GOP Rep. Perry: ‘Pelosi Ran Congress Like a Prison Camp with No Accountability’

Representative Scott Perry (R-PA) said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) ran Congress “like a prison camp with no accountability.”

Partial transcript as follows:

PERRY: Let me start with this. Frederick Douglas, who knew something about power, said, power concedes nothing without a demand. Never has and never will. This was never about Kevin McCarthy. This is about power for the American people. And with all due respect, Nancy Pelosi ran Congress like a prison camp with no accountability. You know, the American people are very, very tired of this gang of seven, gang of eight, literally seven or eight people, or just a few people in Washington, D.C., running all of the policy for the American people.

So, when we had a framework of an agreement where the American people can be in charge, when their representatives can actually bring amendments to the floor in good faith, said, sure, if we can do that, then I’m all in.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But that was the one concession he made. Also, what were the other specific promises, particularly on the debt limit?

PERRY: Well, as I said, their — it’s a framework of an agreement. So there are numerous things. It’s accountability for the speaker. It’s about making sure that we have a budget that we can agree upon that doesn’t just continually increase spending, but then we appropriate to that budget. And – and so it’s a – it’s a whole host of things. It’s like single subject bills coming through Congress. Something that has never happened before in the history of Congress.

So the — George, the American people, among other things, are tired of these Christmas tree bills with all these ornaments on them coming for — in the middle of night, 4,000 pages, $1.7 trillion, 7,200 earmarks. Everything works perfectly for Washington, D.C., but there’s no presents under the tree for the American people. And so restraining those things and getting those things in order, it’s a — it’s an entire package. It’s not just one thing.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But I ask – but I – right, but I asked about the debt limit. Did he specifically say that he would not negotiate over the debt limit unless there’s a – unless it’s tied to a balanced budget?

PERRY: What we’re — what we’re talking about is a debt limit that – that if we’re going to pass a debt limit increase that actually does something to drive the trajectory of the ever-increasing debt down. We can’t just keep doing the same thing under the same conditions with the same management and expect different outcomes. The American people are sick and tired of this endless debt increasing.

While I’ve been in Congress, George, the debt has increased double. It’s gone from about $15 trillion to $31.5 trillion. Where is the end of it? And there’s been no mechanism in sight to rein that in. At least we have a mechanism now.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But that mean — President Biden has said he’s not going to negotiate. So, are you prepared to have the United States default if he does not agree to your spending cuts.

PERRY: I think everybody should negotiate. I don’t know why President Biden says he’s not going to negotiate. I mean that’s what this is all about, so that all the voices of the American citizens are being heard, not just the voices that voted for President Biden or, quite honestly, not just the voices that voted for Kevin McCarthy or Scott Perry, but every single voice. Saying you’re not going to negotiate, I think, is an untenable and unacceptable position for almost every single American no matter if you’re on the left, right, or on the center — in the center.

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN