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Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, got an earful on Wednesday from a man who called into C-SPAN to ask about the millions Congress spent on impeachment and about a provision in the coronavirus stimulus package.
A man named Bernard from Maryland asked: "Why did you vote for a $25 million grant for the Kennedy Center and how does that help black, white, Hispanic, or anybody ... and you spent about $50 million trying to impeach the president, and what good did that do? That money could have been spent on fixing the water problem in Michigan, help with the black-on-black shootings in Chicago, probably fix all the problems instead of sucking our money down the toilet."
It's unclear where the caller got the $50 million figure. The conservative Heritage Foundation estimated that the House's inquiry cost $3.06 million.
Green was one of the earliest proponents of impeachment long before House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., started her inquiry at the end of last year. Although House Democrats successfully impeached President Trump, their efforts ended with a vote to acquit him in the Senate.
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While responding to the caller, Green defended himself by arguing that President Trump was a "bad man" and listed a series of complaints he had with his leadership.
"I sought to do it because I didn't think that there was some very fine people among the bigots and racists in Charlottesville, who were screaming blood and soil, Jews will not replace us. I sought to do it because I didn't think we should bar persons who happen to be of a certain religion," he said, referring to Trump's travel bans.
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Green added that "the president is a bad man and I just have the courage to do something about it. Many people will talk about things — I choose to do something about things. So, I put the Congress in a position where it had to do something – that was take a vote – and we laid the foundation for his ultimate impeachment."
The Texas congressman then touched on his vote for the coronavirus stimulus, which passed in March with bipartisan support.
"You're not going to find many members of Congress who haven't voted for things that they didn't necessarily approve of — whether I approve of it or not, this is the point I'll make. We get sometimes legislation presented to us and we can vote it up or down, so you weigh it — and you look for the good, and you look for the bad, and sometimes you cannot allow ... the perfect to become the enemy of the good," he said.
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Trump has defended the $25 million for the Kennedy Center, saying "they do a beautiful job, an incredible job." The center reportedly said it needed the money to cover personnel costs during the pandemic. “It is imperative that we scale back the entire institution’s personnel costs during this time of closure and dearth of ticket income,” it said.
House Oversight Republicans blamed Pelosi for the provision and, in April, sent a letter blasting the funding.
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“Unfortunately, Speaker Pelosi’s provision of $25 million for the Kennedy Center within the CARES Act has fallen far short of its intended purpose," Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C. said in a press release.
"The intent of the Kennedy Center to furlough over 700 administrative, part-time, and hourly workers is entirely antithetical not only to the spirit of the CARES Act, but also to the expressed purpose of protecting workers with a $25 million injection. When it comes to protecting the livelihoods of hardworking Americans, misplaced priorities are unacceptable. I look forward to hearing from President Rutter on this issue immediately.”
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