WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (MA-5) joined MSNBC’s The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart to discuss MAGA Republicans' continued assault on reproductive freedom, threats of economic catastrophe, and refusal to address gun violence. Below is a transcript of the interview:
On GOP Putting Politics Over People:
“What we are hearing from our Republican colleagues is an absolute commitment to defaulting on our bills. And this is a manufactured crisis that the cost of which is going to be borne by the American people. This is very dangerous political theater that the Republicans are engaging in. And it is very telling that Speaker McCarthy is going to Wall Street, not Main Street, to make his announcement.
But let's be clear, it is the American people and Main Street businesses that are going to pay for this. It will be Social Security recipients, Medicare, our veterans benefits that are at risk. Here in Massachusetts, just getting close to default, could increase mortgages by $250 a month. And that's repeated across the country. Credit card interest rates can go up.
Car loans will go up as much as $800. And the last time they played this brinksmanship, the average American close to retirement lost $20,000 in savings. So this political theater, this irresponsible threat to default our country's credit is going to be borne by the American people and will really hurt our economy and will hurt families’ budgets.”
On GOP’s Debt Ceiling Hypocrisy:
“This is what I can tell you: we need to hold a vote on Monday when we return to Congress on a clean debt ceiling. Why? Because that's our fundamental responsibility. It is what we did three times under Donald Trump where he ran up a quarter of all the deficit that we face in this country. And that is what people do as responsible bill payers in this country every single day.
That's what we have to do as Congress. We are willing to have a conversation about the budget and the appropriations process like we do every day. But what the Republicans are doing is trying to conflate these two issues. And who is going to lose? It's the American people. This will drive up costs. It will damage our economy. It will damage the global economy and the standing of the dollar around the world if they continue along this dangerous path.
So let's drop the extremism. Do the right thing by people. Let's go back to the first bill that the extremists in the Republican majority passed. It was saying: it is okay again to allow tax cheats, the very wealthy, to avoid paying their fair share. This is the Republican policy. Tax cuts for the very wealthy and the largest corporations at the expense of working families in this country.”
On Mifepristone and the GOP Agenda to Ban Abortion Nationwide:
“The American people understand that the Republican extremists are going for a national abortion ban, and that is the opportunity they see coming out of the federal court in Texas that is now before the Supreme Court. They see this as another important milestone in their march to totally banning abortion in this country.
And what the American people know is that there is no freedom, there is no equality when politicians are controlling these most personal decisions around having children. These decisions should be left to women, to families, in consultation with their doctors and their faith. Full stop. So we are going to continue as Democrats to do everything we can, working with the Biden administration, to protect this right.
You see 240 Democrats signing an Amicus Brief saying that this is not only another dangerous step towards a full abortion ban but to making women second-class citizens. It is also an attack on every single medication that has been approved by the FDA and saying science doesn't matter here anymore. What matters is an ideology of MAGA extremism.”
On the Rise of Gun Violence in America:
“The leading cause of death of children is gun violence. And we are having children who are being raised traumatized by having to do live shooter drills in their schools, watching the news thinking, ‘Will I be next?’ We have the solutions. We have to choose our kids over guns, and we know that we can do this.
This is a policy choice that Republicans have made. They have decided to put assault weapons over everything else. We need to do universal background checks. We need to ban these guns of war that don't belong in our schools, our streets, our houses of worship, and in our movie theaters, and everywhere else — where families and Americans gather. We have the ability to reduce gun violence in this country.
We saw a first and crucial step, but the first in 30 years, this past June. We need to continue that work.”
On the 10th Anniversary of the Boston Marathon Bombing:
“Yeah, I was very privileged and honored to be able to take part in honoring the life and memory of Krystle Campbell, who was a constituent of mine, whose life was lost. We had many of the survivors there. And the message for them is clear and one that the American people are hungry for and one we're not seeing coming out of the extremism in the Republican party — and that's one of unity.
In the face of a senseless act of violence, we saw Boston come together. Boston Strong. One Boston: choosing neighbors, choosing unity, choosing peace. And that's what the American people want. They want us to come together. And they are tired of the Republicans who are trying to lead by dividing us, leading through fear and anger.
We're going to continue to choose unity. We are going to continue to choose our neighbors. And that's the message coming out of the Boston Marathon on this somber 10th Anniversary.”
To watch the full interview, click HERE.