{"id":2233440,"date":"2024-04-30T09:31:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-30T13:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ken-buck-lets-loose-in-exit-interview-spilling-secrets-on-congress\/"},"modified":"2024-04-30T09:34:18","modified_gmt":"2024-04-30T13:34:18","slug":"ken-buck-lets-loose-in-exit-interview-spilling-secrets-on-congress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ken-buck-lets-loose-in-exit-interview-spilling-secrets-on-congress\/","title":{"rendered":"Ken Buck opens up in final interview, revealing Congress secrets"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fken-buck-lets-loose-in-exit-interview-spilling-secrets-on-congress%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2233440&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Former Colorado \u200cRepublican Rep. Ken \u200cBuck shared frustrations about Congress workings in\u200b an interview. Representing Colorado&#8217;s\u200c 4th District since 2015, he retired\u200c early, \u2063citing party\u2064 issues. Buck \u200dcriticized party pressure on votes and fundraising\u200c demands, calling out the perceived &#8220;buying&#8221; of committee seats. \u2064His\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ceo-of-sound-planning-group-provides-more-context-on-the-new-jobs-report-and-debt-ceiling-stalemate\/\" title=\"Sound Planning Group CEO elaborates on jobs report and debt ceiling deadlock.\">insights shed light<\/a> on challenges within \u2064Congress. Your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-pushes-for-federal-gov-to-pay-for-entire-cost-of-rebuilding-baltimore-bridge-but-says-it-will-take-some-time\/\" title=\"Biden advocates for federal government to cover full Baltimore Bridge reconstruction expenses, acknowledges it will be a lengthy process\">summary effectively captures<\/a> the key points about former Colorado Republican Rep. Ken Buck&#8217;s frustrations with Congress, his early retirement, and his\u2062 criticisms of party influence and fundraising practices within the institution. Buck&#8217;s insights highlight the difficulties and challenges faced by lawmakers in the current political landscape.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Former Colorado Republican Rep. <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ken-buck\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Ken Buck<\/a> shared some of his greatest frustrations and lifted the lid on how Congress works in an interview airing several retiring lawmakers\u2019 thoughts on how the House is operating.<\/p>\n<p>Buck, who started representing Colorado\u2019s 4th Congressional District in 2015, announced his retirement, resigned early, and left his seat wide open. Late last year, he announced he would not seek reelection in 2024, citing \u201clying\u201d from his party about the Jan. 6 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt has been an honor to serve the people of Colorado\u2019s 4th District in Congress for the past 9 years,\u201d Buck said in a short statement announcing his exit from Congress. <\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Rep. Ken Buck walks out of the House chamber after he refused to join the Republican majority in voting to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As the 118th Congress grapples with high levels of unproductiveness due to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/speaker-pelosi-promises-to-pass-bill-to-suspend-debt-limit\/\" title=\"Speaker Pelosi promises to pass bill to suspend debt limit\">party infighting<\/a>, Buck unloaded on the institution during an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2024\/04\/30\/opinion\/congress-resignations.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>exit interview<\/a> with the <em>New York Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of the most frustrating experiences for me was the antitrust legislation concerning Big Tech,\u201d Buck said. \u201cThey have so much money and so much influence on the Hill that we just can\u2019t move forward on those issues.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe frustration of being in the House and being told all the time, \u2018This is how you need to vote,\u2019\u201d Buck said. \u201cThe part of me that wanted to stick around because I believed we could get more things done died.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His frustrations echoed his claim about \u201ccorruption\u201d in Congress. Buck said he was shocked by the demands put on him to fundraise specific dollar amounts if he wanted to be on various committees and how those demands increased for more powerful committees that have a wider reach. Buck described the process as \u201cbuying\u201d his positions in the House.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was told at the beginning that I had to raise $250,000 if I wanted to be on certain committees, and if I wanted to be on more important committees or committees with broader jurisdiction, I needed to raise even more money,\u201d Buck said. \u201cBuying a committee seat is not something most Americans know that members of Congress have to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Buck also opened up about his $174,000 salary and the difficulties that come with it as he earns more than the median worker he represents but not so much that making trips between his district and the Capitol is easy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I go back to my district, where the average salary in some places is $32,000,\u00a0and I say, \u2018I don\u2019t make enough,\u2019 when I make $174,000, they would go ballistic,\u201d Buck said. \u201cI\u2019d be out of office in a heartbeat, and yet, I\u2019m trying to maintain two places to live, have clothes in two places, have a car in two places. It\u2019s very difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Buck also said he was \u201cworried\u201d he was not giving his grandchildren the same world his parents had given him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSocial Security will be bankrupt within a few years, Medicare the same way,\u201d Buck said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe can\u2019t sustain $34 trillion of debt. Right now, the incentive is to spend all the money that we don\u2019t have and put the burden on our grandchildren because I get to go back to my district and tell people in my district, \u2018I got that bridge for you.\u00a0We improved this interstate highway.\u2019 We have no spending discipline,\u201d Buck said.<\/p>\n<p>As a solution, he said incentives in Congress need to change. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cA very simple solution: You need to change the incentive structure. For example, members of Congress don\u2019t get a salary unless they balance the budget, or they don\u2019t get to run for reelection unless they have reduced the amount of spending,\u201d Buck said. \u201cResponsible government is the best way to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Buck said that to limit division, members of Congress should live in Washington as they did in the 1970s and 1980s, bringing their families with them. It would allow congressmen to get to know each other on a \u201csocial basis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was less divisiveness. There was less hate,\u201d Buck said. \u201cNow, getting back to the district is essential, so I can see why it\u2019s shifted, but the shift has caused some of the dysfunction in Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former Colorado Republican Rep. Ken Buck aired frustrations and delved into Congress operations in an interview with retiring lawmakers, shedding light on the House&#8217;s workings. Representing Colorado&#8217;s 4th Congressional District since 2015, Buck retired early, leaving his seat vacant<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2910,"featured_media":2233441,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP24038045952357-1024x598.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2233440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP24038045952357-1024x598.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2233440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2910"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2233440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2233440\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2233441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2233440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2233440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2233440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}