CONGRESSMAN CHRIS VAN HOLLEN
Maryland’s 8th District
For Immediate Release
February 4, 2016
Van Hollen: Tea Party Republicans Threatening Budget Rebellion & Preventing Votes on Gun Safety
Washington, DC – Today Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen joined SiriusXM’s Tim Farley to discuss the Tea Party’s impact of on the budget process and the refusal of Republicans to even vote on commonsense gun safety legislation. Excerpts from the interview are below:
Tea Party Rebellion Against Bipartisan Budget Agreement
“I always look for opportunities where we can find common ground. And in fact we found common ground last November which helped set the table – we hoped and still hope – for the budget this year when Speaker Boehner put forward a measure, that we negotiated on a bipartisan basis, that lifted the so-called sequester caps, these very tight caps that were reducing important investments in the country in areas like education and infrastructure. So we hope that the budget process, at least what we call the discretionary part of the budget, will go more smoothly this year. But we’re hearing that already, the Tea Party Caucus in the House is mounting a rebellion on the budget against the new Speaker, Speaker Ryan.”
Republicans Preventing Votes on Gun Safety
“It’s a great example of the fact that this Republican majority has essentially suspended democracy in the House of Representatives. Meaning we haven’t even been given the opportunity to vote on commonsense gun safety proposals. I have introduced measures, cosponsored many measures. Commonsense bills, universal background checks, a simple permit to purchase guns – just like you need a license to drive a car, getting rid of this ridiculous law that makes the gun industry the most protected industry in the country, giving them a green light to engage in negligent activity. We have not had a single vote on any of those measures in the House of Representatives, and yet they found time to vote 63 times to overturn the Affordable Care Act, an Act that has been twice upheld by the Supreme Court.”
