Pete Aguilar: “We have a choice today. I want to compliment the work that the committees have done to reach an agreement on these…”

“We have a choice today. I want to compliment the work that the committees have done to reach an agreement on these funding levels. I am not here to quibble with those funding levels. What I am here to ask for is a chance. If this is the people's House, we deserve an opportunity to address these issues. I have never said this is a bad deal. I have just said this is an incomplete deal. It is incomplete because we haven't had the commitment that we need to address critical issues that are important to our communities. We have addressed some in this: opioids, community health centers. Those are important issues in all of our communities. But we haven't addressed issues that are important to everyone. Like Leti Herrera who was my guest to the State of the Union who lost her sister in December, who is scared, who wants to know when her priorities are going to be our priorities. She wants to know when we are going to bring up these issues. And I can tell her, the Senate has a commitment; they are going to talk about these issues. But the people's House has not said that we are going to talk about these issues. We are going to say, well, when the President signs off, then we will have a conversation. He doesn't have a card that votes in these machines. He has a voice. He should be consulted. He doesn't have a voice in the people's House. He doesn't have a vote here with me and you.…”