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DPCC Co-Chair Bustos on Finding Common Ground to Fight for Hardworking Americans

June 21, 2017

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WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Congresswoman Cheri Bustos, Co-Chair of the House Democratic Policy & Communications Committee (DPCC), appeared on Fox News Happening Now to discuss her commitment to working across the aisle to improve the lives of hardworking Americans. Below are excerpts from the interview. Click here to watch video.

"I happen to represent a District in Northwestern Illinois that Donald Trump won, but I won by 20 points. When I go home on weekends I do something we call Supermarket Saturday, so I am literally walking the aisles and talking to grandpas when they're picking out tangerines and grandmas when they're picking out their oatmeal. What I hear is that they want us to focus on jobs and the economy. [So] what have I focused on since I first ran for office?...I focus on jobs and the economy non-stop….People want us to fight for their jobs [and] fight for a better wage. The side shows are not what people in Districts like mine want us to focus on."

"Before I came to Congress…I worked in healthcare, both before, during, and after the Affordable Care Act passed. I'll be the first one to say it is a bill and a law that we needed some adjustments on. But let's focus on two areas: the cost of prescription drugs because they're too high for too many families and they're unaffordable for too many families. And let's look at the cost of co-pays, premiums, and deductibles, I think if we can focus on those two things [and] come together as Democrats and Republicans the country and our families would be the winners."

"It's always a good idea if we can form allies across the aisle, that's what I try to do every single day of my career. I came from the private sector, I was a journalist about 17 years before I worked in healthcare. If you worked in the private sector, and that's your background before coming to elected office or public service, you know that you cannot be successful without working with people who you might not see exactly eye to eye on, but there is usually a common denominator where you can start. And I hope we see more of that. We had a nice unifying message last week as a result of a terrible tragedy, and I hope we can continue that. We'll see. I play in the Congressional Women's softball game, which is tonight…[on] our team we play Democrats, Republicans, House Members and Senators – we already play in bipartisan fashion. And our opponent, by the way, is the women's Washington Press Corps. "