Hoyer: Republicans Have Broken Their Promise

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) accused Republicans on Tuesday of reneging on a promise they made last year to not attach policy riders to necessary legislation.

“In the Pledge to America, the Republicans said this: ‘We will end the practice of packaging unpopular bills with must pass legislation to circumvent the will of the American people,’” Hoyer quoted.

“That’s what they’re doing,” he said. “They said they wouldn’t do it, they’re breaking their pledge, they are doing it. They’re doing it because it’s politically expedient to do it, not because they think it will pass.”

Hoyer referred to the GOP’s payroll tax cut extension plan as “political gamesmanship” because they were explicitly told by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) that his chamber would not pass their bill.

The inclusion of the Keystone XL Pipeline mandate, which President Obama said would be grounds for vetoing the bill as a whole if it reached his desk, is further proof of Republicans’ partisan policy, according to Hoyer.

Hoyer, a longtime advocate for federal workers, continued to criticize the package for breaking the deal made in the Budget Control Act. Included in the GOP payroll tax package is an extension of the federal base pay freeze, which, according to Hoyer, would decrease the agreed upon “discretionary number” for federal employees. If the freeze extension is passed, $60 billion would be taken from federal employees’ salaries over the next decade.

With a number of issues still on the table and less than a week before the House is set to break for the holidays, Hoyer expressed concern that the session would be extended.

“This is theoretically the last week of the session,” Hoyer remarked. “I say that hopefully, but not with a good deal of confidence.”