Impeachment, Education, Representation: Q&A with Congressman Joseph Morelle
The priorities of a first-term U.S. Congressman elected during one of the most divisive periods in political history are anything but simple. I recently had the opportunity to talk about this and more in a phone interview with Congressman Joseph Morelle (D-NY).
Morelle, who was elected to office during the Democratic “blue wave” in the 2018 Midterm elections, identified a number of key priorities, including gun control and education—issues that tend to be split down the middle. But one of the dominant preoccupations dividing the country, of course, is the impeachment inquiry into President Donald J. Trump.
Even though he acknowledges the widespread assumption that this inquiry won’t result in Trump’s removal from office, Morelle said he finds that things expected to happen don’t always proceed as presumed. He expressed this and more in our discussion.
Thea Pekarek: Why do you think Nancy Pelosi has chosen this specific time to start the impeachment proceedings? And how do you think this will play out in the long run?
Congressman Joseph Morelle: There were a number of people calling for an impeachment inquiry, but I think the Speaker—and I agreed with her—believed that the evidence in the Mueller report lacked a sort of clear pattern. When the whistleblower report came out, we started to get credible evidence that the President was trying to use his position as the Leader of the Free World in order to further his own election prospects. In my mind, [this] was certainly worthy of an impeachment. I have a growing expectation that there will be articles of impeachment forwarded by the Judiciary Committee to the House. If I had to predict right now, I think there’ll be enough votes and the President will be impeached, and then I think there’ll be a trial in the United States Senate to talk about his removal. If a trial in the Senate [happens], I hope people will take [it] very seriously because overturning an election and removing a president from office has never happened in United States history.
How did it feel to witness the “blue wave” in the 2018 Midterm elections, which resulted in the most women elected into Congress in U.S. history?
Obviously, it was very exciting and gratifying to be a part of it. I was blessed to be elected and have as my classmates one of the most diverse classes in American history. Perhaps the most diverse class. It’s really exciting because these members bring a whole new set of experiences and knowledge that we’ve been lacking too long.
How do you think an increase in diversity and representation affects what policies are instituted?
As much as any of us try to empathize and think about how our decisions affect others, it’s a whole other thing to have lived through those experiences and to have had a different perspective. I think having a very diverse group allows you to have many different viewpoints … [that] are finally being represented.
Why did you decide to pursue a career in politics? Has your viewpoint towards our democracy changed since you first became involved?
I was at school at State University College of New York in Geneseo, [where] I took a couple of internships. One was working with an individual who was running for Congress, and the second internship I did was with a local state senator. Those experiences, for me, demonstrated how important government and politics are to the lives of everyday citizens. I don’t know if my view of our democracy has changed, [but] I think my view of modern politics has changed a little bit. I’m struggling in this era to understand how some of the decisions made by the White House don’t seriously damage our democracy. I’m concerned about the future of democracy; I feel as though there are a number of people trying to undermine our ability to have a successful democracy. I’m an optimist, [though], so I hope that it will ultimately prove out okay.
You have co-sponsored The Equality Act (H. R. 5) and the Protecting LGBTQ+ Youth Act (H. R. 2775), as well as advocate for the reauthorization of the 2019 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Why are these areas of legislation important to you? And is there any other legislation that you are currently supporting?
Our national pulse since the 18th century has been in the furtherance of trying to get to a more perfect union. Unfortunately for too many American citizens, they weren’t included in that equation. Women were clearly not allowed the opportunity to vote early on and neither were people of color. I want to make sure whatever barriers exist are broken down … [to give] more people the opportunities to live out their potential. On a personal level, it’s just really important; I have two granddaughters, and I want to make sure that they have every single opportunity in the world to be successful and to be fulfilled. I’ve been working on a whole host of proposals and bills, some of them dealing with my big desire to help eliminate illegal guns off our streets and deal with the gun epidemic which is just haunting America right now. We’re [also] working on issues that relate to helping people, like the Higher Education Act.
Why is education a key issue for you? What legislation regarding higher education are you committed to passing?
Education was very important to my mom and dad; they didn’t have the opportunity to go to college, either one of them. But they certainly instilled in my brothers and sister the importance of education, and I want to make sure that every child in America has the opportunity. Not everybody will go to college, perhaps, but everyone should have the opportunity to pursue it if they choose to and if they want to. It’s important to give different options to people and really try to encourage people [towards] a life of continuous learning. Right now we’re working on something called a Higher Education Authorization Act. In the past 75 years, the House and Senate would authorize a Higher Education Act, which provides support for things [such as] work study programs. Unfortunately, it has not been reauthorized in more than a decade, so we’re kind of hoping we’re going to be able to get an agreement to authorize it. That doesn’t mean those programs haven’t existed; it just [means] there hasn’t been a 5-year agreement to keep everything in place. Some of the changes will be to expand opportunities for nontraditional students, students that may work as well go to school in order to be able to afford it.
What does being a member of the House Committee on Education & Labor entail?
It’s a great committee. I’m the only Democrat from New York who serves on it, so it’s a special privilege. First, we deal with education issues from Pre-K all the way up to post secondary education. That’s really important, and we set federal policy on that committee. The second thing the committee does is deal with all the issues related to the labor laws. So things like minimum wage, pay equity for women and people of color, whether or not we have things that relate to employment around pensions, and even health care for certain types of employers. It’s a very, very big committee in terms of its jurisdiction and some of the things that I care deeply about [are] in that committee.
Could you walk me through your day-to-day life as a Congressman?
Usually my days start somewhere around 8 o’clock. We usually have briefing sessions and meetings; I meet with my staff quite a bit. Then you often have committee hearings, which could last several hours, and then when a committee considers legislation, it’s called committee markups. There are meetings with constituent groups, so organizations that are here in Washington bring local constituents, and there’s usually an awful lot of meetings and groups. And then the day ends probably around 9, 10 o’clock at night. It’s a whirlwind. You just keep moving, and you have a lot of different topics to consider that come at you pretty quickly. It’s very rewarding, but also very intense.