Majority Leader Hoyer attacks Republicans in pen and pad meeting

This morning the House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer held his weekly pen and pad briefing. To start off the meeting he announced the victory in Mississippi yesterday in which another red district switched to a blue district. This brings together a total of three red districts that have switched to blue districts in recent special elections.

Hoyer discussed the passage of the bill yesterday that froze the strategic petroleum reserve, with a vote of 382-85-25. As the discussion went on, at one point Hoyer took off his glasses and stated “People want change, they want a new direction,” and then discussed a new Republican motto. A motto that is actually trademarked by an anti-depressant drug and reads, “change you deserve.” Hoyer then went into the side-effects of this drug, attempting to demonstrate the irony of the situation by correlating side effects such as nausea and headache with the Republican party.

Hoyer also noted that the Iraq supplemental bill will be going to the floor tomorrow and he reiterated that they want to make sure veterans get the benefits they deserve, similar to the benefits GI’s received after returning home after WWII and other wars. He also noted that the Farm Bill is on the floor today which will ensure that citizens don’t go hungry and seek investment in conservation.

Winding down, Hoyer fielded questions and on a particular answer, emphatically said, when referring to Republicans in Congress, “obstruction is their politics, obstruction is their performance.” He concluded with, “our party is a broad based party and our party has always been a broad based party.”