'Not Going To Be Signed Into Law': McGovern Blasts GOP Bills Loaded With 'Culture War Matters'
At a House Rules Committee hearing on Tuesday, Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) spoke about appropriations bills.
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NewsTranscript
00:00or I'll yield to you for any questions you may have.
00:02Yeah, well, I mean, what's the point
00:05of asking questions at this point?
00:07The, I mean, these bills, as I said at the outset,
00:10are not going to be signed into law.
00:13They've been loaded up with all kinds of culture war matters
00:20that don't belong in these bills.
00:22And it really is quite disappointing
00:26to see how dysfunctional we've become.
00:31You know, I began my career as an intern up here.
00:34I worked as a staffer and served as a member
00:37of Congress now for many years.
00:40And I remember when the appropriations process was truly
00:43bipartisan, when they would be, when regularly,
00:47when the House would bring an appropriation bill
00:49to the floor, there'd be large bipartisan votes.
00:53We're not, we're not, that's not where we are right now.
00:55And any attempt at trying to be bipartisanship can come
00:59to the Rules Committee, and the Rules Committee will screw it
01:02all up so that it is partisan.
01:04We had an NDAA bill that passed out a committee 57 to 1.
01:09I mean, people, you know, Democrats, Republicans, 57 to 1.
01:14You can't get Democrats, Republicans to agree on lunch,
01:17but they agreed on moving that bill forward.
01:19It comes to the Rules Committee, goes to the floor,
01:22and it becomes this totally partisan vehicle.
01:25So, I mean, bipartisan.
01:26Will it yield?
01:27They're happy to.
01:28Did it pass on the floor, the NDAA?
01:32Yeah, it did, yeah.
01:35Well, but, so what's the, but that bill is not,
01:37that bill as it is, is not going to look like it is
01:41if it ever sees the light of day.
01:43But there's no attempt at bipartisanship.
01:46And this obsession that my Republican friends have
01:49with attacking women's reproductive healthcare
01:52and going after the LGBTQ plus community, I mean,
01:56it is outrageous, it is offensive.
02:00And I think you get up every morning and say,
02:04how do we go after women's rights today?
02:07How do we attack the LGBTQ community today?
02:11And by the way, those are human rights issues.
02:13Those are human rights issues.
02:14Women's reproductive healthcare is a human rights issue,
02:17whether you want to admit it or not.
02:20LGBTQ plus issues are human rights issues.
02:23Climate change is a human rights
02:25and a national security issue as well.
02:28And again, these partisan bills that are loaded
02:34up with MAGA priorities to get a partisan vote,
02:39I mean, it is a waste of time.
02:42I guess, again, maybe it's good fundraising
02:45for the Republican base, but it's like,
02:48this is not the way this place is supposed to work.
02:53And it really is disheartening.
02:56So yeah, I could ask a thousand questions, but on what?
02:59On bills that are not gonna ever be signed into law
03:02the way they are written.
03:03They're gonna have to be dramatically
03:04and drastically changed.
03:06And by doing it this way means that we will probably get
03:10either a temporary short-term spending bill,
03:12and then if we get to a long-term spending bill,
03:16there'll be really no thoughtful and meaningful discussion
03:21to make sure we're getting it all right,
03:22because we'll be all rushed to the very, very end.
03:25I gotta tell you, things really need to change.
03:29And I would tell my friends,
03:33this appropriations process is not the way
03:36we should do business here.
03:37And again, and some of the things
03:40that you feel you have to include, they were offensive.
03:44They really are offensive.
03:46And so I thank everybody for being here,
03:49but I'll spare you any questions,
03:51and I'll yield back my time.
03:53Chair, thanks to the gentleman.
03:54Gentleman yields back,
03:54the gentleman from South Carolina.