A small extension to avoid a government shutdown. Wow. What an accomplishment.
Democratic U.S. Rep. from Tampa Kathy Castor is not amused with any of this.
In a speech on the House floor ahead of the vote, Castor admonished her Republican colleagues for being too ideologically entrenched to function and for backing a "flip-flopping, unfocused president."
"One week. Are you kidding me?" she said during her speech Friday. "We've just come back from a two-week recess. You would think that the majority party would have the wherewithal to fund the government as required through the end of the fiscal year, which is only September 30th. This was leftover business from last year."
In all the time spent wrangling over small differences, they could have been having a meaningful debate on, say, creating jobs, investing in infrastructure, preparing for climate change, on authorizing use of force in Syria or making college more affordable.
"Instead, the Congress has been consumed with a health care bill that rips coverage away from families, harms Medicare, raises costs on everyone and they were stuck in a debate this week about ending the guaranteed protection that families now have if they have a preexisting condition."
But no.
They want to talk about how to tear apart the Affordable Care Act, thereby taking health coverage away from the people who need it most via their latest botched a repeal and replace effort.
"How small," she said. "How unfocused. What a letdown for the people we represent."
And it parallels, Castor continued, what's happening in the White House.
"And I understand that the president is consumed with an investigation, with associates from his campaign over collusion with the Russians," she said. "He's consumed with conflicts of interest and how he doesn't want to be transparent, whether it's his tax returns or emoluments under the constitution. The American people deserve better."
Watch the rest of her comments here.
This article appears in Apr 27 – May 4, 2017.