BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Alabama, served as host on Friday to one of her mentors in Congress, longtime Congresswoman Maxine Waters, during a 90-minute town hall at the new library in Birmingham's Pratt City neighborhood.
Waters, D-California, has served in Congress for 24 years, is the most senior black woman in serving in Congress, and is the ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, which Sewell also serves on.
From 3 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. Friday, Sewell picked Waters' brain on subjects ranging from immigration reform to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reform, earmarks, income inequality, and more.
Partisan gridlock in Congress:
"As a matter of fact, we're very low in the polls because those people who are determined to tear down government and not to cooperate get all the attention," Waters said. "So it looks as if that's all that's going on, and that's all we do is fight and we can't get anything done."
"Well, I have to tell you, some of that's true. We are polarized, we do have the kind of polarization that I certainly did see when I first came to Congress."
"The moderate Republicans have a difficult time working with our side of the aisle, and we have a difficult time working with moderate Republicans because the Tea Party has just about taken over the Republican side of the aisle, and they are extremely uncooperative. They have come with an agenda, and their agenda is cast in stone."
"To shut down government," Sewell interjects.
"That's right," Waters said.
On Texas Gov. Rick Perry's "rousing" speech Friday at the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) in which he, to roaring applause, said the federal government needs to "Get out of the health care businesses, get out of the education business":
"He gave a rousing speech about getting government out of everything, including education," Waters said. "And I was listening, and I was on my way into the bathroom, and I stopped dead in my tracks, and I just said to myself, 'He just said that. He just said that government should have no role in education.' And how shortsighted can you be? But, it's that kind of thinking that is now dominating that side of the aisle."
On those who want to repeal Dodd Frank:
"We understand where there are technical corrections to be made," Waters said. "We understand where there is a little bit of confusion, maybe things are not understood. We have to work on that, and make sure that we straighten that out. And we don't mind doing that, but we won't let you kill Dodd Frank. You can't do that. We're going to implement it, but we'll work with you to straighten out where there are problems."
Earmarks:
"But for our cities and our towns, they get lost in this [appropriations] process, unless you have earmarks. Earmarks are designed for you to be able to bring resources into cities and towns that, perhaps, it would never reach that area but for the elected official saying, 'This is what's important.'"
On Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac reform and the 30-year-mortgage:
"We're not getting rid of that 30-year-mortgage. There are those who would come and say we shouldn't have a 30-year-mortgage. But we know that a 30-year-mortgage is what has helped people to own a home in this country," Waters said to applause.
On minimum wage:
Sewell noted to Waters that "two-thirds of all minimum wage earners are women."
"This income inequality is something to behold," Waters said.
"Ladies and gentleman, I don't care what you say about what the government spends," Waters said. "We're responsible people. We don't want to spend the government's money on anything. We're careful, we know that priorities must be set. But we also understand that the minimum wage discussion in this country should not be a problem."
"People worked every day and are standing in food lines, trying to get some food for their family."
Immigration reform:
She slammed state-level immigration reforms. "What we need is comprehensive immigration reform that makes good sense. That doesn't mean that you don't have rules."
Asked if she thought immigration reform would come to the floor of the house this year, Waters was not hopeful. "Terri, I wish I could tell you that that would happen," Waters said to Sewell. "At this point in time, I'm not optimistic that we can get it done this year, but I am optimistic that we can get it done."
She believes that Republicans will come around due to demographic concerns and a desire to capture some of the Hispanic vote.
On voting days:
"I don't know why, in this country, we don't just change all voting days to the weekend. Wouldn't it be great? You get to vote on Saturday and Sunday? I think more people would be involved in voting."
Asked about President Barack Obama's emphasis on working with young black boys and black men, Waters digressed and mentioned one way to get children into church.
"One of the things that I learned a long time ago in working with young people is feed them. As you work with them, feed them!" Waters said to laughs.
Waters said that she was part of a church outreach program in which parishioners knocked on doors and invited neighbors to Sunday worship.
"We knocked on doors, we talked to them, and then I tell them, I said, 'After church, we're going to have food. We're going to have chicken, and potato pie.' And a lot of them came looking for the food, but they had to hear a sermon first."
The church - and the men of the church - can be very helpful, as well, Waters said.
She also encouraged the audience to urge businesses to hire, train, apprentice, and intern youth.
"Talk to the people in the banks about, what are the opportunities for bringing some interns in? All of the businesses, ask them. Insurance companies, everybody. When the kids see you fighting for them, they will fight for themselves."
On Russian President Vladimir Putin, the situation in Ukraine, and spending on wars and nation building overseas:
"I was a little bit jealous when, practically overnight, we came up with a billion dollars for Ukraine," Waters said. "I know what's happening over there, I know that Putin is crazy. I also understand that he would like to recreate the Soviet Union, and he's going into Crimea trying to reclaim that as part of Russia and all that."
She said he knows he's trying to challenge the world community to show "that he can do what he wants to do, and he dares anybody to come in and try to stop him."
"You know, I may be a little bit naive but I really believe in diplomacy. I really believe that somehow the big boys in all of our countries have to stop saying, 'My stick is bigger than yours.'"
"We can't afford these wars. We cannot afford, we couldn't afford Iraq or Afghanistan."
AI
