Hoyer Discusses House Democrats’ Record of Success this Congress on Bloomberg TV
For Immediate Release:
September 12, 2022
Contact Info:
Raymond Rodriguez 202-225-3130
WASHINGTON, DC – This afternoon, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (MD) joined “Balance of Power with David Westin” on Bloomberg TV to discuss House Democrats’ record of success this Congress on behalf of the American people and ongoing conversations about funding the government. Below are excerpts from his interview and a link to the video:
On House Democrats’ Work Record of Success on Behalf of the American People
“I think this is one of the most productive Congress in which I've served. We started the Congress doing the American Rescue Plan which invested in businesses staying [open], getting kids in school, and 250 million shots in arms…We then passed an infrastructure bill – by the way on that that first bill, there were no Republican votes, either in the Senate or the House. Next, we passed the infrastructure bill which invests, as Trump said he was going to do, but did not do, for four years, substantial money in building America's infrastructure and competitiveness in the electric grid, in clean water, making sure that America was gonna be competitive in the 21st century and would have the services that our businesses and individuals need. Then next, we passed the CHIPS and Science [Act], a major investment in Making It In America, making sure that America's manufacturing sector is not relying on the unreliable, overseas supply lines, interruptions [to] supply lines. Major, major piece of legislation that was also bipartisan… Then lastly we passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which was another major investment in our country and our people, and an extraordinary investment in meeting the climate challenge that that we see presented almost weekly and these disastrous natural disasters that are occurring… So it's very, very productive session, in my view…In addition to that we passed a gun safety bill for our communities, the first in 25 years to get through the Congress and got through on a bipartisan basis. There are a lot of other significant pieces of legislation that we we voted on in the House that unfortunately haven’t passed the Senate. Voting rights is one of those, the assault weapons bill is another one of those, but some very substantial piece of legislation that still need to be done.”
On Work to Fund the Government
“One thing we have to do, obviously, is pass funding for the next fiscal year…. The House has passed six of our appropriations bills, we have six left to pass. Unfortunately, the Senate has not to passed any. So we're going have to pass what we call a Continuing Resolution, which is simply giving agencies the authorization to spend money to keep the government operating after September 30th, which is the end of our fiscal year. I think the Senate is going to move on that first. I’ve talked to the Senate Majority Leader, I’ve talked to the Speaker about that, and we believe that the Senate will move [the bill] first. Hopefully they will move this week or early next week so that we can pass that days before the September 30th deadline. That's the most important bill but we’re going to be doing other important pieces of legislation including trying to make sure that the civil service system is respected and not undermined, making sure we have the opportunity to have oversight…”
Click here for a link to the video.
On House Democrats’ Work Record of Success on Behalf of the American People
“I think this is one of the most productive Congress in which I've served. We started the Congress doing the American Rescue Plan which invested in businesses staying [open], getting kids in school, and 250 million shots in arms…We then passed an infrastructure bill – by the way on that that first bill, there were no Republican votes, either in the Senate or the House. Next, we passed the infrastructure bill which invests, as Trump said he was going to do, but did not do, for four years, substantial money in building America's infrastructure and competitiveness in the electric grid, in clean water, making sure that America was gonna be competitive in the 21st century and would have the services that our businesses and individuals need. Then next, we passed the CHIPS and Science [Act], a major investment in Making It In America, making sure that America's manufacturing sector is not relying on the unreliable, overseas supply lines, interruptions [to] supply lines. Major, major piece of legislation that was also bipartisan… Then lastly we passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which was another major investment in our country and our people, and an extraordinary investment in meeting the climate challenge that that we see presented almost weekly and these disastrous natural disasters that are occurring… So it's very, very productive session, in my view…In addition to that we passed a gun safety bill for our communities, the first in 25 years to get through the Congress and got through on a bipartisan basis. There are a lot of other significant pieces of legislation that we we voted on in the House that unfortunately haven’t passed the Senate. Voting rights is one of those, the assault weapons bill is another one of those, but some very substantial piece of legislation that still need to be done.”
On Work to Fund the Government
“One thing we have to do, obviously, is pass funding for the next fiscal year…. The House has passed six of our appropriations bills, we have six left to pass. Unfortunately, the Senate has not to passed any. So we're going have to pass what we call a Continuing Resolution, which is simply giving agencies the authorization to spend money to keep the government operating after September 30th, which is the end of our fiscal year. I think the Senate is going to move on that first. I’ve talked to the Senate Majority Leader, I’ve talked to the Speaker about that, and we believe that the Senate will move [the bill] first. Hopefully they will move this week or early next week so that we can pass that days before the September 30th deadline. That's the most important bill but we’re going to be doing other important pieces of legislation including trying to make sure that the civil service system is respected and not undermined, making sure we have the opportunity to have oversight…”