DPCC Co-Chair Bustos: House Democrats’ Top Priorities Next Year Will be to Lower Health Care Costs, Increase Pay and Clean up Corruption in Washington
WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Cheri Bustos, Co-Chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC), appeared on The Daily Briefing with Dana Perino on FOX News to discuss House Democrats' top legislative priorities for next Congress – lowering health care costs, increasing pay and cleaning up corruption in Washington. Below is a transcript from the interview. Click here to watch the video.
"I think the first three things that we will do once we're sworn in on January 3rd is bring down the cost of health care. That's going to be priority number one, including the price of prescription drugs. Number two will be rebuilding our country with a trillion dollar transportation infrastructure package to address our roads, our bridges, our locks, our dams, the rural broadband, high speed internet to the 23 million rural Americans who don't have access to it. And, then number three we will address the nastiness, the corruption that has been going on in Washington, D.C. I'm inside the Capitol building right now. This beautiful structure. But, you go outside and there is just massive self-dealing that is going on. The money in politics is out of control and we need to address that. So, those will be our first three priorities."
"You're talking to the wife of a sheriff. My husband was just re-elected to a four-year term in Rock Island County, Illinois. Each of us won by more than 20 points. So, and I'm in a Trump district, just for the record. But, I don't choose to talk about it in terms of gun control. I want to talk about it in terms of should we have somebody, to your point earlier, who is certifiable in their mental condition be able to go into any gun store and buy a gun? I don't think so. I think if we have criminal background checks. That if there's somebody who has a propensity to commit a crime, has a criminal background, I don't think they ought to be able to walk into any store and buy a gun. Same thing with the "No Fly, No Buy" legislation that we have. You can be on a terrorist watch list and still be able to go in and buy a gun. I don't think most people think that's okay."
"Well, I don't think we know how it's all going to sort out at this point. But, yeah, you're right. The new members will be coming out here next week. And, they'll go through new member orientation. They'll get to know all of us. And, these are independent minded people. They ran for office because they want to make a difference. I don't think anybody is going to tell them what to do. I think they will make a decision that is based on the best interest of the districts that they represent. And, I think that's the long and short of it. They will make their own decision on what they are going to do on any of these leadership races. We have a whole slew of leadership openings. It's not just the Speaker. But, we've got the Whip and the Leader, and Assistant Leader and the Caucus Chair."
"Well, look, I am a Democrat in a Trump district. And, I just won on Tuesday night by 24 points. So, I think I know how to navigate very tough regions of our country. I come from the heartland. I know you are a University of Illinois at Springfield grad through the journalism program. I also graduated from that same journalism program. So, Dana, you know the central part of our country and the politics are politics of reasonableness, of working together, of getting things done. So, I think more than anything, because we've picked up so many new seats, and many of which are in these Trump districts. If we want to stay in the majority for more than 2 years, we better from a leadership perspective know how to navigate that. I know how to navigate that."
"Oh, absolutely. You know, the family of four in my congressional district makes $45,000 a year. And, when we see this tax plan where 83% of the benefits go to the richest Americans, we have a problem with that. So, we think that we ought to make sure more than anything that we are addressing middle-class families and making sure that they can get ahead. They can maybe buy a new F150 or Silverado every 10 years as opposed to every 15 years. So, we're doing what we can to make sure we're looking out for working families."