Maine Democratic Reps Criticize Republican Initiatives in U.S. House

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Maines, two Democratic members of the United States House, have in recent days strongly criticized the proposals approved by the new Republican majority.

The handful of GOP-approved measures, which have almost no chance of winning the support of the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate, have focused on issues popular with Republican voters, from abortion restrictions to cuts in the Internal Revenue Service.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, promised in his maiden speech after winning the job in last week’s rowdy 15th ballot that our first-ever bill would repeal funding for 87,000 law enforcement officers. ‘IRS, a reference to money allocated in a funding bill approved with Republican support in the Senate to improve the IRS’ ability to deal with a growing backlog of returns and to strengthen its ability to audit individuals and wealthy companies.

We believe the government should be there to help you, not prosecute you, McCarthy said of the measure, though the IRS commissioner has vowed his agency won’t increase its audit of people earning less than $400,000 per year.

U.S. Representative Chellie Pingree, who has represented Maines’ 1st District since 2009, tweeted that House Republicans’ first-ever bill would help the wealthiest Americans cheat on their taxes and drive up the deficit. Ashamed!

The measure passed this week on a 221-210 party line vote.

Another party-line vote this week established a new Select Federal Militarization Subcommittee, which is supposed to investigate federal law enforcement agencies such as the FBI.

U.S. Representative Jared Golden, who is in his third term to represent Maines’ 2nd District, blasted Republican lawmakers for pushing the investigation.

We should not grant lawmakers the power to undermine the work of law enforcement officials, let alone insert themselves into ongoing investigations focused on their own activity, Golden said in a written statement.

This committee opens the door to corruption and abuse of power and goes against the separation of powers as enshrined in the Constitution, added the Democrat from Lewiston.

US Representative Tom Cole, a Republican from Oklahoma, told his colleagues that a 13-member panel was needed because we have witnessed abuses of civil liberties of US citizens by the executive branch in recent years.

He said the committee, which is due to report on its findings in two years, will bring to light abuses by the federal government to the American people and ensure that Congress, as its elected representatives, can take appropriate action. to remedy.

The House also this week approved two bills favored by those who want to see abortions restricted.

U.S. Representative Virginia Foxx, Republican from North Carolina, said the GOP in Congress sends a unified message to the entire country and the world: Our new House majority represents life.

Pingree said the reality is that in every U.S. state, a majority of people support abortion access and that House Republicans’ embrace of anti-choice measures is completely out of touch with the message that voters have sent to the polls last fall.

She said voters across the country made it clear in the November election that they support abortion rights.

Among the ballot items voters acted on in November were a constitutional change in Michigan that guaranteed abortion and pregnancy care protections and the rejection of a proposal in Kentucky that would have explicitly stated in its constitution that residents do not have the right to choose an abortion.

Pingree also attacked House rule changes that she says will make it much harder for Congress to work for the people.

She said the changes, which include concessions made by McCarthy to win over hardliners in his quest to become president, show hardliners are setting the GOP agenda, not McCarthy.

He didn’t have the voices to speak, so he made concession after concession to a radical wing of his caucus just to hold the gavel, Pingree said on Twitter.

McCarthy said, however, that as president, my ultimate responsibility is not to my party, my conference, or even our Congress. My responsibility, our responsibility, is to our country.

Golden shared his thoughts on the new Congress following McCarthys’ election early on Saturday, including his views on Democrats’ selection of U.S. Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York to serve as their new party leader. on his side of the driveway.

Since 2018, I have consistently called for a new generation of leadership for the Democratic caucus in the House of Representatives, said Golden, who twice voted against choosing U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi of California as chairwoman.

This year, Golden supported his party’s choice to serve as Minority Leader.

Congressman Jeffries represents a new generation of leaders. I hope he brings to Washington a leadership style that is thoughtful and respectful of every member of the caucus, Golden said. Our country is best served by a Congress with leadership that empowers members to represent their constituents.

Golden said he said nothing about the difficult GOP selection process that led to McCarthys’ elevation as a speaker out of respect for the process and because regardless of which party is in power, the people deserves a convention organized with a speaker at the helm.

He said that the long debate and repeated votes seemed difficult, even messy, but I believe that many of my colleagues opposite did their best to organize the House after the 2022 election which gave them a majority.

I sincerely hope they govern our country responsibly and look forward to working with them in a bipartisan manner,” Golden said.

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