MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
After passing a bill aimed at making housing more affordable with an overwhelming bipartisan majority this week, Republicans and Democrats in Congress were ready to take a victory lap. That included the co-chairs of the Problem Solvers Caucus, Democrat Tom Suozzi of New York and Republican Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.
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BRIAN FITZPATRICK: So Tom and I have talked a lot about our Problem Solvers Caucus affordability agenda. Item No. 1 was housing. It was this bill. It just cleared the House overwhelmingly, which is, again, Exhibit A. You come up with a two-party solution on affordability issues, including this one, it can get the job done.
MARTIN: That's a clip from a video they released on Tuesday, but that was before things went sideways. As tables and chairs for the signing ceremony were being set up, President Trump surprised leaders of his own party by declaring he would not sign the bill, at least not until Congress passes the SAVE Act, adding new requirements for registering, voting and running elections. Senate Republicans have told him they don't have the votes to do that. So what happens to the housing affordability plan now? Here's where I put that question to Representative Suozzi and Fitzpatrick yesterday, starting with Mr. Fitzpatrick.
The president seemed to be on board. Representative Fitzpatrick, do you have any sense of why the president at the last minute refused to sign? I mean, the podium, this...
FITZPATRICK: Yeah.
MARTIN: It was all set up. The chairs were set up.
FITZPATRICK: I think it's an unfortunate negotiation tactic that he tends to employ too often, taking this New York real estate model to government. Oftentimes, more often than not, that does not work. And there were a lot of people that flew in for that event. A lot of people that were there onstage, ready to go. It's very unfortunate. We are going to force this. We are going to make sure this becomes law.
MARTIN: How?
FITZPATRICK: Make no mistake about it.
MARTIN: How?
FITZPATRICK: Well, after 10 days, it will become law. He would have to veto it. We're going to make sure the bill gets delivered. And listen, we all have leverage. All of us have leverage. There is no way that we are going to allow a bill with that level of support not become law in the United States of America.
TOM SUOZZI: You know, this is another example of the president acting kind of from his gut in a fit of pique. You know, he wants something else, so he's going to hold something he thinks everybody wants - Democrats and Republicans in the House and the Senate - he's going to hold that hostage. Those kind of tactics can be employed by other people as well. So, you know, there's things that the speaker is going to need from members of Congress. If he's going to hold up the bill that the members of Congress want, then the members of Congress have to hold up things that the speaker wants. And then the speaker has to hold up things that the president - I mean, it's really just a - it's not the way to run a railroad.
MARTIN: Does this undermine your pitch to your constituents and your voters and to members of your caucus that the most effective policies come from people working together? If even with this level of support you can't get it over the finish line on time...
SUOZZI: Well, there's no question...
MARTIN: ...Does this undermine your whole...
SUOZZI: This...
MARTIN: ...The whole point of your caucus?
SUOZZI: I'd argue it undermines America. It's not just about our caucus. It undermines our country that people are not acting responsibly. I mean, listen, the No. 1 issue in America - there's no debate about it - it's affordability. And the president is once again being tone-deaf as to what the American people are most concerned about. And I think it's going to hurt him and the party politically.
MARTIN: Speaking of the fact that it's election season, Representative Suozzi, you won your primary on Tuesday. Congratulations. You faced a challenger from the left. You won handily. Representative Fitzpatrick, your primary was uncontested, even though you have criticized your party's leadership and you've criticized the president. Both of your experiences would seem to contradict the storyline of the primaries up to this point for each of your parties. For the Democrats, the storyline seems to be, progressives are on the rise. So, moderates, you better watch your back. For Republicans, the storyline seems to be, don't cross the president. It will cost you. So what I'm wondering, though, is do your experiences kind of contradict the way we have been covering this election, or are there just unique factors in each of your cases...
SUOZZI: There are unique factors.
MARTIN: ...That makes it different?
SUOZZI: The seats that were won in New York City by the DSA, much to my chagrin, were done in deep, deep blue seats. And a lot of what's happening with the Freedom Caucus MAGA types is happening in deep, deep red seats. And the problem in our country is that more and more seats are being redistricted, are being gerrymandered to be deep-red or deep-blue safe seats. And this is causing the main battle to be the primaries, where the extremes are controlling the conversation.
MARTIN: What do you think the lesson is from the fact that you ran uncontested in the primary?
FITZPATRICK: Simple reason - I've been primaried five times, and they didn't succeed. So I think they just gave up, honestly. I mean, it's not like I've never had primaries before. This is the only time - the only time - that I've not had a primary. So I think to your earlier point, it is a question of unique dynamics in each district.
MARTIN: Do you ever worry that the big tent is shrinking, that neither party really has a big tent anymore?
FITZPATRICK: Of course. I think this ought to be the chief concern of everybody in this country that loves America. This is a big, big problem. It puts the strain on the threads of democracy. With the two-party system being as powerful as it is, coupled with closed primaries, coupled with social media, coupled with foreign adversaries using our own freedoms against us to divide us, we have to put the focus on this because our country cannot sustain this rapid pendulum swing - far left, far right.
MARTIN: Before we let you go, we are coming up on July 4 and the nation's 250th birthday. Ten years ago, Congress appropriated a pot of money and created a commission to celebrate under the name America250. But now we're watching a rival group, which was started by the president, Freedom 250. The reality of it is the money has not been appropriated fully to the degree that Congress said. And I just wonder if this - why it is that Congress seems unwilling to assert its authority in this area, as in others.
SUOZZI: There are so many areas that we need to be asserting our authority. I mean, it's like our heads have to be on a swivel, jumping from one outrage to another every single day. And, you know, I fondly remember 1976 for the bicentennial. I mean, that was a big deal in my life as a kid. I was 14 years old. And I remember, you know, people wearing costumes and, you know, having parties in my local - in my town and parades. And this was, like, a big celebration of our country. And unfortunately, like too many things that are happening right now, I mean, the celebration of our democracy has been politicized. The challenge is, we can't become so discouraged that we don't participate.
MARTIN: That is Representative Tom Suozzi of New York and Representative Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania. They are the co-chairs of the Problem Solvers Caucus. Thank you both so much for talking with us again.
FITZPATRICK: Thanks, Michel.
SUOZZI: Thank you.
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MARTIN: After our interview yesterday, House Speaker Mike Johnson came out of a meeting with President Trump and told reporters he and the president were "on exactly the same page." That's a quote. Speaker Johnson said he would transmit the housing affordability bill to the White House. The Constitution gives the President 10 days, excluding Sundays, to sign it or veto it. If he does neither and if Congress remains in session, the bill would become law.
(SOUNDBITE OF TORD GUSTAVSEN TRIO'S "THE OTHER SIDE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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