In an interview with Chris Ryan, the Representative from New Hampshire’s First Congressional District, Chris Pappas, discusses the verdict in the trial of Officer Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd; suggests ways to implement police reforms; assesses the role of the Black Lives Matter movement in the future; supports the reintroducing of the Green New Deal by Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey and New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; reacts to fellow Democrat, New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner, testifying against HR 1--the election reform bill; and explains why his campaign returned a $5,000 contribution from a political action committee run by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Congressman Pappas believes that the guilty verdict in Minnesota of Officer Chauvin restores confidence in the judicial system and allows the country to move forward from here.
In order to move on from the death of George Floyd to a more equitable society, the Congressman suggests that there need to be discussions on the federal, state, and local levels of government to determine what resources, standards, and training are needed for law enforcement to better serve the communities which they are sworn to protect, such as additional training on diversity, implicit bias, and de-escalation.
Congressman Pappas described the provisions of the George Floyd Bill which passed the House of Representatives and is now being discussed in the Senate. The proposed bill bans No-Knock Warrants, chokeholds, and takes steps to demilitarize our police departments.
When he was asked if the Black Lives Matter Movement is, at this point, losing momentum, Congressman Pappas believes that the situation has changed from the original, visceral reaction to watching George Floyd die on video to a policy-making phase, but it will take inside and outside pressure to effect meaningful change.
Congressman Pappas considers climate change to be an important problem. However, he has not signed onto the reintroduction of the Green New Deal by Senator Markey and Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez. The Congressman supports the moves made by the Biden Administration to reengage with other countries and to assume a leadership role in the elimination of greenhouse gases. He is in favor of incorporating climate change into the Jobs Bill and future infrastructure projects.
“How do we reinvest in our transportation infrastructure in a clean and green way? How do we go about lowering emissions and meeting the aggressive targets which have been set? The Biden Administration wants to cut emissions in half by the end of the decade.”
The Congressman believes that accomplishing these goals will require significant investment in research and development and a major upgrade of our electrical grid.
Recently, the long-time serving New Hampshire Secretary of State, Bill Gardner, testified against HR 1, the election reform bill which narrowly passed in the House of Representatives and is now under consideration in the Senate.
Congressman Pappas asserted his support for New Hampshire maintaining its place as the first in the nation presidential primary. The Congressman also defended HR 1 the For the People Act because it will give greater access for voters and eliminate big money from influencing politics.
A political action committee run by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made an unsolicited $5,000 contribution to the Pappas for Congress Committee. Congressman Pappas explains why he returned the money to AOC, “I wanted to make it clear the kind of Democrat that I am. I’m a Joe Biden Democrat.”