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Rep. Webster: I Want to Change How the House Works

Rep. Webster: I Want to Change How the House Works
(AP)

By    |   Monday, 05 October 2015 09:17 AM EDT

Rep. Daniel Webster said Monday that his battle isn't necessarily with individuals like House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy or Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz for the speaker's seat: He wants to fight how the House works.

"I think the American people are asking for transformation and that's what I could offer, the Florida Republican told CNN's "New Day" program Monday.

"There's a pyramid of power where a few people make all the decisions. I want to push down that pyramid of power, spread out the base so every member has an opportunity to be successful."

Webster said he did just that when he was Speaker for the Florida House of Representatives, and "we transformed the way things work." And Washington, Webster said, "we need transformation and I've done it before. That's what makes me qualified. I changed a system that took up the most important bills last and the least important first."

As a result, Webster said, "we ended every day at 6 [p.m.]. We got our work done early. There were no deadlines that we pushed against. We finished with a cheer from both the House and Senate members and also from the public."

McCarthy has been in the spotlight after saying Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's numbers have dropped after the select committee to investigate the terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya, began its investigations, and Webster on Monday called his comments "unfortunate."

"I have a faith I try to abide by, and I don't try to judge other people," said Webster. "That judgment will be left to the members of our caucus and we'll see what happens there. But in the end, what I want to do is offer an opportunity to transform the House."

He also thinks that much legislation has been pushed aside because of how the House works, including on mental health reform that could help with the issue of school shootings.

"Dr. Tim Murphy, who is a member from Pennsylvania, has an excellent bill which I've co-sponsored with him, that deals with mental health," said Webster. "That's a huge problem. If we don't address that, we're not going to get to the root of the problem."

Sandy Fitzgerald

Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics. 

© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.


Politics
Rep. Daniel Webster said Monday that his battle isn't necessarily with individuals like House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy or Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz for the speaker's seat: He wants to fight how the House works. I think the American people are asking for...
wester, run, speaker, house
360
2015-17-05
Monday, 05 October 2015 09:17 AM
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