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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressman Jimmy Gomez (CA-34) gave fiery remarks at the first House Oversight Committee hearing of the year on pandemic oversight, calling out Republicans on the committee for trying to “rewrite history.”  

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Gomez said:

“[Republicans on this Committee] will attempt to rewrite history. They will attempt to absolve themselves of any of the decisions they made over the last two years in order to fit their own political narrative, everything from the pandemic response to January 6th.” 

Gomez called Republicans out for hypocritical votes based on who the President is:  

“The Chairman and the majority of the Republicans voted three times in 2020 for UI benefit extensions. Three times…But after a month of voting to extend those benefits, one month later, they voted to slash and to stop those unemployment benefits. What changed?...President Biden.” 

He closed by calling out Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who also sits on the Oversight Committee, for complaining about “handouts” after taking $183,504 in PPP loans: 

“As Members, we voted to put money in the pockets of constituents who needed it the most to keep their small businesses afloat. We voted to put money in their pockets, not Members of Congress…But this isn't about oversight. It's about passing the buck and making one too.” 

Gomez’s full remarks are below: 

This is the first hearing of a two year session, and I want to be very clear to the American people what I believe that the majority, the Republicans in this committee, and in Congress will do over the next two years.  

They will attempt to rewrite history. They will attempt to absolve themselves of any of the decisions they made over the last two years in order to fit their own political narrative, everything from the pandemic response to January 6th, to holding President Trump accountable himself.  

We've even had colleagues here that believe that some of the January 6th insurrectionists were patriots and heroes.  

They're not. They're traitors. That's what those are. Those insurrectionists were traitors.  

So let's focus on unemployment insurance.  

The Chairman and the majority of the Republicans voted three times in 2020 for UI benefit extensions. Three times.  

And that's a good thing because it put money in the pockets of Americans who were struggling to make rent, to pay food just to get by.  

But after a month of voting to extend those benefits, one month later, they voted to slash and to stop those unemployment benefits.  

What changed? Did they not know about some of the concerns of that program at that time?  

No, what changed was we had President Biden.  

My hunch is, if it was President Trump, they probably would have voted to extend those benefits once again. But it wasn't.  

And why are they cherry-picking this program and not focusing on other programs? So now let's talk about the Paycheck Protection Program.   

As Members, we voted to put money in the pockets of constituents who needed it the most to keep their small businesses afloat. We voted to put money in their pockets, not Members of Congress.  

We have a colleague from Georgia who had $183,504 forgiven. Other Republican members had up to $4.3 million forgiven. Why not focus on this program?  

That's because if they did, they would have to answer these questions regarding their own businesses, their own loans, and why were those forgiven and not others? 

So if we want to talk about handouts, we want to talk about fraud, let's talk about it. Let's not cherry-pick programs. Let's pick all of the programs that were in place during the pandemic. If we want to do oversight, let's do it. But this isn't about oversight.   

It's about passing the buck and making one too.  

So don't be fooled. The American people shouldn't be fooled by them trying to rewrite history and the role and responsibility and the implementation of those programs.  

I believe they were a good thing. Yes, no program is perfect, but it really did keep afloat the American economy, the American worker, and made sure that we didn't fall into a deep, deep recession. 

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Congressman Jimmy Gomez proudly represents California’s 34th Congressional District, one of the most diverse and culturally rich districts in the country. In the 117th Congress, he served as Vice Chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, sat on the powerful House Committee on Ways and Means, and served as an Assistant Whip for the House Democratic Caucus. Congressman Gomez is also a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), and Future Forum. 

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