Congress Leaves Town Without Making Real Progress on Key Issues
Giffords Criticizes House Leadership for Unfinished Priorities
TUCSON - Congressional candidate Gabrielle Giffords today criticized the House leadership for adjourning without completing work on key priorities such as immigration, Medicare Part D and the bipartisan 9/11 Commission’s recommendations.
“It is unconscionable that Congress is calling it quits this fall without passing legislation to make real progress on illegal immigration, help seniors deal with the doughnut hole created by the Medicare Part D Plan, or fully implement the bipartisan 9/11 Commission’s recommendations to make our country more secure,” said Giffords. “The fact that Congress has left town again without taking care of business is another example of why we need to change direction.”
Instead of working with the Senate to pass needed immigration reform legislation, the Republican leadership decided to adjourn without making real progress on the crisis on our border. Instead of enhancing technology on the border, increasing the number of border patrol agents, passing legislation to crack down on employers who are hiring illegal immigrants, and passing a comprehensive solution to the problem, Congress instead passed what the Arizona Daily Star this past week called “a very expensive exercise in futility,” a border fence.
As seniors look towards fall, they are nervous about their prescription drug coverage, but Congress left town without a remedy to the doughnut hole created by the Medicare Part D prescription drug plan. Seniors are forced to pay expensive out-of-pocket costs €“ something members of Congress, with their excellent health coverage, do not have to worry about.
Finally, five years after 9/11, Congress left town without implementing the rest of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission’s recommendations to make our country more safe and secure. Southern Arizona families deserve a Congress that is looking out for them, which is another reason why change can’t wait in Washington.
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