Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats have completely abdicated their responsibility to the American people. Instead of working to address the health and economic crises the country is facing, they are bringing the House back into session this week to vote on legalizing marijuana and banning private ownership of lions and tigers.
The Speaker’s decision to move forward with these trivial bills rather than working on critical assistance legislation represents yet another total abdication of leadership and responsibility on her part.
She, and the members of her caucus who enable her, cannot be trusted to govern because they have repeatedly shown since this pandemic began that they will put their partisan priorities and radical agenda before doing what’s right for the country.
Background:
Key Fact #1: This timeline demonstrates the multiple instances since the pandemic began where Speaker Pelosi has obstructed COVID relief legislation from passing. She cares more about catering to her left-wing base and proposing radical legislation that has no chance of passing, rather than putting partisanship aside and working in good faith to help Americans who need assistance.
Key Fact #2: Not only has Speaker Pelosi refused to abandon her all-or-nothing approach, but she and her party have blocked 40 separate efforts from House Republicans to extend the Paycheck Protection Program so that small businesses and workers can access the more than $135 billion that has already been appropriated for the program.
Key Fact #3: This is not the first time that the Speaker has forced the House to focus on irrelevant and senseless legislation instead of dealing with the pressing challenges facing the nation. In August, she called the House back into emergency session to vote on a crisis she and her party manufactured related to funding for the Postal Service, instead of working to provide important COVID relief.
What House Democrats Are Prioritizing Instead Of Working On COVID Relief:
Marijuana Legalization: House Democrats originally intended to vote on this bill in September but pulled the bill after facing criticism about voting on this legislation instead of working to make a COVID deal prior to the election. Not only is it wrong for Democrats to bring this to the floor instead of focusing on the health and economic crisis facing the nation, but it’s bad policy since it would, according to Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee, “open the floodgates to marijuana cultivation, distribution, and sale in America—allowing bad actors and transnational criminal organizations to further exploit the nation’s addiction crisis.”
Banning Private Ownership Of Lions & Tigers: This bill is coming to the floor because it was featured in the Netflix documentary “Tiger King,” that received widespread popularity this spring. At a time when urgent action is required from Congress to address the challenges posed to families across the country because of the pandemic, it’s the height of irresponsibility for Democrats to force the House to focus on this trivial bill instead of working to help Americans that desperately need assistance.
With hospitals overflowing, people dying and businesses failing, it appears that the Speaker and her members are comfortable ignoring the needs of the American people. Their actions this week prove that they would rather come back to Washington to vote on these senseless bills instead of passing legislation that would provide immediate relief for workers and families that are desperate for it.