Orange County’s Congressional Representative David Price spoke with 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck last week about a slew of national issues ranging from the recent Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire to domestic infrastructure plans.
Before last Friday’s ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, Representative David Price signed onto a letter pushing President Joe Biden’s administration to take bold and definitive leadership on the issue.
Price said he believes the Biden administration did take proper action eventually, but not before significant damage was done to the region.
“I do think the president was late to demand a ceasefire,” Price said. “The situation wasn’t going to be resolved by military means, it was never going to be resolved by military means, no matter how brutal those military means are.”
Price said he believes military agitation in the Middle East by Hamas and the Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, only serves to embolden each other.
“You’re not going to pound Hamas into submission in fact they are going to emerge as the champions of the Palestinian cause,” Price said. “Netanyahu has a way of empowering Hamas and Hamas has a way with its tactics of causing Israelis to gather around the flag which Netanyahu wraps himself in. It’s very frustrating.”
Citing issues like the evictions of Palestinian families in Shiekh Jarrah, and Israeli police takeovers of Al-Aqsa Mosque, an important Islamic holy site in Jerusalem, Price said he believes the Israeli government’s actions are unacceptable and provocative. He said the United States can’t ignore these atrocities in the name of allyship any longer.
“The U.S., whether it likes it or not, is going to have to pay attention to this,” he said. “I would hope have some kind of restraining influence on the Netanyahu government.”
I applaud the Biden admin for committing to reopen the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem, which is essential for the U.S. resuming its good-faith role in the region. This announcement is critical to supporting the security and freedom of both peoples and achieving a two-state solution. https://t.co/1PJzLeqiYI
— Rep. David E. Price (@RepDavidEPrice) May 25, 2021
Looking at domestic issues, Price said he supports the ambitious American Jobs Plan put forth by the Biden administration, which would invest nearly $2 trillion in American infrastructure.
As the Chairman of the House Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee, Price sees this bill as critically important right now amid the country’s pandemic recovery.
He said, however, he has some concerns about the partisan nature of the plan and the inability of Republican leadership to compromise.
“I don’t think the Republican counteroffer on infrastructure is much to write home about,” Price said. “I worry that we could end up with endless bickering on this, waste precious time, end up with a weaker bill and still not have substantial Republican support.”
The House may attempt to pass the American Jobs Plan via reconciliation, which would only require a 51 percent majority in the Senate. This method serves as a workaround to the filibuster for budget legislation. Earlier this year, the American Rescue Plan Act was passed using reconciliation, which also had minimal Republican support.
Price said passing the infrastructure bill would help North Carolinians directly by supporting local projects like commuter rail in The Triangle and Bus Rapid Transit in Chapel Hill.
“So much that will have a great North Carolina impact if we can just make those investment,” he said. “I’m certainly convinced that a lot here at home is riding on our success in Washington.”
For more information on Rep. Price’s office click here.
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