WASHINGTON, DC – This morning, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) joined Joe Madison on “The Joe Madison Show” to discuss the Bipartisan Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol’s public hearings and House Democrats’ work to address inflation and lower costs for Marylanders and the American people. Below is a link to the audio and excerpts from the interview.
To listen to the interview, click here.
On January 6th Hearings
“So far, I think these hearings have starkly shown how dangerously we came to losing our democracy, how extraordinary were the efforts of Donald Trump and those around him who were hellbent on violating the Constitution and, in my opinion, committed treason…It is only by the grace of God, the courage of our Capitol Police, Metropolitan Police and our National Guard, that didn't happen. Then [Congress] came back that night - that night, to make sure that we confirmed that our democracy and flag were still standing, and we elected the legally, constitutionally-elected President of the United States.”
“So, these hearings are very, very important. the American people have to come to grips with defending our democracy and our Constitution in this coming election and our elections in the future.”
On Efforts to Lower Rising Inflation
“…Republicans are falling all over themselves to blame [President] Joe Biden for this inflation. This inflation was brought on, first of all, by the pandemic, which shut down businesses, shut down supply lines, shut down the production of goods, and shut down the people's ability to get things they needed and they stayed home and the economy slowed down. In terms of being better off, we lost 2.5 million jobs over the course of the Trump presidency. Two and a half million [jobs] lost. Over the course of Joe Biden's fifteen, sixteen months, we have gained 8.7 million jobs and wages are up. There is no doubt that inflation is a very, very important issue and really, really hurting our people…”
“Inflation is an issue that we need to fight to bring it down. As a matter of fact, we passed four pieces of legislation just over the last few weeks and yesterday and this week trying to deal with inflation. Yesterday, we passed a bill to try to bring fuel and food prices down by enhancing competition, by making sure the supply sides were open, and by giving some help to our small farmers. We passed a couple of weeks ago, [a] price gouging [bill] to give the FTC the authority to look at whether or not people are taking advantage of this shortage, a spike in demand and a shortage of supply caused by the pandemic, essentially, and caused by Putin’s war. You and I both know that confidence in the economy is critically important...”
“What has happened with this war, Putin has not only caused Europe a lot of problem because they relied on it for energy, and we rightfully have said we're not going to buy your oil, and we're not going to buy your stuff, we're not going to do it in the United States. And we're urging others not to do it, to sanction this criminal murderous war that Putin has taken against freedom and against Ukraine. So we’ve taken one of the actions already. Unfortunately, we're not getting much out from the Republicans, why? Because they want to use inflation as a political tool.”
“[When] Joe Biden came in, we passed a bill that put money in people's pockets, got kids back in school, got vaccines in arms, and we got a handle on the pandemic. We're not there yet and we need to keep fighting and we need additional dollars, but it made a terrific difference. Then we passed the [Bipartisan Infrastructure Law], which is going to make an extraordinary long effect on our infrastructure, on our environment, and on making sure that we are competitive in the 21st century. So inflation - we've got to empathize with the American people. I go to the grocery store every weekend, Joe. I see [the] shortages…it is an important issue, we need empathize with people. We need to keep working. But unfortunately, our Republican colleagues aren’t helping us.”