Recap: Meet the New Members of Congress
By: Street Beat
Tags: Government, Congress, Urban Planning, Politics

Hosts: Steve Clemons, Editor-at-Large, The Hill | Bob Cusack, Editor-in-Chief, The Hill

Speakers: Rep.-elect Stephanie Bice (R-OK) | Rep.-elect Cori Bush (D-MO) | Rep.-elect Darrell Issa (R-CA) | Rep.-elect Teresa Leger de Fernandez (D-NM) | Rep.-elect Nikema Williams (D-GA)

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Prompt: What are your priorities?

Rep.-elect Nikema Williams (D-GA): My first priority is the national response to this pandemic. Give people what they need, get students back to school safely, get our economy back on track, and address the health inequities associated with COIVD. My second priority is voting. As I think about coming to Congress and succeeding John Lewis, voting rights are at the top of my agenda. Getting the John Lewis Voting Rights Act passed is important.

Prompt: What faction will you join? How will you make peace with others?

Williams: I’m here to serve my district. People ask me if I’ll join one group or another, how I’ll fill John Lewis’ shoes…. I am going to Congress to be me, to serve my people. I’m willing to work with anyone who has great ideas.

Prompt: What committees would you like to serve on?

Williams: One of my top priorities is oversight. I am operating within a system that was not designed by or for people who look like me. Oversight is an opportunity to dig into systems and make sure they work for all Americans. As far as committees, if there are certain ones leadership want to put me on, I am here to serve.

Prompt: What would you like the Biden administration do in terms of police reform?

Rep.-elect Cori Bush (D-MO): I’d like them to put together the task force that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris spoke about. And I’d like them to bring people to the table who are in the communities doing the work. They need the Ferguson activists on these calls and in these meetings… they are the ones who started this movement. The administration needs to cover the basics — end racial profiling, end the militarization of police, and create civilian oversight boards. We have to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and The Breathe Act. We have to do these things now.

Prompt: As a nurse, what’s on your agenda related to COVID-19?

Bush: We need COVID-19 relief in my district. I like the idea of the $2000 universal income stimulus check. That would affect brown and black communities right away. We need to cancel utilities from being shut off for 1 full year. We have to give people what they need — help, relief, and aid.

And I will fight for medicare for all. Other countries figured this out. It should get a vote on the house floor, but we need to do the work to make the case for it. I plan to bring my experience as someone who’s been homeless and uninsured. I’m bringing my lived experience and pain to Congress to inform legislation and my colleagues.

Prompt: How are you thinking about your transition from the state house in Oklahoma to Washington?

Rep.-elect Stephanie Bice (R-OK): You are elected Nov 3 and start Jan 3 — you have 60 days to setup offices, hire staff, and find a place to live in DC. There is a lot happening, but i am really excited for the opportunity.

Prompt: What issues did you run on that really mattered to Americans?

Bice: Oil and gas is 25% of Oklahoma’s revenue. In Oklahoma, we have 90,000 jobs tied to the oil and gas industry. That became a key talking point for me — making sure we have someone looking out for Oklahoma’s oil and gas industry.

Prompt: What does Congress need to do in terms of COVID-19?

Bice: The economy and jobs is first and foremost. We have to keep the economy going and keep people employed. We need to open the remaining dollars not used in the Care Acts. We really have to do what we can in the next few months. People are starting to take the vaccine. By summer, we will hopefully see a real turn in COVID cases.

Prompt: What does the Democratic party need to do to ensure the Latino community is voting democratic?

Rep.-elect Teresa Leger de Fernandez (D-NM): We need to make sure Latinos are represented in Congress and in the administration. Latinos bring life experiences that are important for every administration to understand. We need to be at all the tables and in every room where decisions are being made about our community. The best way to do this is to appoint us and elect us. We aren’t there yet. We are pushing it. There are some good candidates out there. They bring deep knowledge on important subject areas. We need to be seen and listened to. We are waiting patiently, but not in silence.

Prompt: What are the top issues you’d like Biden to address on day one?

Leger de Fernandez: We need to address the economy right away — we have to to bring businesses and jobs back. We need a big stimulus bill. But when we design it, we should be intentional and look at other needs, like economic inequality. There is an unequal burden of suffering by the communities I represent — latinos, black, and indigenous. If we are passing a big recovery bill, let’s be sure to focus on inequality and invest in the infrastructure and foundations for communities to thrive (water, broadband, clean energy, education). We need to get a lot done, quickly.

Prompt: What types of things do we need to fix?

Leger de Fernandez: We need to diversify away from fossil fuels. And I’d love to see us focus on bringing innovation and technology into places that are affordable to live. In New Mexico we have labs (ie: Los Alamos National Laboratory), universities, and really smart people. It’s a beautiful place to live. We need to invest in it.

Things are different now. We have a President who is focused on what we need — infrastructure, businesses, childcare funding, minimum wage, etc…. and I think we have Republican Senators who recognize these things are good for their constituents.

Prompt: What are you going to accomplish now that you didn’t before?

Rep.-elect Darrell Issa (R-CA): I’m returning to provide the perspective that you get when you’ve served for a long time in Congress. Some of it could be mentoring, some of it could be explaining how it goes in the minority or majority … some of that history is what I’m trying to bring back. Along with perspective of being on the outside for the past two years.

Prompt: What did you miss?

Issa: It’s a meaningful job. You measure your accomplishments differently than in a private enterprise. Sometimes it’s not the things most of the public knows, but you make a difference.

Prompt: How do you work with others?

Issa: It’s pretty easy to remind junior members that things which are passed on a straight party line almost never get signed by a President. When they do, they are contentious. Bipartisan laws almost always get signed by the President and go on to get bipartisan support going forward. We need to recognize that things which are sustainable are usually done by a Republican and Democrat in the house, and a Republican and Democrat in the Senate. Divisions will occur, some are partisan, some are not.

Prompt: Do you view Joe Biden as the next President elect?

Issa: Yes. However, there is a need for campaign finance reform and election reform. In my state we need redistricting reform.

Prompt: What’s your advice for new or incoming members?

Issa: Take a member out for coffee who you’d not otherwise spend time with. That goes for your own party and certainly for the other party as well. It makes it a lot easier to identify opportunities to work together.