Lewis Urges Democrats to Support True Bipartisanship

WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Appropriations Ranking Republican Jerry Lewis issued the following statement today about the calls from President Obama and the Democrat Majority leadership to seek more bipartisanship:

 

“We have seen what happens in the past when the majority has called for “bi-partisanship” in crafting bills: ideas and policies developed by the minority in good faith and with concern for the American people are ignored or over-ridden on purely partisan votes.

 

“We in the Appropriations Committee saw this broken process in action when the Democrat Majority crafted an $800 billion “stimulus” bill in near-total secrecy. They voted down every Republican amendment on a partisan vote at committee, and rammed it through with few or no amendments even considered on the House floor. This abuse continued with nearly every single Appropriations bill this year when Democrat leaders took the unprecedented step of shutting out amendments by both Republicans and Democrats alike on the House floor.

 

“They created the House health care package in exactly that same partisan fashion, then complained when they could not get minority votes for a bill that was created with no minority input.

 

“The public is not going to be fooled by such stage crafting, and I hope the media will not be diverted by partisan grand-standing. Bipartisanship is not writing bills behind closed doors with no hearings or transparency, while at the same time holding press conferences claiming to want bi-partisan support.

 

“I sincerely hope the American people will communicate to the Democrat Majority leadership that they should return to the real meaning of bi-partisanship, which means crafting legislation that represents compromises and support for ideas from both the majority and minority parties.

 

“Let me be clear - every member of Congress knows that we must find a way to create jobs and help revive our economy. We have publicly pledged to work toward that goal. I urge the majority to end the grandstanding and work with us to accomplish this urgent goal.”