ICYMI: Congressman Trone: “All that [President Biden] has done in the Infrastructure bill, the CHIPs and Science bill, the Inflation Reduction bill; he has had an unbelievably consequential presidency”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 11, 2024
ICYMI: Congressman Trone: “All that [President Biden] has done in the Infrastructure bill, the CHIPs and Science bill, the Inflation Reduction bill; he has had an unbelievably consequential presidency”
BETHESDA, MD – Yesterday Congressman David Trone appeared on Fox 5’s “On the Hill” where he addressed the need for Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform, deliver aid to American allies, and put People Over Politics.
TOM FITZGERALD: We want to welcome back Democratic Congressman David Trone from Maryland. He is also a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Maryland. You were able to watch this [State of the Union] speech. I heard from a lot of Democrats who were very, very happy about it, particularly there was an *exhales* that he got through it. There were no major gaffes. There were no alarming moments. Does that say more about Joe Biden or does that say a lot about where the Democratic Party was in heading into this?
CONGRESSMAN DAVID TRONE: Joe Biden just really knocked it out of the park. He hit his record and he hit the points solidly: 15 million new jobs, fixing insulin [to be capped at] $35, all that he’s done in the Infrastructure bill, the CHIPs and Science bill, the Inflation Reduction bill. I mean, he has had an unbelievably consequential presidency.
TOM FITZGERALD: There was a lot in it, but one of the things that we keep hearing that is a big issue for folks, whether they’re on the left or the right, is the border… that this flood of people coming into the country illegally is concerning not only, you know, in the regions of the southwest where it’s happening, but also regions like ours where people are arriving. In an election year, Congressman, is there any possibility that there could be something done on the border before this election?
CONGRESSMAN DAVID TRONE: I’ll tell you, and that’s really where we see politics over people. I mean, the Senate came together on a compromise plan, a plan that worked. It was largely a Republican plan. Almost 3,000 new border agents, asylum officers, [and] judges at the border to really begin to make a difference. And that compromise [included] Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel funding, which we have to get, have to get that. Then all of a sudden, Donald Trump said, “That’s not good for [my] reelection plans,” and said, “Kill that plan, kill that Republican plan.” Again, Trump putting politics over people.
TOM FITZGERALD: One thing that we know is that the border is not just a question about illegal immigration. It’s also a question about drugs in this country, fentanyl, they’ve been pouring into this country, not only on the border but in ports as well, too. This does seem to be something that when you talk to Democrats and Republicans, they both agree on, but again, held up because of politics. Can an issue as emotional, as gut-wrenching, to families who have been affected by this actually maybe punch through that? Because it is something that has been so widespread across this country.
CONGRESSMAN DAVID TRONE: We’ve all suffered from the fentanyl loss: you, myself, and everybody in the whole country have just been devastated. I mean, we’re on track to lose a million folks from 2020 to 2029. But what we forget is 95% of the fentanyl coming in the U.S. comes through legal ports of entry, largely driven by American citizens hired by the two major cartels in Mexico. So this myth of folks carrying fentanyl in a backpack over the border and the Rio Grande River is a myth. Political talking point.
TOM FITZGERALD: We know that there was a ship from the U.S. military that left Newport News over the last couple of hours to head to Gaza. Can that mission be successful to establish a port on the Gaza coast to get more aid to the Palestinians caught in the crossfire between Israel and Hamas?
CONGRESSMAN DAVID TRONE: We have to get to a ceasefire and the hostages released. Both those things have to happen and getting that humanitarian aid there is just crucial. So, I applaud the President for intervening and setting up his ports at another entry point on land, but we’ve got to get billions of dollars in humanitarian aid.
TOM FITZGERALD: Are you optimistic that that’s going to make a difference in the humanitarian crisis we’re seeing?
CONGRESSMAN DAVID TRONE: Absolutely. We can make a difference, but we also need the Arab nations to pitch in, too. It can’t just be us all the time. I mean, my question is, where’s Saudi Arabia? Where’s the UAE? I’m co-chair of the Abraham Accords. They’ve got to step up.
Congressman David Trone was elected to the House of Representatives in November 2018 to serve the 6th District of Maryland, which includes all or part of Montgomery, Frederick, Washington, Allegany, and Garrett Counties. Trone serves on the Appropriations, Budget, and Joint Economic Committees. In Congress, Trone is fighting to make progress on issues that matter to Marylanders.
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