'More Misguided MAGA Junk': Jim McGovern Torches GOP Over Latest Legislation In Rules Committee

3 months ago

At a House Rules Committee hearing on Monday, Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) spoke about Republican legislation on voting, refrigerators, and more.

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Transcript

00:00And now on to the legislation that we're going to be considering here today.

00:05You're absolutely right. I disagree with everything you said.

00:09And even more strongly than I usually do.

00:13You know, this committee should be a place where we debate big ideas,

00:17where we tackle important challenges and make real progress.

00:20But under the Republican majority, we've done the exact opposite.

00:24And this week's measures are no different.

00:27We have another funding bill that goes after the LGBTQ community,

00:30attacks Dreamers, and will make Congress less reflective of the people we represent.

00:36We have another thinly-veiled attempt at voter suppression

00:41under the guise of preventing voter fraud.

00:44Even though we all know the voter fraud that my Republican friends are talking about

00:48is just shorthand for the big lie that Trump pushed

00:52when he tried to illegally steal the election after he lost it fair and square.

00:57We all know what's going on here.

00:59Republicans do better in elections when fewer people vote.

01:02So they want to make it harder for people to actually be able to vote.

01:06Look at who this bill would disproportionately impact.

01:09People who change their name when they get married, including millions of women.

01:13People who can't afford to take a day off from work to go down to the town clerk

01:17and get a copy of their birth certificate.

01:19People who don't have $130 to get a passport.

01:22This isn't about making our elections more secure.

01:24It's about making it harder to vote.

01:27That is what this bill is aimed at doing.

01:30Now we know what's going on here.

01:32Republicans are laying the groundwork for them to discredit the upcoming election.

01:36If they win, you'll never hear about this until the next election.

01:40But if they lose, they will say it is because of voter fraud.

01:44Voter fraud, which by the way, the Heritage Foundation,

01:47that right-wing think tank that you guys always associate yourself with,

01:51they can only find 24 cases of it in the last 20 years.

01:55They say this is about protecting the right of citizens to vote.

01:59For every case of real voter fraud,

02:01they want to take away the votes of millions of actual citizens.

02:04What a disgrace.

02:06We have another effort to make it easier to discriminate on campus,

02:10turning back the clock on civil rights

02:13because House Republicans continue to prioritize radical culture wars.

02:18And just days after July 4th,

02:20a day we celebrate actual freedom from tyranny,

02:23Republicans have brought up bills about freedom

02:26for refrigerators and dishwashers.

02:29I mean, you really can't make this stuff up.

02:31They have no problem taking away the rights of living, breathing human beings,

02:35no problem depriving women of their reproductive rights,

02:38stripping away freedom from the LGBTQ community,

02:41hindering families who are on IVF.

02:44None of those groups deserve freedom, according to the Republicans.

02:47But refrigerators? Sign them up.

02:50Apparently nothing says freedom to them

02:52quite like forcing their constituents to pay more on their electric bills.

02:56For the record, if somebody wants to keep a 50-year-old refrigerator,

02:59that's their right.

03:00Nobody's going to stop them. That's nuts.

03:03And it's not what this bill is about.

03:05This is about Republicans giving billion-dollar companies

03:09the freedom to cut corners when they make appliances,

03:12keeping all of our utility bills high

03:15and polluting the air and water while they're at it.

03:18I mean, that's what they are in favor of.

03:20But, Mr. Chairman, at the end of the day,

03:22it's not just about the legislation here.

03:24It's about two competing visions for America.

03:28Democrats want an economy that lifts people up.

03:31We're fighting for workers.

03:33We want opportunity for kids, success for families,

03:36and dignity for seniors.

03:38We want democracy to be secure at home and around the world.

03:41We have a vision of a better future

03:43and an idea of how to get there.

03:45And these bills before our committee today

03:48once again show that Republicans are more interested in division

03:52and taking us backwards and turning the clock back.

03:55On reproductive freedom, on voting rights,

03:58on lowering prices, on holding big corporations accountable,

04:02on all these things and more, they want to drag us back.

04:05That's what their party now stands for.

04:07And that's why we're wasting time with more misguided MAGA junk

04:11instead of working together to get things done for the American people.

04:14And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.

'More Misguided MAGA Junk': Jim McGovern Torches GOP Over Latest Legislation In Rules Committee

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