CNN Newsroom: Interview with Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA)
Interview
"Well, in the end, it's not about Kevin McCarthy, it's about the American people. I voted, as did over 99 percent of House Democrats and about half of House Republicans to ensure that we didn't have a government shutdown, which really would have been devastating for the American people.
You would have had millions of people going to work on Monday but without pay, including our men and women in our Armed Forces. So, the responsible vote here was a vote to keep the government funded.
And I believe the Senate will pass that as well, before midnight tonight so it can be signed into law by the president.
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That was really the only major provision that I was disappointed in that it was not included. My understanding in my own conversations with senior DOD officials is that we will be able to get through the next six weeks and still fulfill our commitments to those who are freedom fighters in Ukraine, standing up to brutal Russian aggression.
But let's be clear, come a permanent funding solution beyond November 17th, we absolutely need to ensure that we are continuing to fund the war effort. Otherwise Putin will win this war, which is bad for Europe and bad for the United States.
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You know, the reality is we now see, and this is a critical moment, a slight majority of House Republicans as they voted last night and showed again today, a slight majority of them are against funding the war effort in Ukraine.
Fortunately, 100 percent of Democrats, as well as, I think, still a majority of Senate Republicans are in favor of standing up to Putin.
So, I am confident that come mid-November and the next fiscal year, we will ensure that funding for the Ukrainian war effort is there. But certainly, as time goes on, and the MAGA caucus continues to grow and Donald Trump continues to cheerlead from the sidelines for Russia, it will continue to be a struggle here to ensure that the United States of America leads the transatlantic alliance in standing up to Putin.
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Well, I have to say, I'm a little more concerned about the jobs of the millions of people who would have been impacted by a shutdown than I am the job of one individual around here.
The whole reason why we ended up having this fiasco and coming right up against the deadline in the first place is because Kevin McCarthy was so afraid to do what he finally did today. And I am glad that he finally agreed to put this bill on the House floor. As I mentioned, almost every single House Democrat voted for it, and about half of House Republicans.
But the underlying issue is that the House Republicans continue to be so badly divided that they continue to have these recurring issues. Their dysfunction is actually impacting the ability to pass legislation around here.
We saw it with the debt ceiling and we saw it with this. It delays things until the very last second, causing completely unnecessary disruptions.
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Let's be clear, he at the last second finally had to work with us. But the whole reason why we're in this position to begin with is because he completely reneged on the agreement he made with us, Senate Republicans, Senate Democrats and the White House back in June. That's the whole reason why we ended up being here at the 11th hour.
So, I have to say, when it comes to me personally, and I think a lot of my fellow House testimony Democrats, I would feel highly uncomfortable reaching any sort of agreement with Kevin McCarthy because his track record simply is that he breaks agreements, whether it's with House Democrats, or frankly a number of the members of his own caucus.
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Thank you.
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