'Not Going To Be Signed Into Law': McGovern Blasts GOP Bills Loaded With 'Culture War Matters'

6 months ago

At a House Rules Committee hearing on Tuesday, Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) spoke about appropriations bills.

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Transcript

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.

'Not Going To Be Signed Into Law': McGovern Blasts GOP Bills Loaded With 'Culture War Matters'

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