As Deadlines Loom, Rep. Hoyer Calls for Increased Bipartisanship
By: Will Jones
During the Big “I” Legislative Conference Breakfast, U.S. House of Representatives Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland) called for greater bipartisanship on Capitol Hill in order to move forward with key issues such as reauthorization of the NFIP and the Farm Bill.
Despite political friction in both chambers and uncertainty surrounding this year’s midterm elections, Rep. Hoyer remains “committed to making this Congress a functional one.”
According to Rep. Hoyer, the Farm Bill faced a “rough road” to its last renewal. Eventually, “we had a bipartisan bill come out of committee, which became a partisan bill on the floor.”
However, after Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas), Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Agriculture Committee, released a controversial proposal for the 2018 Farm Bill, Rep. Hoyer is calling for compromise on the floor of the House and U.S. Senate.
“Chairman Conaway has introduced a partisan Farm Bill that includes massive cuts to nutrition assistance and fails to adequately invest in rural development and bioenergy,” Rep. Hoyer said. “Unless Republicans open up the process to Democratic input, I don’t see how it will make it to the President’s desk before the current law expires.”
Rep. Hoyer also said the status of NFIP reauthorization is of “great concern.” Funding for the NFIP expires on July 31, and after “one of the most expensive disaster seasons in history, what we need now more than ever is a long-term reauthorization of America’s flood insurance program,” he said, to rousing applause.
“We need to get it done, we need to get it done soon, and we need to get it done on a permanent, long-term basis,” Rep. Hoyer added. “I hope the finished product can pass both chambers with strong bipartisan support.”
Addressing independent agents from across the country just hours before they headed to Capitol Hill to lobby for the issues that affect them and their clients most, Rep. Hoyer noted that when it comes to legislative items on the docket this calendar year, Sept. 30 “looms larger than all the rest.”
In reference to numerous short-term spending packages, “you have seen that process has become broken,” Rep. Hoyer said. “That’s not the way we ought to do business, and I lament that. I hope to work with appropriators on both sides of the aisle to make this process more transparent and efficient.”
Rep. Hoyer is the second-ranking member of the House Democratic leadership, serving as House Democratic Whip since 2011. He is charged with mobilizing the party vote on important legislation, shaping House Democrats’ legislative priorities and delivering the Democratic message. Rep. Hoyer previously served as House Majority Leader from 2007 to 2011, and as House Democratic Whip from 2003 to 2007.
As independent agents gather in Washington, D.C. this week, Rep. Hoyer believes he shares with them a common goal: “Our obligation—you, me, all of us on whom millions of Americans rely to make this country work better—is to make sure America continues to be what I think it already is: great.”
Will Jones is IA assistant editor.
Photo by Midori Oglesby, Big “I” senior graphic designer
