'Political Games': Joe Neguse Decries GOP's Slate Of 'Messaging Bills'

4 months ago

During debate on the House floor, Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO) slammed House Republicans' legislative agenda.

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Transcript

00:00 The gentleman from Colorado is recognized.

00:04 Thank you, Madam Speaker. I thank the gentlewoman from Indiana for the customary 30 minutes.

00:10 I ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks, and I yield myself such time as

00:14 I may consume.

00:16 Without objection.

00:17 Madam Speaker, today is a serious day, a serious moment for this institution. Apparently, according

00:27 to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, House Republicans, were gathered here

00:32 today to discuss a very consequential question, a consequential issue facing the country,

00:41 Madam Speaker.

00:43 Home appliances, toasters, microwaves, refrigerators. Those are the topics, Madam Speaker, that House

00:55 Republicans have chosen to waste this institution's time on.

01:02 Of all the challenges facing the country, of all of the issues facing our community,

01:11 apparently, their top priority is the so-called Hands Off Home Appliances Act.

01:22 Madam Speaker, you may recall that Republicans noticed a Rules Committee meeting on this

01:29 very same bill just a few weeks ago. That bill was then hastily removed. We assumed,

01:39 because our colleagues on the other side of the aisle were essentially shamed into pulling

01:44 it from the agenda. They realized that a bill on home appliances probably doesn't meet the

01:52 moment considering all of the real crises that we have going on.

01:59 But apparently, that shame only lasted for a few weeks, because today's legislation,

02:06 Hands Off Home Appliances Act, is back, apparently, for round two. And just to be clear, Madam

02:13 Speaker, I know you're aware of this, this is a package deal. This isn't the only appliance

02:18 bill that Republicans have noticed for this body to consider. The Liberty in Laundry Act,

02:25 this is the real title of the bill that House Republicans would like this body to consider.

02:30 The Refrigerator Freedom Act. The Clothes Dryers Reliability Act. The Affordable Air

02:38 Conditioning Act. The Stop Unaffordable Dishwasher Standards Act. Those bills, I guess, didn't

02:44 make the cut for this particular rules debate. I suppose we'll take those up next week.

02:51 Madam Speaker, this House should be focused on addressing the consequential challenges

03:01 of our time, not on political games, messaging bills. How far this body has fallen. The same

03:18 august chamber where James Madison and Abraham Lincoln once served, now debasing itself,

03:29 debating the fate of microwaves and toaster ovens. Because that's how House Republicans

03:35 have decided to spend their time and their majority. My colleagues, regrettably, unfortunately,

03:44 are out of touch with the priorities of the American people. They expect, the American

03:50 people expect, rightfully so, for this chamber to address the issues that they care about.

03:58 Not waste time on nonsense bills. And by the way, Madam Speaker, the rest of the measures

04:04 that we'll consider today, unfortunately, are more of the same. HR 7109, the so-called

04:13 Equal Representation Act, is plainly unconstitutional. Any plain reading of the Constitution in the

04:24 14th Amendment makes clear that this bill is unconstitutional. House Republicans pushing

04:32 forward anyways. Another bill that we're considering today, yet another CRA, this time on apparently

04:42 a bulletin that was issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission. I have lost count

04:50 of how many days we've wasted in the last 17 months considering CRAs. Every week, another

04:57 CRA submitted by our colleagues on the other side of the aisle. One would have hoped, Mr.

05:05 Speaker, that House Republicans would have learned their lesson a year ago after wasting

05:10 our time on CRAs for the lesser prairie chicken and the northern long-eared bat, that perhaps

05:17 this House could focus its attention on more substantive matters. Unfortunately, that has

05:24 not been the case. Finally, Mr. Speaker, the last bill that this body will consider this

05:32 week, the Mining Regulatory Clarity Act. Of course, this bill is, I know, familiar to

05:37 you, Mr. Speaker. It is to me, because we voted on a rule about this particular bill

05:43 seven days ago. Why is it back before us a week later? I'll tell you why. Republican

05:51 leadership has lost control of the Rules Committee. They lost control months ago. Now they often

05:58 lack a procedural majority here on the House floor. Last week, our colleague, Representative

06:05 Ledger Fernandez, introduced a motion to recommit. The motion to recommit was very simple. It

06:13 pointed out the fact that the Republicans' mining bill would allow foreign adversarial

06:19 nations to mine American land for free. What happened to that motion to recommit? It passed.

06:31 Six Republicans joined every Democrat in supporting that motion to recommit. Those familiar with

06:39 Schoolhouse Rock would understand that that means the bill goes back to committee, the

06:45 House Committee on Natural Resources, where I serve, Mr. Speaker, where you serve, so

06:49 that we could work out the issues that this body on a bipartisan basis identified with

06:57 this bill seven days ago. Instead, House Republicans have brought the very same bill back to this

07:06 body for its consideration without going to the Natural Resources Committee. I have no

07:13 idea how the six Republicans who voted for the motion to recommit last week can possibly

07:20 defend or rationalize a vote against the motion to recommit this week. I suppose we're going

07:27 to find out. Mr. Speaker, there are better ways for this chamber to be spending its time.

07:35 I'd implore the Speaker, I'd implore my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, let's get

07:40 serious, let's work together to address some of the consequential challenges that face

07:46 our respective states, our country, and let's stop with these nonsense bills. I implore

07:51 you. With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

'Political Games': Joe Neguse Decries GOP's Slate Of 'Messaging Bills'

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