Progressive talk show host Leslie Marshall and USW International Vice President of Human Affairs Fred Redmond discussed the Republican do-nothing House of Representatives. They’re so dysfunctional that the best thing they do is fight with themselves. But, no problem, they’ve produced a manual to help them explain themselves to constituents during summer break.
"When we look at the record concerning this Congress prior to this five weeks recess, let’s look at what they have done. They've voted for the 40th time to repeal Obamacare. They've voted to ban nearly all abortions after 20 weeks following conception and that's definitely an unconstitutional standard that punishes women who need abortions for medical reasons. And then after failing to pass legislation to cut food stamp money by $20 billion, which was 5 times greater than the Senate version, now they're proposing new legislation to cut food stamps by $40 billion," said Redmond. "And that's why Leslie we have the most least productive Congress ever despite the lingering job crises that we're facing in this country."
They talked about the inactivity of this Congress and what type of reaction they should face when they meet with their constituents.
"If this Congress continues to move in the way that they have moved, which is doing nothing to reach across the aisle and do the work they were sent to Washington to do, for working American families and those who have been hurt by this economy," said Redmond. "Then we could be facing the worst catastrophe, economic catastrophe, that we have seen in our lifetime."
To hear more of the discussion, click the audio below.
Here are some background materials:
A Look at this Congress’ Unproductivity:
The least productive Congress ever
G.O.P. Rifts Lead Congress to Spending Impasse
A Guide to their Dysfunction:
The Fix’s complete guide to understanding House Republicans
The Collapse of the House Republican Majority
Their Playbook for Surviving Summer Recess: