Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) pleaded for more congressional parties a few hours after voting against it President Biden
Joe BidenHouse Democrats succeed overwhelming .9T COVID-19 minimum wage relief bill Biden to hold virtual bilateral meeting with Mexican president More than 300 are charged in connection with Capitol riots MORE‘s coronavirus relief package Saturday morning, which became one of only two House Democrats to get his party on the bill.
In a nearly 30-minute telephone interview with The Hill, Golden said he did not agree with the Democratic leaders ‘efforts to get the $ 1.9 billion package through Congress without Republican support, and that he believes that’ a more dual approach would result in a better bill.
“I want to remind myself regularly that just because you can do something, it does not mean you have to. That does not mean it is in the best interests of the country, ‘Golden said of the decision to repeal the bill without Republican support in the House.
Democrats also plan to push the bill through budget reconciliation in the Senate, a process by which they can avoid the 60-vote filibuster.
‘I would think that I do not think it was in the best interests of the country. “I think as a result we have ended up with worse public policies, rather than a more targeted bill that would come from a dual process,” he added. ‘And as I look to the future, I think we do not yet know what the negative consequences of this decision could be. I hope there is none. ”
Golden was an early opponent of approving the bill through budget reconciliation. Earlier this month, he voted against going on the road, saying the process would take too much time and hamper faster relief.
When asked to explain his opposition to the specific legislation, Golden points to the overall price of the package, which he calls excessive.
The package includes measures that will offer a third round of direct stimulus tests (up to $ 1400 for individuals), as well as an increase of $ 400 for weekly unemployment insurance until August 29, $ 8.5 billion in funding for the Centers for Disease Control and – prevention. for vaccination efforts as well as funding for, among other things, housing assistance.
And although advocates for the bill have said the funding levels are appropriate, Golden has argued that coronavirus relief efforts in the past have already linked money to efforts that have yet to be spent.
‘[I]”It amounts to billions and billions and billions of dollars in programs that are already funded and have not yet hit the economy,” he said.
Golden has maintained that he is not a ‘budget hawk’, but expressed concern about spending on the coronavirus assistance package, could limit funding for efforts to tackle climate change, improve the health care system and more.
“We need to be targeted more and more as we move forward here so that we … have the resources needed for other critical reforms that the American people also need to act and be ready,” he said.
Out of fear that the federal government was handing out too much money, Golden sounded the alarm that the lack of Republican support for the new government’s first major bill could turn Republicans off the prospect of a compromise along the way.
“It almost poisoned the well, so to speak,” he said.
A spokesman for the speaker Nancy Pelosi
Nancy PelosiHouse Democrats pass overwhelming .9T COVID-19 bill with minimum wage increase, Budget Committee chair promised to raise minimum wage: ‘Keep me going’. (D-Calif.) Did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill regarding Golden’s remarks, but Republicans have already indicated that they are disappointed with the direction Democrats went with the vote.
Senate Minority Whip John Thune
John Randolph ThuneGraham: Trump will be ‘helpful’ to all current presidents of the GOP, Cruz, hires Trump campaigners as the director of communications, the Senate GOP, works to avoid a war with Trump MORE (RS.D.) told Politico earlier this month that the process made Republicans feel “a little betrayed by the views they had on Democrats’ intentions”, citing President Biden’s calls to unity during his inauguration.
Golden’s calls for doubles are hardly surprising, given the seat he holds. Maine’s 2nd Congress District elected Golden ‘blue wave’ in 2018, but also for former President Trump
Donald TrumpBiden holds virtual bilateral meeting with Mexican President. More than 300 are charged in connection with the Capitol riot Trump Jr. in 2016 and 2020. Golden won the re-election in November by rejecting President Biden by about 30,000 votes.
These were exactly the results of the 2020 cycle that Golden said dualism is required.
While Biden won Trump, Republicans also turned a number of Democratic seats in a cycle when the GOP was expected to lose as many as 15 members. And with the narrowest House majority in modern history and a 50-50 Senate, Democrats will need Republican procurement to pass on some – if not most – legislative priorities.
“It’s more than that the perfect is not the enemy of the good, but accepts that the party has not been given a clear mandate here,” Golden said. “I think we should also accept the fact that we are going to have to work with the Republican Party, and that is the mandate that has been given by voters in 50 countries. And there are just so many times you can do budget reconciliation. ”