For Immediate Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, Democratic Congressman Jamaal Bowman, Ed.D. (NY-16) and Republican Congressman Chip Roy (TX-21) sat down to discuss their work in Congress and beliefs on education, the economy, and more. Their conversation touched on trickle-down economics,  workforce development, and our history of racial inequity. Last month, Congressman Bowman extended an invitation to Congressman Roy to have a face-to-face conversation about their values and to engage in open and honest dialogue about issues important to them and their constituents.

You can find the full video of their conversation here. 

On equitable investment in our economy:

“We spend so much money right now on incarceration, on healthcare, and on reacting to the harms that are caused in the economy over a lifetime versus investing in the things we need on the early end to grow the economy even further, areas like universal childcare, universal pre-k, paid leave. We invest in our children and our families on the front end at an early age, we offset some of the complex trauma that they deal with that lead to the negative outcomes on the back end…We haven’t equitably invested in developing the economy in a way that is beneficial for everyone.”

On our over-investment in war:

“We spend so much money on freaking war, so much money on the military every year, trillion dollars more than the next 10 countries combined. So much money on war throughout American history, so if we can get to a point of more diplomatic solutions and less investment in war, because war is costly–trillions and trillions and tens of trillions of dollars overtime, lives, disruptions to the economy and all of that–that’s where I think we could begin to have those conversations around education or a jet, books or missiles, and I think that conversation needs to be had.”

On workforce development for a potential future green economy:

“There’s something happening with our climate that the world…is adjusting to. Part of this transition includes making sure that people are prepared to work with their hands in a vocational space for a new climate driven economy to dramatically decrease and end our dependence on fossil fuels…When we talk about educated vocational training we gotta get people ready for that workforce. Wind energy is here. Solar energy is here. Geothermal is here. Heat pumps are here…People are going to need to work in those industries in the same way they work in other industries now.” 

On racial discrimination throughout American history and in the present:

Rep. Bowman: “America has a history of racial discrimination, yes or no?”

Rep. Roy: “Sure, of course. It does.” 

Rep. Bowman: “Much of that history and much of that racial discrimination continues to this day. You agree or disagree with that?”

Rep. Roy: “Sure.”

On “woke-ism:"

“The woke conversation is misguided in my opinion. It is not let’s look at everything through the lens of race and divide, divide, divide. It’s acknowledging that everything has already been looked at through the lens of race and what the hell are we gonna do to fix it?…When I say I’m woke and stay woke, it’s be conscious of who we are as a country, be honest about it historically, and let’s figure out a way to move forward together and not more divided.”

On the importance of Black history in our schools: 

“I’m here in Congress because of my self-determination, my mother, God, my work ethic, but most importantly my knowledge of myself, and what we are trying to do in schools and in the country is making sure that young African-American, Latino, and kids of color learn about their history, their culture, their background, and themselves, because historically that has not been a part of the curriculum. We learn about the dominance of European history, American exceptionalism, and all of that, and we’re left out of the curriculum historically. What I’m saying is, our history, Black history and culture, need to be an essential part of the curriculum, not just in February but all year round. We need to learn about each other…I think there’s a misconception in terms of what we’re actually trying to do in schools in terms of curriculum and racial justice and what people who use terms like woke think we’re trying to do.” 

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