Ocasio-Cortez, Bush criticize lack of diversity among negotiators on latest infrastructure deal
The Hill
7/29/2021
© Greg Nash
Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.)
Reps. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday called out the lack of diversity among the large, mostly white bipartisan group of senators that worked to reach a deal in infrastructure talks on Wednesday.
"Is this the Bipartisan Infrastructure Group or the audience at a Kid Rock concert?" Bush wrote in a tweet along with a photo of the bipartisan group of white Senate negotiators and the hashtag "#NegotiationsSoWhite."
Is this the Bipartisan Infrastructure Group or the audience at a Kid Rock concert?#NegotiationsSoWhite pic.twitter.com/qxVw4ar9x5
- Cori Bush (@CoriBush) July 28, 2021
Ocasio-Cortez, who has criticized the lack of diversity among the group in recent weeks, again condemned the absence of members of color on Wednesday.
The New York Democrat also responded to comments from Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), who helped lead the group of bipartisan senators in negotiations and said she did not support the $3.5 trillion price tag on the spending bill.
"Good luck tanking your own party's investment on childcare, climate action, and infrastructure while presuming you'll survive a 3 vote House margin - especially after choosing to exclude members of color from negotiations and calling that a 'bipartisan accomplishment,'" Ocasio-Cortez wrote.
Good luck tanking your own party's investment on childcare, climate action, and infrastructure while presuming you'll survive a 3 vote House margin - especially after choosing to exclude members of color from negotiations and calling that a "bipartisan accomplishment." https://t.co/0VF8Z73vAa
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 28, 2021
Later on Wednesday, the Senate voted 67-32 to begin debate on a bipartisan infrastructure package hours after senators and the White House announced they had struck a deal.
Video: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defends costly progressive policies (The Independent)
-
We Don't Want a Cold War With China: Blinken
Bloomberg -
FDA facing scrutiny over infant formula shortage in Senate hearing
NBC News -
Sen. Chris Murphy ‘sober-minded’ about getting bipartisan gun safety legislation passed
MSNBC -
Blinken on U.S. relationship with China: 'We aren't looking for conflict'
NBC News -
Gun safety bills face hurdles in the Senate
CBS News -
Senate Democrats join gun control rally after school shooting in Uvalde
NBC News -
Grandfather chokes up describing search for missing granddaughter in Uvalde shooting
CBS News -
Rep. Kinzinger: I think the age for buying a gun should be 21
MSNBC -
Boeing capsule returns to Earth from space station
Associated Press -
Amber Heard: Johnny Depp defamation lawsuit ‘humiliating for any human to go through’
NBC News -
Pakistan's ousted Imran Khan demands new elections at mass rally in Islamabad
AFP -
British prosecutors charge Kevin Spacey with four counts of sexual assault
NBC News -
Community mourns as investigation into Texas mass shooting continues
CBS News -
Our children are asking for us to 'make childhood childhood again'
MSNBC -
Videos show parents, onlookers questioning police response at Uvalde shooting
NBC News -
Leader of school resource officer group discusses their role in wake of Texas shooting
CBS News
-
We Don't Want a Cold War With China: Blinken Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US will seek to influence China's behavior by shaping "the strategic environment around Beijing" in a speech that took direct aim at President Xi Jinping's performance in leading the world's second-biggest economy. He spoke at the Asia Society Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.
Bloomberg
-
FDA facing scrutiny over infant formula shortage in Senate hearing Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf is testifying at a Senate hearing on the infant formula shortage and facing scrutiny over a report from an Abbott employee months before the shortage. NBC's Julia Jester reports from Capitol Hill.
NBC News
-
Sen. Chris Murphy ‘sober-minded’ about getting bipartisan gun safety legislation passed Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) joins Andrea Mitchell to discuss the prospects for gun safety legislation after Senate Majority Leader Schumer gave him 10 days to see if a bipartisan bill is possible. Explaining what a bipartisan bill might look like, he says “It won't be universal background checks. It likely won't be a ban on assault weapons. But, you know, maybe it's an expansion of background checks, maybe it's red flag laws, maybe it's adjusting the age that you can purchase weapons. Whatever it is, if it saves lives, it's good enough for me.” Though, Murphy says he’s “sober-minded” about the prospects of getting anything passed.
MSNBC
The vote came weeks after Biden and 10 senators at the center of the group announced they had reached an agreement on a framework for the trillion-dollar spending package.
At the time, the bipartisan framework for the deal prompted pushback from progressives who were disappointed it left out a number of key Democratic priorities.
Following the deal's announcement last month, Ocasio-Cortez said the lack of diversity among the "bipartisan coalition" conveyed "perfectly" which communities "get centered and which get left behind when leaders prioritize bipartisan deal making over inclusive lawmaking."
Ocasio-Cortez said bipartisan deals prioritize "delivering the most impact possible for the most people," which she added is why a "bipartisan package alone isn't acceptable."
"The exclusion & denial of our communities is what DC bipartisan deals require. That's how you get GOP on board : don't do much/any for the working class & low income,or women, or poc communities, or unions,etc. We must do more," she said.
The New York Democrat also remarked on the same photo Bush shared of the infrastructure group earlier on Twitter, writing, "A lot of times, 'bipartisan agreements' are just as defined by who people in power agree to exclude than include."
The Hill
