be talking about how we expand lowering health care costs, expand the work that Democrats did on lowering the cost of insulin to everybody who needs insulin in this country.

These are the things the American people are focused on. And instead, the GOP has made bipartisanship a dirty word and is just wholly committed to turning our work in Congress into a campaign arm for Donald Trump."

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Think about what Marjorie Taylor Greene is saying -- that if the Speaker honors a bipartisan agreement that we already voted on ten months ago, she will motion to vacate the Speaker once again -- plunging us into chaos.

It is outrageous that's where today's GOP in the House is. Where are the voices of reason pushing back against her? They have no agenda. They have lost sight of what I hear from the American people, not only here in Massachusetts, but as I travel the country. They want us to work on the cost of housing, of groceries. I hear everywhere I go about the high cost and lack of availability of child care. These are the issues that people are asking us to pay attention to, to focus on.

And instead, we have this intraparty war going on across the aisle with the GOP and very few solutions coming forward. So we're, as Democrats, going to keep our focus on those kitchen table issues and make sure that we are moving this country forward."

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