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Office of the 11th Congressional District of Virginia
Formerly the Office of Representative Gerry Connolly

The Washington, D.C., office and the district office of former Representative Connolly will continue to serve the people of the 11th Congressional District of Virginia under the supervision of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Representative Connolly passed away on May 21, 2025. See Press Release

MSNBC Hardball: Connolly Optimistic on Fiscal Cliff Deal

Appearing on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews to discuss the fiscal cliff, Congressman Connolly said he was optimistic a deal could be struck before the end of the year. Read more

GOP gloom on the fiscal fight: ‘We’re screwed either way’

Republican Rep. Lee Terry is deeply pessimistic about the looming fiscal cliff deadline: ‘We’re screwed either way,’ he says.
The Nebraska lawmaker, who initially made the remarks to the Omaha World-Herald, explained his thinking on Thursday night’s Hardball.
“The president wants us to take a tax vote before he’s willing to talk about anything else—cutting or reforming. And Republicans just aren’t going to do that. So what he’s doing is setting us up to be the fall people for going over the fiscal cliff,” said Terry.
“I don’t see why that’s true,” host Chris Matthews countered, “because the president has talked about what kind of cuts he wants to make, including non-defense discretionary funds and a third of a trillion over 10 years in entitlements.” He added that liberals will never deal with the GOP unless they let the tax cuts expire. “They want to see the bite marks on your neck,” said Matthews.
The fiscal cliff refers to a package of tax increase and spending cuts that will go into effect in January unless Congress passes a deal.
President Obama has said the richest Americans need to pay more in taxes. Republican House Speaker John Boehner has said such tax increases would be “unacceptable.”
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va) offered a different perspective than Terry on Hardball, saying the issue is over. “The president won the election, and there weren’t a lot of explicits in this campaign, but one that there was, was the president explicitly saying…I think the better-off tax brackets ought to pay a little bit to help us with this fiscal cliff. He campaigned and won on that promise,” said Connolly.
Republican Rep. Lee Terry is deeply pessimistic about the looming fiscal cliff deadline: ‘We’re screwed either way,’ he says.
The Nebraska lawmaker, who initially made the remarks to the Omaha World-Herald, explained his thinking on Thursday night’s Hardball.
“The president wants us to take a tax vote before he’s willing to talk about anything else—cutting or reforming. And Republicans just aren’t going to do that. So what he’s doing is setting us up to be the fall people for going over the fiscal cliff,” said Terry.
“I don’t see why that’s true,” host Chris Matthews countered, “because the president has talked about what kind of cuts he wants to make, including non-defense discretionary funds and a third of a trillion over 10 years in entitlements.” He added that liberals will never deal with the GOP unless they let the tax cuts expire. “They want to see the bite marks on your neck,” said Matthews.
The fiscal cliff refers to a package of tax increase and spending cuts that will go into effect in January unless Congress passes a deal.
President Obama has said the richest Americans need to pay more in taxes. Republican House Speaker John Boehner has said such tax increases would be “unacceptable.”
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va) offered a different perspective than Terry on Hardball, saying the issue is over. “The president won the election, and there weren’t a lot of explicits in this campaign, but one that there was, was the president explicitly saying…I think the better-off tax brackets ought to pay a little bit to help us with this fiscal cliff. He campaigned and won on that promise,” said Connolly.
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va) offered a different perspective than Terry on Hardball, saying the issue is over. “The president won the election, and there weren’t a lot of explicits in this campaign, but one that there was, was the president explicitly saying…I think the better-off tax brackets ought to pay a little bit to help us with this fiscal cliff. He campaigned and won on that promise,” said Connolly.Rep. Lee Terry is deeply pessimistic about the looming fiscal cliff deadline: ‘We’re screwed either way,’ he says.
The Nebraska lawmaker, who initially made the remarks to the Omaha World-Herald, explained his thinking on Thursday night’s Hardball.
“The president wants us to take a tax vote before he’s willing to talk about anything else—cutting or reforming. And Republicans just aren’t going to do that. So what he’s doing is setting us up to be the fall people for going over the fiscal cliff,” said Terry.
“I don’t see why that’s true,” host Chris Matthews countered, “because the president has talked about what kind of cuts he wants to make, including non-defense discretionary funds and a third of a trillion over 10 years in entitlements.” He added that liberals will never deal with the GOP unless they let the tax cuts expire. “They want to see the bite marks on your neck,” said Matthews.
The fiscal cliff refers to a package of tax increase and spending cuts that will go into effect in January unless Congress passes a deal.
President Obama has said the richest Americans need to pay more in taxes. Republican House Speaker John Boehner has said such tax increases would be “unacceptable.”
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va) offered a different perspective than Terry on Hardball, saying the issue is over. “The president won the election, and there weren’t a lot of explicits in this campaign, but one that there was, was the president explicitly saying…I think the better-off tax brackets ought to pay a little bit to help us with this fiscal cliff. He campaigned and won on that promise,” said Connolly.