Cruz: When One Side is Compromising and the Other Isn’t, Not Fair to Say Neither is Negotiating
WASHINGTON, DC — This morning U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) joined Candy Crowley on CNN’s State of the Union to discuss the upcoming debt ceiling negotiations, Harry Reid’s government shutdown, and stopping the harms coming from Obamacare.Video is available here.
Excerpts from Sen. Cruz:
“We need to deal with the fact that a significant percentage of the government is shut down because Harry Reid and President Obama have refused to negotiate.
“When you’ve got one side that is compromising the other side that isn’t, I don’t think it’s an accurate or fair description to say that neither side is negotiating.
“The House of Representatives has been listening to the American people and what House Republicans have been doing consistently throughout this is trying to resolve this matter. They’ve been passing bill after bill to fund vital priorities of the government and the Senate Democrats… there are eight bills piled up on Harry Reid’s desk that he won’t allow.
“We need to honor our commitments to the veterans… Twice you said Harry Reid would say it’s blackmail. I want to press back. I actually think that’s a false claim with no basis. The bill that the House passed on the VA simply funds the VA. It doesn’t mention anything about Obamacare. It doesn’t mention anything about anything else. Now for hundreds of years, the way Congress appropriated is one topic at a time. How is it blackmail to say we think we should fund the veterans? Do you agree? That’s a yes or no vote. Now Harry Reid refuses to let the Democrats vote on that. But how is it blackmail to say we may not agree on everything but is there anything we can agree on? We ought to agree on supporting our veterans.
“Listen, if we worry about what is impacting the American people, the politics will take care of itself. The politicians that are gazing at polls, there is a reason why the most common sentiment across this country is that politicians in Washington aren’t listening to us. There’s a reason why Congress has 10% to 15% approval ratings. In both parties, the politicians in Washington try to maintain their power instead of listening to the American people.”
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