YouSaid · the spoken record

Joe Neguse

lines on the record: 58
first: 2021-03-04
most recent: 2021-03-04
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Well, pleasure was all mine, David. It's nice to talk to you and to meet you as well. And I appreciate you having me on the road.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Close friends with some of the most conservative or moderate members of the House Democratic Caucus. And I say that as someone who knows the former freshman class, we're now sophomores, but the class of 2018 really well, including our progressive members and also those members from really tough competitive districts. And again, I just, I know that from personal experience. Not saying that there aren't big differences, but”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And we ought to welcome that. I think people would be surprised that some of the members you just mentioned in the Democratic caucus that they are”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, I'd say this two things. One, to anyone who wonders whether the divisions, to the extent there are any within the Democratic Party are as salient as those in the Republican Party, I'd point them to the press conference that the minority leader, Mr. McCarthy, had with the conference chair, which I'm sure you saw, Representative. That was awkward. So I would encourage people to then watch the press conferences of House Democratic leadership. And I think that they will find that, look, there are disagreements over policy, right? The Democratic Party is a big tent party. We have, you know, from both ends of the spectrum, a lot of different ideological views across that spectrum as to, you know, different matters of public policy. And that's good. That's healthy. I think that that's reflective of a party that's competing in a lot of different places in the country.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, scary is the right word. Perhaps the better word. But yeah, we're grateful to local law enforcement and the Capitol Police and others who have worked with us and with other managers and with other, I suspect, Republican members of Congress who, by the way, have had a far greater challenge in terms of dealing with these kinds of issues, as you can imagine, voting to impeach as they did, that those 10 Republicans who, as you said, were subject to the roll call, the former president made yesterday.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I don't talk about it publicly, so I don't know that I would fear, but obviously we are in an environment now that's so deeply polarized and passions are running so high that it is disappointing that we've gotten to a place in our politics where people have to fear for their own personal safety or the safety of their families.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yes, most certainly. In the house, not so much as many conversations with senators, but yeah, in the house, colleagues are very, some of them are honest about the unique pressures that they face. Look, you know this, David, the way in which redistricting has been performed in various states, it has created a situation where you have districts that are so heavily gerrymandered that the incentive structure is such that they take great political risk at voting in a way that's inconsistent with the views of their constituency. And of course, you see this materializing, right, for the 10 who vote.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I mean, one, Jamie's a dear, close personal friend, one of my closest friends in the Congress. We serve together in-house leadership. We serve together on the Judiciary Committee. And he's just a kind, decent man. He is someone who is universally liked by Republican and Democratic members of the Congress. And his leadership style is very much an egalitarian style. It's very inclusive, which was really important. And I think, and ultimately endeared him to every member of our team and ultimately to the country as the folks were able to see our presentation of the evidence. He was disciplined, he was focused, he kept us on task. And I thought he did a phenomenal job. I don't know where he found the strength to do something as hard as this was while simultaneously mourning such a tragic. Loss. He's a courageous guy.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Correct, it was the most bipartisan impeachment vote conviction impeachment vote, right, acquittal or acquittal vote in this case, but in the history of presidential impeachments. And, you know, the fact that Yeah, that multiple senators chose to choose their country over a party and did the right thing, I think was a vindication of our decision to proceed.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“At this in an impartial and objective way, they had to come to the same conclusion that Liz Cheney had come to. And so that's a really”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It was an eventful few weeks. I mean, it was very intense in terms of the preparation and spent a great deal of time with my fellow managers and others, you know, our staff counsel, our lawyers developing the arguments and deciding on the presentation of evidence and preparing our case. And then, of course, the trial itself, you feel the weight of history standing in the well of the United States Senate. And it was honored, it was humbling. Obviously, I had hoped for a different outcome. We all believed, very much legitimately believed that there was a possibility to get to 67 votes and lead manager Raslin felt that. I felt that all of my colleagues, we felt that that was within reach, just given the strength of the evidence. And obviously, you know, again, understanding the political wins as they were, but nonetheless, feeling as though if the senators look”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“That's right precisely, and I'd also say this I think in some respects, the breaking of the norms that he was engaged in throughout his presidency, kind of it made clear that the writing was on the wall, that perhaps this would be the culmination, right? The final norm that he would undermine would be the peaceful transfer of power, which of course was what happened on January 6th. So you can draw a line.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“No, look, in 2019, I serve on the House Judiciary Committee. There were many of us who ultimately called for an impeachment inquiry to begin after it was clear that the president was going to obstruct Congress in such a way that was unprecedented, right? And the real kind of focal point at that point was when he refused to have Don McGann testify in front of the judiciary committee, which was just, again, unprecedented in terms of prior presidential misconduct. So no, in the”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Definitely. Yeah. I mean, I was texted my wife and told her that I loved her and our daughter very much and told her everything would be fine. Many of us, I mean, it's interesting in Congress. I suspect I haven't looked at the empirical data that there are more young parents today serving in Congress than there have been in recent memory. Certainly many of my closest friends in Congress are members on both sides of the aisle who have two, three, four, five year olds, six-year-olds. And so, yeah, obviously that's another dimension. I will say this. I can't say enough good things as I know so much of the country agrees about the capital police officers who really put themselves on the line. I mean, they just were so courageous to evacuate us and to protect. Folks staff, everybody at the Capitol. It's really tremendous.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It was after they had announced that tear gas had been deployed in the capital Rotunda and that we needed to retrieve our tear gas masks. And at that point, and the chaplain at some point there offered a prayer, my wife texted me that they were that these insurrectionists were in Statuary Hall, which, as you know, the capital complex fairly well, but that's right, outside the house chamber. So once that happened, a combination of those. Different events. It was very clear to me that things had gone terribly wrong. And yeah, I mean, you think about the trauma that the country experienced that day, that everybody in the House gallery up above or. A lot of people”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, you know, as you said, I was on the floor with my friend Jamie Raskin and Chairman Schiff and Chairwoman Laufgren as we were leading the opposition to the objections that were made by some of our colleagues. And so I was very focused on that to be candid and was not fully aware as to kind of what was happening outside of the Capitol. It wasn't really until I started receiving some alarming texts from folks and from my wife. And then sort of rapid succession of seeing the Speaker of the House and others, the majority leader being escorted from the House and then the police and sergeant-arms announcing to the House Chamber that the rioters had breached the capital and were in the Capitol Rotunda and that tear gas had been deployed and that we needed to retrieve our tear gas masks just in case and prepare to take cover. Then we were evacuated and it just was a very...”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I have enjoyed both jobs tremendously. That's how I knew you were going to say that. No, no, but I will say there's something unique about managing a large agency and the ability to, you know, we have a wonderful team in my congressional office of staff who work tremendously hard and the same principles apply in terms of developing a common purpose and pushing towards that purpose and achieving it. But again, something very unique when you're managing that large of an agency, it's incredibly exciting and you learn a lot. And so yeah, I...”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I see him more often now than I have in a few years. We first saw him more often when I was in his cabinet. But yes, now that he's Senator Hickaloper, we have another opportunity to partner with each other. But no, I had met him during the course of campaigning across the state when I was running for Secretary of State. And so when he called and offered me this opportunity, I thought that it would be a great way to serve the state. decided to take it. But it was not part of any kind of careful plan, I should say. You don't really run for Congress by, you know, running for regent and then becoming your director”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, it was an incredible experience. As you said, the agencies that are included as part of the Department of Regulatory Agency's kind of an obscure sounding name for the department, but it's essentially the counterpart to the CFPB or the SEC at the federal level. And they do incredibly important work, protecting consumers every day, pushing to make sure that the little guy is protected here in Colorado, whether it's insurance complaints or regulating the banks and so forth. And it was incredibly enlightening for me to be able to have that experience of managing an agency with 600 employees and developing a team and trying to, again, push towards a common agenda. I will be forever grateful to Governor Hickmooper, who gave me that opportunity, appointed me his staff.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Think it's worth pointing out because That's true. No, it's we're a microcosm of America, right? But as you said, I'm a sunny side guy and I tend to focus in on, you know, in the last four years, Colorado elected its first gay governor, one of only two gay governors serving in the United States, Jared Polis, who was my predecessor in Congress, and elected the state's first black congressman when I was elected two years, three years ago now. Yeah, I mean, as you said, I am Sunnyside up to a fault, I suppose, but we are a very diverse state and it's not to suggest that there aren't deep divisions that we have to work through. There certainly are.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, it was, you know, again, similar to when I ran for Regent, I thought that I could help make a difference in that particular role.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It is, yeah, to this day. It's still functioning. I left the organization, I think, a long time ago, over a decade ago, but it continues to this day.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Now is the Senate majority leader in the state senate here in Colorado. And it blossomed into an organization that's registered, I think, over 165,000 young people across the state, helped shepherd some of the most important reforms early on in terms of online vote registration, pre-registration for 16 and 17-year-olds. So yeah, very exciting. And glad that we were able to hand the reins off long ago, I must say, because we started the organization and then kind of let other young people take the lead.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, it was, I mean, an incredibly exciting endeavor myself and some colleagues of mine had decided that we just thought that the conventional structures for getting involved politically really weren't available to young people. It's not easy for a young person to go become a precinct committee person within one of the political parties. That's just not a system that's particularly structured in a way that attracts young people. And so our thought was why not create an organization that was purely focused on getting young people more involved in politics, more involved civically irrespective of one's own political preferences, right? For us, it wasn't matter if you're voting Republican or Democratic, we just wanted young people to vote and to register to vote and that if they did that they'd be far more inclined or rather the public officials would be far more inclined to focus in on issues that young people care about. So yeah, the organization was started with one employee who was a friend of mine who”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“To be active participant in a variety of different public service endeavors and to take advantage of those opportunities to play a role because those are opportunities that a lot of people in the world don't have. There are many places in the world where there is no right to vote. There's no right to run for public office.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“For me, it was to be candid, not so much that, although I understand what the doctor is saying. Honestly, it was much more, again, the value that my parents had instilled in me and my sister that we were very lucky because unlike so many of our family members, we had akin to winning the lottery, right? had the privilege of being born in the United States of America where you can be anything you want to be if you work hard enough and you have the freedoms and the opportunities to live your dreams and they very much it was you know it was very important in our household to my parents and I credit them to you know to the extent I've had any success it's been because of them because they it was very important to them early on and so that for whatever reason it instilled I think in me this sort of sense that I would try”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, so I was 24, got elected in 2008 and served on the board for six years, again really incredible work for me. I mean, I enjoyed it. It was trying to develop coalitions amongst a board. It's essentially Colorado's higher education board, but it's unlike most states elected in most states, those boards are appointed by the governor. But in Colorado and three other states, the members are elected. And so, yeah, actually serving in that capacity was the first opportunity I had to meet President Obama, which was an experience that I'll never forget. I've been lucky. I remember the first time.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Congressional district. So it was the same congressional district that I represent now in the Congress, the second district. And that experience was the year that, of course, that President Obama was elected in 2008. And it was just an exciting time. You're 24 years old.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Kind of opened my eyes to the legislative process and then ran for the Board of Regents when I was in law school and was elected.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Neither of my parents are lawyers or politicians or anybody in my extended family. At a very early age, I knew that I wanted to pursue public service. There, you know, any number of reasons why just being in student government, I enjoyed kind of leading a team and trying to problem solve with a group of people who might be very different than me. And of course, given the community that I grew up in, that was generally always the case. And I found that kind of work really interesting and motivating, right, to try to convince folks who might have completely different worldviews than your own to join together for a common purpose, whatever that purpose might be. And yeah, I got involved in student government when I was in college and worked for a while for the Speaker of the House at the Colorado Legislature, which really”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“You know, look, every person's going to have those experiences. I'm not going to tell you that there aren't times when I felt that way, you know, throughout the course of my life. But no, on balance, I think, as I've said, my experience has been a positive one.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Many times. It's a state where people are generally very, there's sort of this Westerner ethos of live and let live and not, I think judging folks, books by their cover and being a kind of community that welcomes folks. Who have different, you know, come from different walks of life. So again, not to suggest that there aren't hurdles that you face as an immigrant in the case of my parents or as a son of immigrants or as a person of color, there certainly are. But I've been really lucky and blessed to live in a community that is really welcome to me.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It's a great question. So, as you mentioned, we actually settled in Highlands. We lived in a number of different places when we moved initially to Colorado. And Colorado is a state, as I'm sure you know, and you've been here many times before the congressional district that I represent now today is about 1% black. So the statewide population of African Americans is roughly 4%. It's not a particularly diverse community, as you mentioned. But look, I'd say for me, growing up in Colorado, and not just with respect to Hallendranch, but also just in general and the communities that I call home today and have represented in Congress and have been living in for the last 20 or 18 years, have been very inclusive, tolerant communities. Colorado, and again, I suspect you may agree having traveled to the States.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I mean, you think about it, right? 25% of this bill roughly go over $400 billion of it constitutes the direct stimulus checks, the $1,400 checks that many Americans, hardworking Americans are going to receive in just a few weeks once the bill is signed by the president, right? It includes massive investments that would cut childhood poverty, child tax credits that people like my Senator Senator Michael Bennett had been working on for essentially his entire career. So there's a lot in this field to be proud of. I'm going to continue to push for the minimum wage. I would hope that the Senate would use every avenue that they can pursue to get it done. But I'm also not going to presuppose that I tell them how to run the Senate.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Of very positive substantive provisions, there are rather in this bill that will do a lot of good for the people of our country. And I just would hope that the public can recognize all that this bill entails and the ways in which I think it's going to provide an economic lifeline to a lot of people, not to minimize the conversation around the pieces.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, I prefaced this in the beginning. As I said, you've won two presidential campaigns, a senatorial campaign, and many others. I am but a two-term house member. So my views on the political prognosis of the vice president in a future election are probably not. I trust yours far better than my own. But I hear you. I mean, you're not what you're saying is certainly not, you know, I think it's fair to kind of assess the situation as it stands today. Look, I think part of my frustration has been the bill that we passed on Friday. And I was in the house when we, you know, voted on that at 2 a.m. in the morning. It is, and you know, the whole package, you know this from your time during the Obama administration, right? It is almost double or a little over double the stimulus bill that was approved at the depths of the Great Recession in 2009. There is a lot.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It's worth at least taking a step back and considering it. And it may be that on balance, balancing the equities, the conclusion is reached that she should reverse or not reverse rather, but disregard the advisory opinion by the parliamentarian. But that'll ultimately be a decision up to the vice president, majority leader Schumer and Senator Sanders and the others in the caucus.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Ultimately, where I landed on that, I have great respect for Caution that these decisions we make today will have consequences tomorrow. And so it's not to suggest that I'm not supportive of doing everything we can to make sure the minimum wage is part of the reconciliation bill. I have been an advocate for that for a long time. But I think it's...”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I think that that's correct. I think the Voting Rights Act and HR1 will both pass the House in short order. And I think that both of them will serve in large part as the flare point, as you described it, I think, accurately, for this question and that we're going to have to resolve it one way or the other. And obviously, that's going to be a question that the Senate has to, the Senate House Democratic Caucus has to kind of resolve. But ultimately, a question that the American people are going to be resolving as well. So yeah, I think that that sequencing is probably right.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“President Obama, your former boss spoke and gave just a brilliant eulogy and to sit there in those pews and listen to our country's first black president, someone who had inspired me and so many others to pursue public service, to hear him articulate the reasons why, perhaps obliquely, why we potentially need to be prepared to push aside the filibuster for something as important as the Voting Rights Act, which is structural in terms of our democracy. That argument appeals to me. I mean, I do think the filibuster is in need of reform. What type of reform? I think that is...”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“In August, had the opportunity to travel to Atlanta. And my first trip to Ebenezer Baptist Church to mourn the loss of John Lewis, who of course you know well.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I think it's important. For your listeners, right, to know that it's a tough question. I don't think it's black and white. And I think there are reasonable arguments on both sides of this debate, right? I've been worried for a long time about the constitutional hardball that the leader, minority leader now, the former majority leader, in my view, had started years ago that has sort of created this race to the bottom. And there are reasonable arguments. I'm talking about Mitch McConnell, yes. Reasonable arguments by people I respect who have, you know, made the case that to move forward on the course that you described would have collateral consequences down the road that would not inure to the benefit of the people that we represent. That being said, all that being said, I will say it this way.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It's a good question. It's a fair question, and I will answer it directly. However, I want to preface it with, I'm not trying to be obtuse or if you preface it, then you're not.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“A young dreamer named Elias, who was a student at Carda State University, brilliant young kid who is really known no other country but the United States as his home. He came here at a very young age, didn't know that he wasn't born in the United States until he was applying for college. And for me, I made a promise to him, and so did many others that we would ensure we take every step we can to ensure that he has a place in this country that we both are so lucky and blessed to call home. So I think we have to be prepared to move on whatever pieces or components of the legislation can garner a sufficient majority to get to the president's desk.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Emerging that if we're unable to get a comprehensive bill done, which of course has to be the central goal, it's my goal, and I think that's shared by certainly most in the House Democratic Caucus. We also have to be prepared to do as much as we can for as many people as we can, right? To do as much good as we are capable of doing within the political structure that exists in Washington, which means the Dream and Promise Act, which is a bipartisan bill, has Republican support in the House. And I think could very well muster sufficient votes to overcome a filibuster in the Senate. We ought not abandon that and that potential course of action. I have many dreamers in my district who I've met with. I actually, my first State of the Union, the first State of the Union rather than I had ever attended as both a citizen and as a member of Congress was in 2019. And I brought as my first guest, as you know, members of the House have a guest that they can bring.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, I'd say sort of two separate questions, two separate answers. With respect to the first question, I actually think the answer is yes. I think we can get the president's immigration citizenship act of 2021 that Linda Sanchez is leading in the House. I think we can get it through the lower chamber. I really do. It's not to be...”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“That's right. No, you're right. You're right. I mean, notwithstanding the broad consensus that at least used to exist amongst most folks in Congress around immigration reform and the contours of what a compromise might look like. Of course, that's been, as you said, completely eviscerated by virtue of politicians who choose to demagogue and use the issue of immigration to demonize certain parts of our population. And they've done that with great political effect, as you mentioned. Obviously, I think that that's my hope is we could turn the page on that, but you're not, perhaps a bit naive. You're not wrong to suggest that maybe it's, we'll nonetheless be difficult for Congress to get its act together in light of the powerful and potent political tool that this issue has developed into for a certain part of our political system for some Republicans in Congress.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Be some thorny complex. Policy issues that the Department of Homeland Security is going to have to work out in consultation with Congress and in particular with those lawmakers that represent districts on our southern border. And obviously immigration is a huge issue here in my state of Colorado. But part of it, I would just say also, and you've been following these issues and active in them so long, that I suspect you may agree. Part of it is that Congress has largely advocated its role as far as immigration regulation and immigration law is concerned. I serve on the Immigration Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, which used to be a very active committee. It largely responsible for writing the various immigration laws that we have on the books today, including the big reform that was passed during Ronald Reagan's presidency. We have not done much in the way of legislating immigration reform has been largely a matter of”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, I think the words you used are key, David, predictable, regular, secured, right? In my view, I have great respect for my colleague that you referenced, and there are no doubt a set of very complex technical issues around immigration enforcement and some of the decisions that have to be made on our southern border. But I also think it's important for contextual purposes to remember, and you know this, but I think it can get lost sometimes on the American public, the night and day approach generally to immigration that this administration is pursuing versus the last one. The last administration just had no regard, I think, for the value that immigrants bring to the table and being a core part of our country in the melting pot that is the United States of America. And that is clearly not the case with respect to President Biden and the cabinet that he's assembled. It doesn't mean that there aren't going to be.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“That's exactly right. I mean, Ronald Reagan, many presidents, Republican and Democratic have often talked about our nation being a nation of immigrants. And as you said, keeping our country the dynamic, robust, young, hopeful, idealistic country that we are. And as I said, I think the last several years we're deeply damaging to those principles that have guided our country so well and that have obviously played a defining role in my life and in my family's journey to this country. And it's one of the reasons why I decided to run for Congress three years ago during the depths of the Trump administration and seeing what he was doing with respect to immigration and feeling as though my voice might be one that could add some value to this particular debate.”
2021-03-04 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 432 — Rep. Joe Neguse · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source