DPCC Co-Chair Cicilline: House Democrats are Ready to Fight For the People

Image

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman David Cicilline, Co-Chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC), appeared on The Story with Martha MacCallum on FOX News to discuss how Democrats will implement their For the People agenda of lowering health care costs, increasing pay and cleaning up corruption in Washington in the majority in the House of Representatives. Below are excerpts from the interview. Click here to watch the video.

"Well, look, we'll have a caucus in three weeks, and members of the Democratic Caucus will hear the arguments from candidates for a variety of offices. And, they will elect the people that they think are best position to move our country forward. I think what really matters, I mean, I have never heard from my constituents and I've traveled the country, never heard from people that I've campaigned with at town halls who is going to be the Whip, who is going to be the Majority Leader, who is going to be the Speaker. What they care about is electing people who are going to focus on issues important in their lives. Democrats ran on an agenda that is For the People of this country committed to driving down health care costs, driving down the cost of prescription drugs, protecting coverage for pre-existing conditions, raising family incomes by investing and rebuilding the infrastructure of our country and taking on the serious corruption in Washington and getting money out of politics. So, I think we are going to focus on getting those things done for the American people and we will have a leadership team that gets it done."

"I hope so. Look, we have an infrastructure plan that's a trillion dollar plan that will create 60 million good paying jobs, invest and rebuilding our roads, our bridges, our ports, our transit systems, our schools. That has always been a bipartisan issue. The good news actually is on all the three agenda items that we have articulated and that we have really been campaigning on. The President has spoken about the same things. He says he wants to drive down the cost of prescription drugs, he wants a big infrastructure plan, he wants to drain the swamp. The problem is he hasn't done any of those things. Well, now he has a willing partner in the Democratic Caucus, we can move forward and get those things done for the American people and I think he's going to see a Democratic Caucus that's committed to getting those things done and if he wants to work with us we will."

"That's actually a myth. I mean the reality is in every state in this country there are infrastructure needs that are unmet. The American Society of Civil Engineers does a report card every year on the state of America's infrastructure. And, in every category, roads, bridges, ports, we get D, F minus, F plus. We have a huge infrastructure deficit. There's work that needs to be done in every state in America. What we need is the Federal Government to be a real partner, provide resources, and get that worked done. Unfortunately, the President's plan was basically urging cities and states to do more, which is not an infrastructure plan. It was a small $200 billion plan mostly public-private partnerships that relied on fees and tolls and that kind of thing. Federal Government needs to be a full partner to provide resources to make this happen."

"I think public infrastructure needs to be supported by public investment. I think the Federal Government has a role to play and providing resources. And, my experience is that the red tape is not the problem. The resources is the problem. You go to any state in America and you speak to the governor or any mayor in the city and you say do you have infrastructure needs, do you have a bridge that's deficient, do you have a road that needs to be fixed. Everyone will say yes. What they need is resources. They need resources to get it done."

"My idea is that you take that 83% of the tax cut that went to the top 1%, invest that money in rebuilding America instead, and you pay for all the infrastructure and then some. There's lots of ways to pay for it. The Federal Government has to be real partner."

"Well, look, that's one idea, there's ten different ways to pay for infrastructure. But, the reality is we ought to have a conversation about how we get it done. It ought to be bipartisan, everyone understands that this is a matter of public safety. It's a matter of making sure we can continue to grow the economy. We've got to do this."

"We've got to pay for it, but we're the responsible ones. We are not the party that just added 2 trillion dollars to the deficit. You know, it's kind of funny to hear Republicans complain about that. They pass a tax bill. $2 trillion completely unpaid for. All I am saying is we need to invest in rebuilding the country."

"But, of course tax cuts don't pay for themselves. That's the argument that was made. It wasn't true when was made. It's not true now. That's why our deficit is bigger."

"Of course, there have to be compromises. Of course. But, I hope we can find common ground and move forward on this. Because, guess what, the American people gave Democrats the House because they expect us to get things done that will improve their lives and that's what I am going to do."

"No, their taxes won't go up. We're going to have a middle-class tax cuts. Just the top 1% that may have to give some of that back."