DPCC Co-Chair Lieu: Mr. President Reopen the Government
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Ted Lieu, Co-Chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC), appeared on MSNBC with Chris Jansing to call on the President to sign bipartisan legislation to reopen the government. Lieu highlighted how Democrats are fighting for the people by 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
"Thank you, Chris. The Democrat's position has been straightforward, reasonable, and has not changed: Mr. President reopen our government – and then let's negotiate a deal. It is that simple. The President prides himself on being a great negotiator. He doesn't need to shut down the government as a negotiating tactic – he should be able to negotiate with the Democrats fairly and squarely. We can work together on all these issues to move America forward. But we can't negotiate right now while he is holding our government hostage."
"I'm pleased that the President is making these concessions, but why are we event talking about DACA – which is a legal status issue – the shutdown is about funding our government. So we can't really negotiate during a shut down. We are happy to talk about all these issues on immigration once the President reopens the government. It is just very simple. All Trump has to do is sign the bipartisan legislation that that the House [and] has repeatedly passed US Senate and then we can move forward and move America forward."
"One reason it's not going to pass is that the President actually never consulted with Democrats the proposal. In fact, he was negotiating with his son-in-law and with Vice President Pence, that is not really a compromise. Then he launches this on a Saturday. What we really need to reopen government Immigration is a complicated issue. Border security is a complicated issue. We've got to do this right. We can't do it during a shutdown. Let's open government and then talk about this and then move America forward."
"I think he saw that all of the public polling show that Democrats have public sentiment. Because the American people realize that Donald Trump a few weeks ago said he would be proud to shut down government. That he owns it. That he's taken the mantle to shut down government. I think he is trying to change that perception, but it is too late. He has to simply reopen government, then we can talk about all these issues. It's very distracting. Last November, Democrats ran and won ion talking about health care, investing in good jobs and infrastructure, getting rid of corruption. We can't do any of that during a shutdown."
"You see the President changing his positions on the wall. First, he talks about a concrete wall that will cross the entire southern border, then he talks about a steel fence, and then he talks about barriers in some locations. This is a complicated issue and we shouldn't be negotiating this during a government shutdown. We should reopen government and then all about all of the issues for border security including how do we use our amazing technology to stop the drugs coming through ports of entry – not really through the areas this wall would be and wouldn't really strop these drugs. Let's talk about increased immigration judges. We can do all of this but first we have to reopen government."