DPCC Co-Chair Bustos: We've Got to Get the Nation's Work Done
WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Cheri Bustos, Co-Chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC), appeared on BloombergTV to discuss how House Democrats will lower health care costs, raise wages by rebuilding America and clean up corruption in Washington. Below are excerpts from the interview. Click here to watch the video.
"I think Elissa Slotkin says it like it is. And, we've got to get the nation's work done. Look, we have had the last two years coming off of a very, very tough Republican campaign cycle with Donald Trump promising he was going to take care of health care, promising he'd have a trillion dollar transportation package, and then coming in here and actually making health care worse and passing no infrastructure package. So, I think Elissa nailed it.
"We've got to get a robust $1 trillion infrastructure package passed. I think we can do that, and I think we can do that in a bipartisan fashion and send something to the President that he will sign. And, number two, people all over this country tell us as Democrats or tell anybody who is representing them in Congress that the cost of health care is out of control. They are concerned about their family having, you know, a dad with cancer, a mom who had had a heart attack, and what's going to happen to people with pre-existing conditions. So, I think we can get those two things done, but we also have to clean up the mess in Washington D.C. You know, I am standing in this beautiful building, the U.S. Capitol, but outside it is an absolute mess. We have self-dealing going on. We have the money in politics that is out of control. You know, not too far before the end of the election, Paul Ryan got a $25 million check and nobody other than Paul Ryan and his cronies even know where it came from. We've got to get that fixed. So, look, we are going to have a record number of women. We have the most diverse caucus in the history of our nation. And, I think, these folks are going to want to get something done and I am here to work with them."
"Well, just for a little bit of context on this. I won by 24 points in Tuesday's election. That's the largest margin of any Democrat who is serving or will serve in Congress from a Trump district. And, we are going to have, at minimum, 30 Members of the Democratic Caucus from Trump districts. So, we've got to figure out how we are going to get this right. What do I do? It is not anything overly scientific. I am a former reporter. And, as you know, David, if you are a reporter you ask questions, you listen for the answers, and then you take that information and do something with it. As that pertains to politics, I do "Supermarket Saturdays" pretty much every weekend where I just walk the aisles and I ask what's on people's minds. I just say, I'm Cheri Bustos. I serve this district in Congress and I'm going to be flying back out to Washington on Monday or Tuesday or whatever day it is, and what do you want me to focus on?....you can draw a lot from those conversations. And, I know then, based on that that, my priorities are health care, it is infrastructure, it is cleaning up the mess in Washington. So, I know that firsthand from all these conversations. I also do something that we call "Cheri on Shift." Obviously, if somebody's name is not Cheri, they would have to call it "Joe on the Job" or whatever their names are…I have done about 75 of these. And, I stand shoulder to shoulder with people who work hard to support their families. I have been a welder. I have been a car repair woman. I have processed fish out of the Mississippi River. I have been a grocery store sacker. While I am standing shoulder to shoulder with that these folks, I am asking them about, you know, what is on their minds, have they been able to take a vacation in the last year, do they have health insurance. And, you know, you realize that in a district like mine, where the average family of four makes about $48,000…that people want to see us do something that makes a difference in their lives. And, that is what I see as my number one mission - is to make sure I am making a difference out here, whether I've been in the minority party or soon will be in the majority party."
"Look, I am running for the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, that actually is a competitive race. There's four people running for that altogether. I hope to earn the support of my colleagues. [This position] would be running the entire political operation of the Democrats in the House. So that's a tough job. And we just came off of a very decisive victory and a message [from] the American public that they are willing to put their faith back in us to govern again. So I hope to be successful in that. As far as the other leadership roles, there is a lot that's up the air right now. I just want to make sure that we have the most effective leadership team that we can possibly have. And I say team because you've got to look at the whole equation here. We don't just have a Speaker, but we also have a Leader, and a Whip, and a Caucus Chair, and the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee."
"I want to make sure that the center part of our country is represented. Right now, I have a lower-level leadership position. I am the only Midwesterner sitting on the leadership team currently. Right now, I am the only Midwesterner running for a senior leadership position in our Caucus. When we look at the diversity of our leadership team, I want that diversity to include not just racial and ethnic and occupational and generational, but I want it to also be geographical. Look, the middle part of our country did a very good job of delivering this majority. Women did a very good job of delivering this majority, so I want to be part of the leadership team not just based on my geography or my gender, but because I have something to bring to the table and I know how to win in tough districts. I know how to hold on to tough districts, and for anybody to win by 24 points in a Trump district, I think I can offer something to the Caucus."