Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D) has expressed her opposition to the government services bill. Although the bill contained Rep. Wasserman Schultz’s drowning prevention measure, she lamented that it has “removed too many other layers of protection our families and seniors need.”
Wasserman Schultz took to social media to share a video clip of her speech on the House floor against the government services bill. In her speech, Schultz took aim at “extreme Republicans,” noting that their proposed bill “didn’t cut deep enough” to address important concerns.
“This bill does prioritize reducing pool and spa deaths by providing $2.5 million for programs authorized under my Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act,” she said. Pool and spa deaths are “the leading cause of unintentional death for children under five in the United States, which makes it a public health threat."
However, although the bill includes a measure that Schultz has championed, Schultz shared that she had to ultimately oppose it because it “makes all our constituents less safe.”
“This bill handcuffs consumer watchdogs, leaving hard working families more vulnerable to fraud or dangerous, deadly products.” Schultz went on to explain that the bill “guts the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s already paltry budget, slashing resources at an agency that gas a major focus on protecting children and families.”
She also warned that the bill will be detrimental to public servants and to the United States’ national security before attributing the blame to Republicans.
“The same Republicans who claim to support our national defense and armed forces would cut the National Security Council in this bill and the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence,” she warned, calling into question Republicans’ interests in being tough against fentanyl, suggesting that the Republican Party is not “the party of law and order.”
“This bill actually underfunds multiple levels of our federal courts and the public defenders."
