Chair Hoyer Remarks Following the Regional Leadership Council's Fourth Implementation Meeting at the White House
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05), chair of the Regional Leadership Council, addressed reporters following the RLC's fourth meeting at the White House. He discussed the impact of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda and the RLC's work to ensure those investments reach every corner of the country. Below are excerpts of his remarks:
"Hi, I’m Steny Hoyer… and I chair what is called the Regional Leadership Council.The Regional Leadership was formed by President Biden and Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Its purpose was to make sure that the American people knew what we had done in the 117th Congress: Invest in America, and, more importantly, Invest in Americans. Invest in them, and their families, and their communities.And what we have been doing over the last 18, 19, 20 months has been communicating with the American people the difference that that investment has made for them, their families, and their communities."
"….Here are members of that regional work. We have 12 – two or three could not be here today. But we have worked real closely with the White House, and I thank [Natalie] Quillan, who is the Deputy Chief of Staff, also the two Chiefs of Staffs that we’ve worked with, but most of all the President and his Cabinet. Because he instructed them to work closely with us, so we would as a team make sure that what we had done in the 117th Congress would be identified, would be implemented, and we would inform the American people."
"… Very frankly, this Congress has been the most divided, the most unproductive and dysfunctional Congress of which I have served. This election coming up is about what [the people running] are doing for the American people. This group has been telling the American people not only what we are going to do, but what we have done and what we're going to keep in place to advantage the American people."
"The Deputy Chief of Staff, Ms. Quillian, just indicated, 69,000 projects in 4,300 communities. If we had the time – it’s drizzling out here – I would have each one of these Members do what they had just done inside the White House telling [the White House staff] about scores of projects [in their region]. Not just about the money, but about the impact that’s made. We saw a video – or is that, we had two – she had from $15,000 to $21,000. We passed a bill that said those bills would be limited to $2,000. Not a single Republican voted for that bill.”
"So, when people ask, 'what are you going to do?' Look at what has been done. Because that’s prologue. This election is a very important election. It's a very important election for this council, this Regional Leadership Council, who represent scores of Members. As a matter of fact, the Regional Leadership Council represents all or every Member of the Democratic Party..."
"… So we are very pleased to have a fourth meeting with the White House top staff, as well as the President of the United States, talking about how can we do better for the American people and their families, how can we make their quality of life better, how do we make America more competitive. Which is why we invested in manufacturing. Manufacturing investment is now higher than it's been, ever. That’s what makes America great. Investing in America. That’s what we have done."
"And so, we, as to say, we are pleased [to be here], but our work is not yet done. We are going to continue to tell the American people this is what we’ve done, this is what we’ll continue to do. As Kamala Harris said, what President Trump wants to do is to eliminate the Affordable Care Act. He’s got a 'concept.' Nobody is going to pay their health care bills with a concept…"