Representative Jared Golden (D-Maine) filed a petition for more bipartisanship in Congress hours after voting against President Biden
Joe BidenHouse Democrats approve .9T COVID-19 relief bill with rising minimum wage. Biden to hold virtual bilateral meeting with Mexican president More than 300 defendants in connection with Capitol revolt MOREThe coronavirus relief package on Saturday morning, becoming one of two House Democrats who defended his party.
In a nearly 30-minute phone interview with The Hill, Golden said he disagreed with Democratic leaders’ efforts to include the $ 1.9 trillion package through Congress without Republican support and that he believes a a more bipartisan approach would have produced a better bill.
“I like to be reminded often that doing something does not mean doing it. It doesn’t mean it’s in the best interest of the country, ”Golden said of the decision to promote the bill without Republican support in the House.
Democrats also plan to push the bill through budget conciliation in the Senate, a process that allows them to avoid the 60-vote filibuster.
“I guess I would say it’s not in the best interest of the country. I think we have ended up with worse public policies as a result, rather than a more specific bill that would come out of a bipartisan process, “he added.” And as I look to the future, I think we still don’t know what they can be. the negative consequences of this decision, I hope there are none. ”
Golden had been one of the first opponents to pass the bill through budget conciliation. Earlier this month he voted against going down that path, saying the process would take too long and hinder faster relief.
When asked to explain his opposition to the specifics of the legislation, Golden noted the overall price of the package, which he described as excessive.
The package includes measures that would provide a third round of direct stimulus checks (up to $ 1,400 for people), as well as a $ 400 increase for weekly unemployment insurance through Aug. 29, 8,500. millions of dollars in funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for vaccination efforts, as well as funding for housing assistance, among other things.
And while proponents of the bill said funding levels were adequate, Golden argued that past coronavirus relief efforts had already diverted money into those efforts that have yet to be invested.
“[I]it doesn’t add up to billions and billions of dollars in programs that are already funded and that haven’t yet affected the economy, ”he said.
Golden said he is not a “budget hawk,” but expressed concern about spending on the coronavirus relief package that could reduce funding for efforts to combat climate change, improve the health care system and more.
“We need to be more and more objective as we move forward here so that we have … the resources we need for other critical reforms that the American people also need from us to step up and do,” he said.
But beyond fears that the federal government will spend too much money, Golden sounded the alarm that the lack of Republican support for the new administration’s first major bill could have disassociated Republicans from the prospect of a compromise. .
“He poisoned the well a bit, so to speak,” he said.
A spokesman for Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Nancy PelosiHouse Democrats Overcome Relief Bill.9T COVID-19 with Raising the Minimum Wage The Presidency of the Budget Committee Commits to Raising the Minimum Wage: “Keep It Up” Capitol Review to Recommend Add More Fencing , 1,000 officers: MORE report (D-California) did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill on Golden’s remarks, but Republicans already indicated they were disappointed with the direction the Democrats’ votes followed.
Whip of the minorities of the Senate John Thune
John Randolph ThuneGraham: Trump “Will Be Useful” for All Senate GOP Headlines, Cruz Hires Trump Campaign Assistant Press Officer for Senate GOP Communications Director to Work to Avoid 22 War with Trump MORE (RS.D.) told Politico earlier this month that the process made Republicans feel “a little betrayed by the representations they received about Democrats’ intentions,” referring to calls for unity. of President Biden during his inauguration.
Golden’s calls for bipartisanship are hardly surprising given the seat he holds. The 2nd District of Maine Congress voted Golden as a member of the 2018 “blue wave,” but also voted for the former President Trump
Donald TrumpBiden to hold virtual bilateral meeting with Mexican president More than 300 defendants in connection with Trump Jr. Capitol revolt: There are “a lot” of Republican Party headlines that should be challenged MORE in 2016 and 2020. Golden won re-election in November beating President Biden by about 30,000 votes.
Precisely the results of the 2020 cycle said that Golden demanded bipartisanship.
While Biden defeated Trump, Republicans also turned several Democratic seats upside down in a cycle in which the Republican Party was expected to lose up to 15 members. And with the narrowest majority in modern history and a 50-50 Senate, Democrats will need Republican acceptance to pass some – if not the majority – of their legislative priorities.
“It’s more than letting the perfect be the enemy of the good, it’s accepting that the party didn’t get any clear mandate here,” Golden said. “So I think we also have to accept the fact that we will have to work with the Republican party and that is the mandate given by voters in 50 states. And there are only so many times that the budget can be reconciled.”