Face the Nation: Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick

Interview

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"I would. I think we have a lot of challenges. I think we need to address all of them. It's actually consistent with the Problem Solver framework that we introduced last week. It addressed keeping our government open. It addressed Ukraine. It addressed our border and expiring authorities. We dealt with several of them in the continuing resolution that passed thankfully yesterday. But there are remaining items that are unaddressed, the border and Ukraine being two of them."

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"And I do think the Ukraine funding should be for a longer period of time. It should be for a year. It sends the right message to Ukraine, it sends the right message to Russia. And it's - it's perhaps, I think, the best solution inside our chamber to get that done. And the border security language just, you know, in our framework was a bipartisan bill. It was Kirsten Sinema and Thom Tillis' bill in the Senate, myself, Chair Golden (ph) in the House is a two-party solution of the border. It represents the intersection of where the two parties agree."

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"I'm going to work hard. Yes."

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"Yes. To me, this -- what's going to be put on the floor is a choice, are we going to reward bipartisan bills being put on the floor or are we going to punish them. That is a choice.

Substitute out Kevin McCarthy's name for Hakeem Jeffries or anyone else. If the situation were reversed and - and the squad tried to do the same to Hakeem Jeffries, should he be speaker at some point, I can tell you what I would do on the first and 100th vote. I would vote to table it. Because I don't think that sends the right message. I think - I think what we need to do is encourage bipartisanship, encourage two-party solutions to be brought to the floor. That's what we need. And to do the opposite would really be rewarding this Hatfield versus McCoy brand of politics that's destroying our nation."

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"Yes. And that may require a change in the rules package. I mean this cannot be the trajectory for the remainder of the Congress."

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"Correct. I mean that was so, keep in mind, that -"

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"That was -- that was - well, that was one of the changes that was made. But we were given assurances that that was never going to be used, that it was a matter of principal that it be remained at one. So, you can't have it both ways. And I can - 90 percent plus of the American public does not want us to be voting on a motion to vacate every day for the rest of the term."

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"Well, we're two out of 435. So we're not in a position to make that prediction. What we can say, like we said last Sunday on a show that Josh and I appeared together, we will do whatever it takes to keep the government open. We made that pledge. We were prepared to take drastic action yesterday had that not passed the floor. We will do -"

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"Well, there are a number of mechanisms. We could force a floor vote on our two party solution."

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"There were options for us to do it."

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"Thankfully, that's one of many. Thankfully we didn't have to go there, but we will do what it takes to make sure the lights are on in the United States government for sure."

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"And this includes the debt ceiling as well."

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"We cannot be constantly on the -- on the - on the 11th hour brinkmanship."

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"Right."

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"Correct."

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"Yes."

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"Yes."

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"The extremists are the problem in this country. It's the bipartisan moderates that are the solution. That's what we believe in."

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"One hundred percent. We've introduced --"

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"We introduced our bill last Friday."

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"It's -- it's the only bipartisan bill. It's equal, co-sponsors, Democrat and Republican. It represents where the intersection of the United States of America is. And that's what our country wants. They want us to approach government the same way we approach our persona relationships."

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"I can tell you the overwhelming majority of - I can tell you, the overwhelming majority of Americans support the approach that Josh and I take. You approach government the same way you approach your personal relationships. You don't allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good. You take 80 percent of something rather than 100 percent of nothing. You come to the center, you build consensus and you move forward. That's how all of us operate our life. It's this loud, noisy fringe, the Hatfield versus Mccoy saber rattlers."

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"That get all the attention. But that's not where most of the American people are. That's why Josh and I get attacked from the left and the right every day."

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"One hundred percent. And I think - yes, I mean yesterday was exhibit a, and I hope -- I hope that's a breaking point for him."

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"Thank you for having us."

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